About

The Working Environment in the 21. Century is changing dramatically:

• The percentage of “knowledge workers” (a term already coined by Peter Drucker during the 1960s) is continously increasing. Knowledge is the single deciding factor for every individual to stay competitive in the market.
• At the same time, working in projects becomes the predominant form of work for knowledge workers – or professionals, a term we prefer. Parallel projects have become common.
• In todays networked economy, collaboration is no longer bound to the same location or organization. Instead, projects are organized into virtual teams, with members from large organizations, small companies and freelance consultants working side by side.
• The lifelong employment at GM, Siemens or any other single firm is a thing of the past. Restructuring, outsourcing, “rightsizing” or mergers and acquisitions cause the personal working environment to become increasingly dynamic (to say the least). As a consequence, every individual needs to think and act as a one-person enterprise, to navigate successfully through these dynamic times.

So What?

Some consider this scenario as threat. We see it as chance. As chance for personal freedom and independence.

Hence the name of this blog: Ready to Comopete.

We believe it is not knowledge alone that one requires to stay long-term competitive and successful in the market. It is also the spirit and attitude which makes the difference. Like the Samurai of ancient Japan, it was not just their skills which made them famous, but also their “Bushido”, their ethics and their spirit.

We are inspired by that spirit and by the idea of a “Business Samurai” with professionalism, ethics and independance as his core values. We do not believe that a one-to-one application is always possible, nor desireable. But we think there is a lot to adapt and to learn from the samurai spirit.

We write here about things we consider relevant – for us, but potentially for others. We write for people with a similar mindset, for professionals, for founders, for start-ups, small business owners or independent consultants.

Every article reflects the opinion of it’s author, and we value diverging opinions.

Who are we?

We are DAISHO Blacksmith. We develop software and methods for professionals.

We forge the swords of the modern Samurai.

Daisho is our integrated productivity tool for professionals: Time management, contact management and integrated email. Daisho is avaialable for Windows, Mac and Linux, and runs even from USB stick.