Sav Tripodi

Back when I worked for the Australian Federal Government I read a book called Rework by Jason Fried and DHH. They presented ready-to-go implementable methods to work better in a team and as a business. It left a profound impact on me to this day where I arrange my business around several of those methods.

As a junior-fresh-out-of-uni working for the Australian Government, I met with my manager every week in a fixed meeting that drained my soul. Week by week nothing changed in a significant way, therefore the meeting consisted of nothing meaningful but instead it always led to a general chit chat. After I read the Rework book it presented a better method: daily write ups about what a team member worked on for a given day. This type of automatic check-in allows the whole team to receive situational awareness on what everyone else worked on, without the constant and redundant meetings.

I felt excited and brought it up with my manager. Back then I thought if I discovered a revolutionary idea to work better in a team then everyone would be super keen to implement it. I told him about the book I read, the method, and my idea to implement it for our team. I remember his face to this day: he nodded his head, said “wow, what a great idea”, and then progressed to say “I prefer meetings, but thanks”.

I felt shocked! He asked not one question about the method and automatically dismissed it …

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A local law firm and client of mine reached out to request help with the setup of an Audiovisual link (AVL) for an upcoming court case in country South Australia. Courts use AVL technology around Australia to allow lawyers, witnesses, and others to participate through a video call for a court case. For me, a video call sounds much more comfortable than several hours of driving to a small town far far away. I’m all for it.

AVL technology, or better known as video conferencing, rose in popularity within Australian courts during the pandemic back in the early 2020’s but existed as far back as 2015 in SA Courts.

Not One to Rule Them All

I researched AVL and its usage in courts across Australia and found that there lacks a consistent standard AVL technology. Multiple video conferencing tools exist on the market and courts use a variety of them such as Webex, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and a whole bunch of others. Therefore, the technology for the AVL depends on the court and what they accept.

Courts of recent started to limit the options and instead select a mandatory software that they expect everyone to use. In the case for my client the country court in South Australia requested them to use Webex with an SIP address. A what address? Yes, an SIP address, an older technology nearly no one knows about.

Think of an SIP address like the uniqueness of a telephone number. …

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An opportunist that sells a dream. A poker player that bluffs the true value of their cards. They promise the world with no follow-through.

When I first started my business many years ago, naive and young, I never heard of the concept of a Carrot Dangler. At first I believed, after a few more I doubted, and now I’m skeptical.

Ladies and gentlemen, new and old business owners alike, allow me to introduce: The Carrot Dangler.

The Origins

Many years ago a financial planner, I shall call him Tony Chobbie, called me on behalf of another client for a job in which they hired my company. Tony, a slick-haired, fashionable, and charming man, called me to discuss the project on the request of my client. As I answered the phone he immediately greeted me in an abrasive but charismatic tone, as if I was friends with him from 10 years ago.

For more context, my client let me know that Tony tried to recommend his “friend” for the job but they chose me instead. They feared Tony recommended the friend not on merit but based on mutual financial benefit. A clear conflict of interest given the friend of Tony sent a substantial sized quote.

In my conversation to Tony, after 10 minutes of general small talk, he dangled his first carrot by flirtatiously saying:

Tony: Sav, ya know what, now that I know you exist, imma send ya so much work, yeah, I got heaps of clients that need software stuff. …

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