My entire life has been centered around playing video games.  I come from the generation that just played the heck out of games.  From my earliest Atari 2600 with 40 or 50 games to my Nintendo box, I have always been enchanted and captivated by video games.  Not that I was ever good enough to take on the world or even the best in my neighborhood, but I have always enjoyed the mental break that is derived from focusing on nothing else but dominating your enemies.

As I am getting older (and wiser), my focus is changing.  I appreciate more strategic games with less action but a more encompassing story.  I no longer want to destroy the world but instead save it from the bad guys (whomever they may be).  I no longer wish for the stress of having to make life and death decisions in fractions of seconds.  I want to foster growth, build and execute upon a drawn out plan, and release the benevolent leader from within. 

Actually, I just really stink at first person shooters and find them frustrating now as groups of 10 year olds pound me for sport and hobby.  I know some of these "young guns" have made their reputation off of beating me and me alone.  That's the only explanation I want to believe as to why I can't seem to survive long enough to check my weapons, aim, and fire.  That and my responsibilities as the Vice President, Sales keep me from playing hours on end.  That last line is a lie.  I actually play for hours on end at work, and I still stink which means it must be my state of the art MacBook.

The cold dark truth is that with the release of CrossOver Games I can't claim that my MacBook is the sole source of my 'suckdom'.  CrossOver Games is coming along very nicely.  Within the next week or so, we will be releasing the coolest emulation solution for Mac and Linux platforms.  Soon, you too can take on hordes of 10 year olds (hey, shouldn't these kids be at school???) in Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike, and other really, really cool games.  While this functionality has been available in CrossOver Mac and CrossOver Linux for quite some time, CrossOver Games is the optimized platform specially tweaked to run games at native speeds.  Games is continuously updated to take advantage of all the latest and greatest CrossOver developments.  So far, my very embarrassing game play has been stable, very fluid, and very fast.  While I can't attest that CrossOver Games will make you a better gamer, I can testify that CrossOver Games won't be the reason why the 10 year olds use your carcass as bait (did I mention that these kids should be in school!!!).    

I know if I keep practicing for hours and days on end that I can get somewhat better.  Of course, my wife, my daughter, my friends, my family, my co-workers, and (most importantly) my boss have other plans for my time.  Without being able to make that time commitment, I'll never be an elite gamer and be able to turn pro.  I'll never be able to play in the 'big game'. I know what you're thinking and you're right.  My wife and my boss don't buy that excuse either.

The Minnesota Vikings use to employ a philosophy of drafting the best available athlete regardless of their position or the team's immediate needs. An interesting philosophy in that the Vikings believed that with the best athletes they could and would win a Super Bowl Unfortunately for the Vikings, this rule did not apply to coaches who lose NFC Championship Games at home. Yes, the loss to Atlanta (even after all these years) still stings.

For sales, many companies ignore the 'best athlete' philosophy and hire based on tenure, industry experience, product knowledge, and market connections. I have always believed that hiring in this manner is a poor indicator of future success, and I believe that it is only prevalent in my profession because its the safe decision to make. No one gets fired for hiring a person with the right pedigree? Its this line of thinking that allows the general public to think less of the professional salesperson.

For life, the path to success is almost always filled with hardship and pain. That's why its the lesser traveled road. In sales, I believe that the 'best athlete' is the salesperson who has achieved their success while overcoming significant challenges. In sales, consistently fighting through adversity is the hallmark of a champion. There is no substitute for the planning and tenacity that it takes to be truly successful, and this gift is not honed to a sharp point overnight. Personally, I truly enjoy surrounding myself with these types of people. Working with these 'best athletes' forces me raise my game and in turn become more successful.

