I was recently reminded of that famous quote by Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Recall that he absolutely hates snakes; they're not exactly my favorite creature, either. When I came across Jim Barksdale’s post, “Three Rules of Business,” I laughed with that movie quote in mind; nonetheless, I think I like his reference to snakes. Sounds bizarre? Read on.

A little background. Jim is the former president and CEO of Netscape, and he’s well known for some of the interesting things he says—many of his sayings or quotables include references to animals, and they are all thought-provoking. Here’s one, just to get you thinking: “In a fight between a bear and an alligator, it is the terrain which determines who wins.”

So, back to his “Three Rules of Business,” which he established while at Netscape. The rules tell us how to kill a snake, metaphorically; when he says “snake,” he’s referring to a problem.

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