“Only the paranoid survive” — Andrew S. Grove

The way I use my computer is vastly different from how I did just a year ago. The way I email has changed — Thunderbird has been replaced by Gmail. I no longer surf for News and Blog information because my bloglines account collects all of that information for me. If I wanted to get a sense of what the Internet is finding interesting, I used to surf a variety of sites, now I just visit Digg.com and Del.icio.us and their users do it for me.

What’s really remarkable about these sites is that the first time you visit them you think “big deal”. Typically they consist of a bunch of minor improvements on existing technology (in the case of Gmail) or just generally make life easier (in the case of Bloglines). What’s interesting to me is that these little improvements really are a big deal. I want the same functionality as my desktop email client when I’m using webmail and I don’t want to have to sift through 25 different websites and blogs every morning. Maybe the lesson here is to look for small problems and solve them. That’s the whole philosophy behind 37 Signals and they seem to be doing pretty well.

The other lesson is to watch out for new technology because it can render your current product obsolete. Myspace.com crushed Friendster by simple innovations that their customers wanted. Create a way to get constant feedback from your customers. Then act on that feedback. And always, always be an earlier adopter of new, useful technology. Be paranoid or suffer the consequences.

(And now MySpace is on the decline. Can you step in and fill the void?)

Technorati Tags: technology, digg, bloglines, paranoia

The best time to start a new business is right now. If you’ve got a good idea and have always wanted to run your own show, I’d get started on that as soon as possible. Don’t let these excuses get in the way.

• I’m waiting for just the right idea — Your idea is not perfect. Don’t let that discourage you. You’ll have to overcome numerous obstacles to make your venture successful. This just happens to be the first one.
• But there are competitors — There are bound to be a few competitors already doing what you want to do. A couple of them are probably pretty intimidating. Concentrate on doing things better. Build a better mousetrap.
• What about my finances — If you’re in a well paid job, then starting a new business will likely force you to alter your lifestyle. On the other hand, if you’ve been dreaming about being self-employed, either start something or come to terms that you’ll always work for someone else.
• But I’m lacking (insert skills here) — Find business partners and mentors to help you. Plus you’re going to learn as you go. That’s part of the fun.
• Lack of capital — If your dream is to build the next space station, then, well, good luck. Otherwise you’re just going to have to launch your business on the cheap. There are some excellent resources online about the Art of Bootstrapping. Once you get things rolling, you’ll find ways to raise the capital you need. There are some good online resources about that too.

My point is simple. There is no perfect time to make a bold leap. Either go for it or don’t. As my friend Toma would say “Hey, pal, your excuses are your own!”

Technorati Tags: startup, excuses, launch, business

This article is great – it lists some must have Firefox extensions. Anyone who has been developing websites for any amount of time will really love these nifty widgets.

If you’re just starting a new venture, I would urge you to focus on those things you’re good at. This may mean turning away business when you’re most in need of it. However if the business won’t advance you’re strategy and doesn’t fall within your area of expertise, you’re best to just refer it to someone else. Timothy Faley said it well:

“Chasing lots of ideas diffuses your focus–chase those ideas that fall along the path to your envisioned future. Learn to live by the axiom: admire ideas, worship execution. Superior execution of a decent idea will always win over poorly executed great ideas.”

Here’s a checklist for getting focus.

• What is your vision? Where do you want to take your company? Where will you be in five, ten and 25 years?
• What are your five most important values? Narrow down your values to just five items (or less) that define how you want to do business. These values should support your vision.
• Are your business processes designed to support these values? Everything you do should support your vision and values. We live in an age of cynicism — if your customers and employees don’t see you living your values, they’re likely to take them as BS
• Who are your customers Be specific. You have to exclude potential customers (a lot of potential customers) to gain focus.

When you’re first starting out and times are tough, it’s really, really hard to turn business away. While I was running my first online business, early on we got mentioned in a high profile magazine. We were immediately flooded with calls for our catalogue. The trouble was that we didn’t have a catalogue. Rather than focusing on our online presence we set out to create a catalogue. We didn’t have the money or the expertise to pull it off and the catalogue reflected that. It was a flop. For some reason, I never forgot the lesson our first catalogue taught me.

There’s an opportunity cost to every endeavour. Try to make sure you’re always pointed in the right direction. Don’t let the short-term struggles derail you.

Technorati Tags: focus, startup, strategy, entrepreneur

I was inspired by this photo essay inside the Googleplex. I hope to provide my employees with inexpensive haircuts someday.

“”The irony is the very expectation of getting more done is getting in the way of getting more done,” he said. “People are stressed out.”” — Source: Tech makes working harder, not easier at News.com

Perhaps it time we all chilled out a bit. Or better yet, maybe it’s time that companies designed products that don’t just extend our work day, but actually make us more productive.

I think it’s time that someone invent something that actually prevents people from contacting you. Always being available is not the best way to work. Sometimes you need 30 minutes or so just to wrap your head around a task. Constant interruptions impair productivity terribly. Think of how productive (and soothing and just generally good) a daily guaranteed three hour block of complete silence would be.

You could call the product “Hibernation”. It would ideally integrate into your phone, cellphone, email, Blackberry and Pager. There’s got to be a smart way of informing your colleagues and loved ones that you’re working now and to kindly leave you the hell alone. The trouble would start with people asking “What about emergencies?” Emergency would have to be narrowly defined or else the term emergency would be abused and we’d be back to square one.

