Are you there Markstrat? It's me, Jonathan.

Since a new whirlwind of classes spin up next week to usher in the spring semester, I wanted to take a moment to record my thoughts on my biggest challenge from last semester, aside from my professors attempted instance of death-by-case-study-presentation.

My Strategic Marketing Management class employed this online simulation known as Markstrat. With the class split up into groups, the teams spent time each week making decisions on what products to develop, where to sell them, who to sell them to, and how to do it all within the budget. Each Monday the professor ran the simulation and we found out how we did against the other teams competing in the virtual world.

I found the simulation both educational and fun. The simulation does a good job of getting you to think about resource management, market segmentation, product placement, advertising, and the way to have conversations with a team to come to a mutually agreeable strategy.

Markstrat does a pretty good job of simulating what might happen in the course of business, and you can find some common tips and tricks with a Google search. Here's my own addition to the pool of knowledge.

1. Sweep the leg! - Take no mercy on competitors. If you have the chance to shut someone out, go for it. They only stand to come back and take you out. No need to relearn the lesson you should have taken from Saving Private Ryan, right?
2. Knowledge is Power - Invest in marketing research, especially the semantic and MDS scales. Over time they get more useful as you can infer trends and use the calculators built into the simulation (although you should always sanity check those results).
3. Fully fund your IRAD! - Talk about a lesson directly applicable to the day job. During R&D, pay to minimize cost to produce the product. It's a short term pain for long term gain.
4. Vodite FTW? (maybe) - Some will say the first to enter the Vodite market will win the game. We were the first to enter, and the market didn't mature fast enough to catch the enormous market size of the Sonites. Ruling the Sonite market wins the day, and Vodite just shores up your victory.

However*, as much as Markstrat simulates the real world game of marketing successfully, there are a couple non-intuitive gotchas that I will list to help save a future team of Markstratters some trouble:

1. Those are speed holes - The winning team spent little to no money on research and developing new products. Instead, they set perceptual objectives and spent advertising dollars to move the perceived rating to match the ideal rating. For those of you that are reading this and don't speak Markstrat, this essentially means the team, instead of developing a plastic version of the product, the told the market segment that wanted plastic that the wooden version was actually plastic, and the market segment bought it. As a result the team didn't need to spend as much on R&D, whereas we sunk costs to develop new products delivering what customers wanted.
2. Death to Spoofee - Our group made the mistake of treating a customer's desired value as a threshold, not an objective. In other words, we looked at a target price of $500, or a power rating of 7 and said, "If we set the price at $475 and the power at 8, we're giving them more of what they want for less money." Unfortunately the way the simulation works is that if the customer wants to pay $200 and they have the option of two identical products, one for $190 and the other for $200, they will prefer the $200 product.

For those of you embarking on your Markstrat journey, good luck!

*Note that my team did not come in first, so keep that context in mind as you read my feedback.

Manicotti Filling

Christmas traditions make up some of the best traditions. On my mom's side of the family we rotate homemade ravioli's and homemade manicotti from year to year like a whimsical carousel of cheesy deliciousness. Over the weekend Jackie and I did a "Sunday on Saturday" dinner where we had several close family over to enjoy some homemade pasta, with gravy, gravy meats, and manicotti. We rocked some Frank Sinatra in the background to help set that eye-talian mood.

I want to put the complete recipe set here, but we'll start with the manicotti filling. This is based off the "well...about a handful of this, and a scoop of that" directions that you'll get from any Italian grandmom coupled with some more quantified recipes on the Interwebs. The result was pretty dang tasty, but not yet perfected.

Ingredients:

2 lb ricotta

1lb shredded mozzarella

1/2 c grated "Macaroni Cheese" (go for Pecorino Romano)

2 eggs

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions:

Dump it all in a bowl and mix only long enough to evenly distribute ingredients. Fill the manicotti crepes as directed.

Finer details:

- Find a place that makes their own homemade mozzarella, and does a good job at it. At the very least don't us the solid block of mozzarella next to, or including, the Polly-O. See that oblong tube that looks like it's got water in it? You're on the right track.

- If you find a place that makes homemade ricotta, bonus points.

- Put a paper towel over the ricotta before mixing to remove excess moisture.

Tips and tweaks welcome in the comments!

2009 - Top 5 Games

Despite the action and adventure of 2009 I still managed to get my game on.

5. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

You don't have to be new to be a great game in

2009. For one reason or another I didn't pay this game much mind when it came out, thinking it was a home-hum Tomb Raider knockoff with better graphics designed to sell some PS3s out the game. It turns out to be a great new title from Naughty Dog with an interesting treasure hunt story, fun characters, terrific gameplay. If you've got a PS3, pick this one up at the bargain bin near you.

4. Half Life - Episode 2

The "Games I missed" roundup continued with the next adventure with Gordon Freeman. Thanks to a computer that can actually run games I decided to give this one a spin. Highlights include fun with the gr

avity gun, progressing along a story I'm rather interested in, and the all around superior gameplay for which the series is known. If you're into FPS and haven't played through Half Life, go for it.

This game also marked the first game th

at I downloaded as opposed to buying. Three cheers for instant gratification!

3. Burnout Paradise

Brain: Off. Fun: On! I had a lot of fun whipping around Paradise City burning out, flipping, and road raging my way to Elite status. For those of you that, like me, can't stand the agonizing discipline required to play a "driving simulator", this arcade racer fits the bill nicely for several hours of fun.

