Продолжение. Начало читайте здесь.

Adrian Blair

My run ends on Parliament Hill; through mist I pick out a beautiful, distant dome — St. Paul's. Suffocating subway journey crushes the inspiration; people become silent, menacing competitors for space. Humanity revived by brief exchange of funny faces with a bored child.

Immediate interrogation by Francoise, our receptionist, for post-party gossip; we laugh as I promise full disclosure later. Skim through industry newsletters. Alta Vista in trouble; Streetmap, an important partner, moving into mobile. Call friends at both with ideas on working together. 9:30 — a session with our marketing and sales directors, on developing a "money channel." I'm skeptical. Can we really improve on existing services? We discuss my concerns about this, its fit with our brand values, and its impact on current finance partners. A fascinating session. Then I probe specifics. What additional work is required? Who will do what, by when?


Back to four voice mails from companies wanting to work with us. Call each back, hoping for that rare gem of an idea; form rapid judgments. Choose one for further analysis in my weekly "new ideas review."

Quick sandwich, then see the MD of BeFree, our affiliate program technology partner. I outline three aims for the 2002 contract. He's baffled when I talk about reducing the burden on Kertreena in our finance team before I mention pricing. Then to concierge services provider TenUK — we're excited about plans to unlock the revenue potential of a Jeeves-branded concierge service — our first wholly "off-line" project.

No meetings after 6:00. I study the Economist "mobile internet" survey — an area I'm keen to bring Ask Jeeves closer to. Research some suppliers before I shut down. Reflect on the day. Where should the company be going? Will everything I did today help us get there?

Then a different world. The London debut of Nadia Cole, a young Canadian pianist. Still can't agree with my musical friends on the merits of her Liszt...

Продолжение следует...