Attention: The VP5M Controls the First 300 Seconds!

Information Overload... Each week I receive dozens of e-mails and phone calls with new web sites and e-real estate ideas. Hey, it's overwhelming. Here are just a few of the domains added in the last two weeks: officehatch.com, realbuyer.net, churchrealty.com, facilicorp.com, appraisethescene.com and indprkassoc.com. But the really intriguing domain added was iBuilding.com, which is creating a "Building Operating System to connect office buildings with their owners, managers, tenants and suppliers." Currently operating in super-stealth mode, iBuilding.com has attracted online industry veterans like Chris Hartung (ex Banc of America Securities) and Michael Sher (ex-IPIX).

So I love Michael Schrage's concept of the Vice President of Five Minutes (VP5M), which he outlined in the July 24, 2000, issue of Fortune. "Whenever and wherever a new organizational initiative is launched, the VP5Ms own the first five minutes. They're responsible for everything that happens from the first moment of contact till 300 seconds later. ... If the vast majority of people can't extract genuine value from the innovation/initiative in less than five minutes, then the VP5M has the power to veto its deployment."

That's exactly the challenge faced by any new Internet service. How do you distill the essence of a web-site that may have cost millions of dollars and thousands of hours to develop into 300 seconds? So forget the buzzwords like B2B, industry portal, "first to market," "exponential revenue growth," etc. Just tell me exactly what you do and how it will benefit me. You've got five minutes. Go.

PikeNet Expo... This is a great segue to Pike's Parades at the Expo, except that each company in our Parades will get ten minutes -- a whole 600 seconds! You'll see dozens of firms grouped by specialization. Check out the (preliminary) list of participants at www.pikenet.com/expo/schedule.htm. ... Want to learn more? Contact Eileen Circo ecirco@pikenet.com. ... PikeNet Expo in the New York Hilton, Oct 23-24, 2000. www.pikenet.com/expo

--Peter Pike