For the marketplace, we are seeing many more consumers select the 'best athlete' as their personal computer. Apple and Linux are on the rise because more consumers are demanding better performance, greater usability, better functionality, greater style, more power, better value, and (maybe most important) fewer vulnerabilities. While Microsoft has the better pedigree, its performance has been compromised over its last few releases culminating with Vista. Even though Microsoft is still the safer decision for IT professionals, this decision is no longer going unchallenged because usability and functionality are becoming more critical. The end result is that we are receiving more requests from businesses and consumers wanting to run their PC applications on other platforms. From government agencies to educational departments to individual users, we are seeing the 'best athlete' philosophy is starting to take root. If these groups of consumers continue supporting these platforms instead of being satisfied with status quo, they may achieve the greatness associated with winning the Super Bowl (darn the Vikings!!).

For CodeWeavers, we are one of the 'supplements' making the 'best athlete' better. Consumers are becoming very interested in CrossOver because it is in-line with their desire for something better. CodeWeavers is essentially giving them their cake, and this message is slowly getting out to the masses. The positive reviews in the trade publications along with the press from Google is helping mainstream our efforts and is creating greater awareness for our software. As more consumers refuse the acceptance of solutions less apt to meet their needs, our growth and prevalence in the marketplace will only continue to increase. We might even live in a world where one day Microsoft is no longer reflective of a safe decision but of a decision made without much effort. I think even when that happens the Minnesota Vikings will still have a difficult time making the Super Bowl.

Every great once in a while a sales rep hits what can only be considered 'Nirvana'. Account management is on target; customers are happy; leads are coming in the door; the phone is ringing; and proposals are going out. All the good stuff that every sales person dreams of when they picture the "perfect day". The opposite of Sales Nirvana, of course, is the reality that is every other day of your existence - not Nirvana. For the past four months (wow, four months), I have found my own slice of Nirvana at CodeWeavers. In learning the software, I am amazed and excited at the possibilities of what we have to offer. CrossOver eliminates the need for the Microsoft operating system!!! That's exciting. Any viable option to Microsoft is exciting, and I think users are seeing that today.

Monopolies upset the apple cart. They force people into situations they would otherwise prefer to avoid. Like the monopolies before it, Microsoft makes its living off of being the only game in town. While other desktop solutions existed (Linux, OSX, DOS, UNIX), no other operating system ran PC applications. When you are Microsoft and have the world by the 'nuts', you can allow yourself to get sloppy, belligerent, obnoxious, and even rude and the world takes it. When Microsoft introduced Windows 95, it marked a significant stake in the evolution of the computer universe. No longer did users have to have niche skills or be experts to use simple applications. When Microsoft introduced Vista, it marked a devolution in that the user was no longer important or even a consideration in the process. Software got complicated again by requiring users to know how to manage security settings to get joy. Somewhere along the way (probably while Microsoft was taking all its money to the bank), the world collectively decided to stop taking it and pushed back at the 'evil empire'.

In areas where wheelbarrows of money are not readily available and the median household income is considerably less then the US poverty level, Microsoft has lost its foothold on the throats of consumers. We now live in a world where users in Asia, South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa are aligning themselves with a flavor of Linux. While Microsoft could justify that turn of events as "those people don't have money anyways", it has no answers to Apple stealing its market share in North America, Japan, and Europe. When your biggest rival doubles its market share in two years (Forbes), you take notice and fight back. Unfortunately, Vista is a punch in the face for most users and Yahoo would rather lay off employees then sell out to Microsoft. The resounding message is that the market is clearly seeking to move away from Microsoft's grip. THIS IS VERY EXCITING FOR CODEWEAVERS!!! This is our opportunity. This can become our Nirvana (or at least my sales' Nirvana).

Winning while others are loosing doesn't sound very sporting. I should hope that we all can win, be happy, find our Nirvana. However, Team Fortress 2 has taught me that winning consists of two very critical elements - beating others while staying alive. If that philosophy is good enough for my 'Heavy', it should be good enough for me. If finding our Nirvana means the Microsoft takes a couple shots to the head, who am I to stand in the way of our happiness.