2. Bioshock

Proving once again that I'm nothing if not a budget gamer, I picked up a copy of Bioshock for the PS3. To regurgitate what pretty much every review stated, this is one atmospheric game. The world of Rapture is wholly immersive, and when you add to that superior graphics, sound, fun enemies, a sandbox of powers and weapons, and this add some compelling story you make one of the best games I've played. Get out and buy this one before the Big Sister comes knocking in a couple months.

1. Uncharted 2

Hands down game of the year, maybe even game of the decade. For all the reasons I liked the last game, I liked this game. However, the creators took every gameplay mechanic and made it sing. They took the already astonishing graphics engine and took it to the next photo-realistic level. They took the game through all different destinations so it was no longer the jungle/cave/ruins combo of the last game. The characters are well animated and well-acted which added greatly to the enjoyability of the storyline.

I really took note of the pacing of the game, mostly because I found zero convenient opportunities to put the game down. I'm used to reaching a point in a game when I can put down the controller, save, and come back later. For the 12 hours of gameplay I never felt like the pace let up. I was always ready to see what was around the next corner, and I was always delighted at what I found when I got there.

This game is everything that any Indiana Jones move was (or in the case of the 4th one, tried to be). If you have a PS3, get it. If you don't have a PS3, this game is enough fun to consider getting one, and between the lower price point, the upcoming 3rd installment of God of War, and Blu-Ray, it's becoming an easier choice than ever.

The Disappointments

Not all games get the JC seal of approval. He's some lowlights of 2009.

Killzone 2, winner of the "It's not you, it's me" award

Out of about 12 hours of gameplay this first person shooter felt fun for about 2 hours of it. Highlights included the part when I wound up with a lightning gun, mostly because I didn't have to pop and shoot my way through any more gritty environments. I won't deny the game is really beautiful, and the realism of the AI and the challenge is commendable.

I'll give the game the "it's not you, it's me" title. I'm at the point in my life where I have enough frustration and challenge in the rest of my life. That's not to say when I play a video game I want a peaceful walk in the park with only one button to do it all, but even on normal difficulty this game left like a chore. I probably tried playing it the way I wanted to play it, as opposed to how the designers wanted me to play it (i.e. daring to leave cover "guns blazing" which was a sure way to die in 3 seconds)

Ultimately, too hard core for me.

Looking Back on 2009

To stray from my traditional blog posts, I'll start out by getting to the point. Two Thousand Nine was a monumental year for me with many moments that will live with me forever, and they almost all include my beautiful baby daughter. My life changed a lot this year, partly because of magical little Layla Marie, but other on-goings kept me going on. Let's look at where I started and where I find myself now.

Professionally I started out knowing this would be the last year as ELDP manager and by the end of the year I would be in a new job. Starting off 2009 I got to manage one of the best, most mature programs with some of the strongest stakeholder support. We had what I would argue the top participants in any program whose intelligence, drive, enthusiasm and humor were contagious in a way I can't describe, but it made me leap out of bed every day.

I knew that the awesomeness of that job would not be matched. Some would say that's lowering my expectations, but I call it setting the right expectations. The circumstances of the job are just too unique to expect lightning to strike twice. Professionally the year pretty much turned out as I suspected, but was it a self-fulfilling prophecy?

I moved on from the old job feeling that I left nothing on the table. I experienced so much, learned about myself, expanded my network, skills, and met tons of cool people whose success I look forward to watching unfold in the coming years. I'm in a new job, I like it, so let's call this area of life recapped and move on to something more exciting.

How about grad school? Earlier in the year I said now is the time to go for it. Actually, it was more like, "well, its not going to get any easier, so why might as well get to it?" I'm now 8.5 credits into pursuing a Villanova MBA and its going well. I haven't taken more than one course at a time yet, so we'll see how the accounting and finance course load pans out in 2010.

Oh, and this year I completed my Toastmasters Competent Communicator. For those keeping track that 10 speeches that bring me further away from sucking at public speaking. Thus far it's been one of the most rewarding personal or professional development endeavors I've ever done, and I recommend Toastmasters to everyone.

So that's the business side of life. How about the fun stuff?

We went to scores of parties, dinners, cooked a lot of great meals, had people over, attended a wedding, and all that before Layla arrived. How many infants can say they've already been to a Weezer, Blue October, and Blink 182 concerts along with a couple comedy shows? (none because infants can't speak. duh.)

On September 14th my life changed forever in the most wonderful way possible. I guess my perspective changed a bit, but I don't know if my habits changed much yet. I still get my game on, managed to still hit the gym, completed the ACS bike-a-thon, and remain on top of all the latest Joystiq posts.

The last three months are a blur, but I like that when I shut my eyes and think back I can see the baby's smile. I can see her finding her hands for the first time. Focusing on Jackie and me realizing we're two different things. My first baby projectile vomit. First 2am night wondering what the hell is wrong with this baby and what the hell is wrong with me and oh...she smiled! Seeing how much joy she brings to Jackie and me and the family and friends that meet her. Enjoying my renewed relationship with my mom now that we have the baby to bring us together.

Finally, I feel most grateful for my loving, patient and beautiful wife. I'm far from a perfect person, but when you find someone that sees you for the nucklehead you are, but loves you anyway, you gotta thank heaven every day. As if tolerating my bad jokes, inability to prioritize, workaholism, vanity, stubborness, and other aspects of the Ugly Side was not a gift enough, she brought Layla into the mix thereby proving she is, in a word, amazing.

Where are we going next?

As we look into 2010, the game plan is simple. All about the baby. This is the year of firsts. First tooth, first crawl, first walk, first fall, first birthday, first word, and I intend to be there for all of it (while also kicking ass at work, pulling a 4.0, riding another bike-a-thon, and all the other distractions along the way).

Happy New Year indeed!