X : Predictions for 2019?
Me : Not my thing.
X : Go on.
Me : What are you after?
X : Acquisitions.
Me : Hmmm, a bucketload of tech acquisitions around Kubernetes. Expect big juicy deals.
X : It's the future?
Me : No. Mostly cash rich past giants with no future being clueless.
Conversation
X : No market for Kubernetes?
Me : Some very profitable niches. Savvy tech buyer will wait until hype dries up before swooping in for tasty acquisitions around 2021-2022. This year will mainly be the clueless with big chequebooks. Hoping some friends will make it big this year.
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X : The market doesn't operate to make your friends rich.
Me : Are you sure? It has been doing a good job of it - Cloud, Big Data, Containers ... it's always the same.
X : So, where is the future?
Me : I thought you were interested in acquisitions? They are not the same.
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X : So what should these "giants do" if they have cash? Is it not healthy to plow that back into the industry?
Me : Yes, buy my friends companies. Pay way over the odds to send positive market signals.
X : Will that help?
Me : My friends? Yes. I'm sure they will be delighted.
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X : Will it help the giants?
Me : No.
X : What can the giants do?
Me : Make my friends rich.
X : I mean what can the giants do to improve their fortunes?
Me : Why do I care?
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X : Because of your mapping work?
Me : You've lost me.
X : Don't you do strategy for others?
Me : No. I teach companies how to map. I don't do "strategy" for anyone ... well, bar a few good friends and bits of Gov. I'm not in that game, I like to research instead.
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Replying to
I'd like to see you do a few of these summary-Q&As where you're doing the questioning/learning rather than the answering/teaching. Presumably you're doing that with people you take cues from.
Replying to
Hmmm ... that's a nice idea. I should put together another notebook.
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Replying to
You could make up your own "Fat Tony" like mash-up source-of-wisdom figurehead like Taleb has, to protect your sources :D
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