Regardless, it’s a task worth undertaking. Maybe technology can free us from this terrible bind it has put us in.

Technorati Tags: productivity, silence, technology

This article over at the Entrepreneurial Mind is quite excellent. It discusses many of the issues that entrepreneurs face as their businesses grow.

I think that growth can be easier to manage if it’s identified as one of your objectives from the very beginning. Growth is one of my primary objectives in the new business that I’m starting (more on that later). Admittedly we’re in the early planning stages but the question “How will this affect growth?” is a central guiding principle to every issue we tackle. So we’re designing business processes, HR policies, and our culture with growth in mind. We’re ready and excited for rapid change.

Switching gears a bit, I particularly enjoyed the last paragraph of the article where Dr. Cornwall says:

… Some of these folks wanted us to take our business public. That is not where I wanted to go, but I felt the pressure to look seriously in that direction. Even though it possibly cost me some money, I am so glad that I ultimately listened to my own aspirations. I would have been very unhappy running a public company. Remember: it is your business!

One of the best things about being an entrepreneur is that you have total freedom to do things differently. That includes growth. One of my good friend’s parents have a really successful small business in the health care industry. It currently gives them everything they want, both monetarily and in quality of life. They see no need to grow it further. It’s their business.

I’m not going to listen to conventional wisdom that much when it comes to growth — creating the business that both me and my business partner want is far more important than going public.

Technorati Tags: culture, growth, strategy, entrepreneur

This post over at Canadian Financial Stuff points out that one of Harvard Business Review’s most exciting ideas of 2006 is that employees have to start taking responsibility for their own happiness in the work place. Personal fulfillment is your responsibility.

“Employees should not demand that companies imbue their lives with meaning. Employers and employees have something the other needs. One of the keys to a mutually beneficial relationship is a realistic understanding of what that something is.”

I get the point. There just seems to be something missing. People need to feel that they’re doing something worthwhile or else despair can creep in. And you can’t spend 40+ hours a week somewhere and not expect to derive some satisfaction from it. (Boy was that Protestant Work Ethic ever useful. Can we bring it back?)

Technorati Tags: fulfillment, workethic, satisfaction

GM is in tough. They lost $8.6 billion last year, revenues are falling and market share is a downright pathetic 25.5%. Close to 40% of GM’s sales are low margin fleet sales. Fleet sales are to rental car companies or corporate clients. Not only do low margin fleet sales look bad on the Income Statement, used GM products flood the market when these corporate customers are done with them. This hurts resale value and GM’s loyal individual customer gets taken to the cleaners on her trade-in. What a mess.

I think there’s a lot to learn from what GM is going through right now. Although the business you create is unlikely ever to become the pillar of the economy known as GM, take heed of its missteps.

Legacy Costs

Legacy costs are all those costs associated with former employees &8212; particularly pensions and health care. Estimates are that GM has legacy costs of approximately $2000 per vehicle. GM’s cost disadvantage is being exploited by Asian manufacturers who don’t share similar legacy costs because they have a smaller number of former employees.

The lesson here is that you’ve got to fight to stay nimble. You should seek to compensate your employees fairly while maintaining a high degree of flexibility. Think long-term. You shouldn’t lock your company into any contract that has the potential of restricting your options should demand or supply conditions change. It’s tough to fault past executives at GM for all of these legacy costs. Their unions are strong and would have just striked them into submission. Regardless, remember that new entrants can attain a significant cost advantage if you’re locked into contractual obligations and market conditions change.

Customer Owns Your Brand

I’ve mentioned this in earlier posts, but one should never overlook the fact that your customer owns your brand. The Tragedy of General Motors mentions that General Motors products are now consistently reviewed as some of the most reliable in the industry. The trouble is &8212; no one cares. GM produced products of questionable quality for a number of years. Customers and mechanics took note. The word spread. This, in turn, hurt their brand. Winning back their customer’s trust is going to be tough. Your customer owns you and your brand. Don’t take them for granted.

Competition is Unfair

I think it’s natural for small business owners to make excuses for why larger, cash-rich companies are beating them up. Perhaps it’s tough to see how you’re ever going to make it against the big players in your industry. If you’re ever feeling sorry for yourself, recall that the big boys are at a disadvantage too. They can’t develop new initiatives as quickly as a small company can. They have legacy costs. Sometimes their success and corporate culture blinds them to new opportunities in the marketplace. As a small company, it’s your job to exploit this disadvantages.

Right now General Motors is being forced to compete with companies that can produce the exact same car for $2000 less. Well tough. Competition is unfair. You’ve got to use your brain to overcome the obstacles put in your way. Every company has got them.

Technorati Tags: GM, lessons, competition, goodgrief

This gives me hope:

“Just yesterday I met with this chap who has spent 20 years at IBM. I looked at his background: “I restructured this sales organization.” “I managed the integration of this acquisition.” It’s organizational, it’s process-oriented. He’s very successful, and I bet every search firm on the planet would love this chap. But he’s not going to be a guy who grows the value of a tech startup from $10 million to a billion dollars. We love the people who say, “We had this brand new product, we had no idea what the hell we were going to do with it, and I had to figure it out. It was a lot of fun.” Whether it was successful or not is almost secondary.”

From Valley of the Jobs over at Fast Company

Technorati Tags: smallbusiness, entrepreneur, prestige, startup