Return to Archive Runtime - The Software Outsourcing Newsletter for Executives and Investors from Accelerance and Steve Mezak In this issue: As the price of gold hits new highs, I am tempted to jump in my truck and seek my fortune in the hills of California. I took that journey once before long ago. The best adventures are had when trying something new, especially if you have a clear goal and helpful guidance along the way. Outsourcing is a Gold Mine Overcoming your fear of the unknown can help you achieve greatness. Get out of your comfort zone and you can move ahead with your job, your career and your life in general. The year was 1981 and the price of gold had shot up over $800 per ounce. Suddenly, those yellow specs any Boy Scout with a gold pan could find were worth real money. Back then my comfort zone was watching TV in a Silicon Valley living room. But my brother and I drove off on a Friday night 25 years ago to find my friend Bob on a bridge over the American River— deep in the heart of California gold country. Two green horns from New Jersey and we were going to cash in and find our share! The lure of the gold versus the fear of the unknown. A few days earlier, Bob had explained to us, “I used to explore that part of California with my Dad years ago,” he said. “I know dozens of places where we can find gold.” “Look at this map,” he pointed to a black double line representing a road. It curved around the contour lines on a green topographic map and then crossed a blue river. “Let’s meet here.” My brother and I exited Interstate 80 in Auburn, California. The road went past the huge statue of an old time gold prospector next to the court house. We drove through the dark town whose shops were all closed for the night. Could this possibly be the way? Maybe we were 130 years too late. Then the road plunged downhill into the canyon of the American River. We could see the headlights of a single car off in the distance, on a part of the road we hoped to reach on the other side of the canyon. Down and down we drove, finally reaching a bridge over the confluence of the north fork and the middle fork of the American River. We were confused for a few minutes. There was no sign of Bob. Was this our destination? No. We were looking for the north fork of the middle fork of the American River. We were in the wrong place. Looming over us in the darkness was a huge bridge above the entire canyon, its presence betrayed only by the headlights of another lone car passing above. We examined the map. That was the bridge we should have been on. The next exit from the freeway would have led us directly to it and cut 30 minutes out of our journey. Now we still had miles to go to find Bob at another bridge at a fork in the river much further upstream. After so many years, I still have vivid memories of that first night in California’s gold country when we finally found Bob on that far-off bridge so long ago. Someday I will write about my other adventures we got into after finding our way around and getting a feel for the territory. Did we find gold? You bet! Did we get rich? Well, not exactly. But some of the gold nuggets I found were melted into the wedding bands my then future wife and I still wear today. Driving off into the unknown was scary but also exhilarating. At least we had a map and a friend that already knew the way. Without a “map” and a friend, you might feel the same way when outsourcing your software development. You’re outsourcing to an unknown location, to a place you have never seen or been before. It can be disorienting and a huge upheaval to the way you normally do things. But outsourcing can also be a gold mine of opportunity. Others have gone before you and it seems the yellow specs are there for the taking. The benefits and cost savings of global outsourcing are hard to ignore. You can use Software without Borders as your “map” for outsourcing. The book contains the objective outsourcing guidance you need to make your journey a success. Software without Borders is available now on Amazon. See http://www.SoftwareWithoutBordersBook.com for a link to the Amazon.com website. *** The Runtime Bottom Line: Don’t fly off into the unknown without a map or clear destination for your global outsourcing. Take advantage of the resources available from others that have gone before you as a guide. Make sure your outsourcing journey is a rewarding success and not a risky adventure. Until next time, Steve Mezak Accelerance, Inc. Risk-Free Outsourcing http://www.Accelerance.com 213 Garcia Avenue Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 1-650-712-8990 Contact me by email (c) 2006 Accelerance, Inc. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the "Runtime" eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: "By Steve Mezak, CEO of Accelerance, Inc. Please visit the Accelerance web site at http://www.Accelerance.com for more information and resources on outsourcing and creating great software."