I was working with a company this week who are well-versed in the practices of evidence-based management. It was really impressive how they set up metrics to drive efficiency — sales, logisitics, procurement — all managed via the data.

What soon became apparent, however, is the difference between what I’ll call the process mindset and the growth mindset. When one is in the process mindset, one is focused on designing the most efficient ways to complete tasks. What comes next is tweaking the processes to drive out waste. Over time, the company gets better at conducting its day-to-day business. This mindset is focused mainly on managing the business you already have. In my experience, quantitative stars are most often found here.

In contrast, the growth mindset is focused squarely on marketing and sales. The attitude is “get the sales, we’ll figure out how to fill them later”. This is no way to run a big company because your sloppy processes will kill you. But for a start-up there’s no other way. As Guy Kawasaki points out: sales fixes everything. You’re worried about your strategic position in the market? Go get sales. You’re worried that your product mix isn’t quite right? Go get sales. Fly undone? Go get sales. As an entrepreneur, that’s your job. Grow the company.

***

This article from Sean Wise at the Globe takes a different approach. He identifies Business Acumen, Operational Experience and Domain Knowledge as the “talent triangle” necessary for business success. If you’re an entrepreneur — read this article. It will help you identify what pieces of the HR puzzle are missing. And hey, if you can’t afford to hire someone to fill in the gaps, find a mentor.

Technorati Tags: startup, HR, growth, evidence-based management, process, Toronto

Here’s one for you. Somebody decided to post a comment filled with spam links on Festive.net but included this on the top of his comment:

Your site is very cognitive. I think you will have good future.:)

How friendly. Thanks Spam Guy, you made my day.

Technorati Tags: spam, blog

People have been asking me: What the heck is this new business that you’re starting? Well, I’ll tell you.

Our name is 3Simple and you can read up on us by visiting our new website: http://www.3simple.com. We’re business consultants who help executives bring data-driven management to their organizations. Data-driven or evidence-based management is the practice of basing business decisions on the best data available. It’s about setting specific numeric goals, committing to them and making sure your staff have the resources required to achieve those goals. Companies must then measure their progress.

The big picture goes something like this:

• Firm’s management/decision makers devise overall strategy
• 3Simple helps the firm understand what metrics are useful for measuring the success of that strategy — as I’m sure many of you know, these metrics are referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• 3Simple works with the firm to develop specific numeric goals and help management understand the importance of setting goals, committing to them and then pushing the entire organization forward to achieve them
• 3Simple then sets up the reporting frameworks (including dashboards, scorecards and other data views) so that every person in the organization has a picture of their influence on KPIs
• 3Simple works with the organization to manage the change required in adopting evidence-based management

After that we help companies adopt more technologically-advanced forms of evidence-based management including predictive modelling or data-mining.

[Begin technology digression]

Evidence-based management requires a way to view the data. This is where the technology comes in. Using business intelligence software, we’ll be able to deliver the data in compelling ways. If you’d like to learn more about business intelligence — try dmreview.com or intelligententerprise.com. We’ll be working with open technologies like Pentaho, BIRT and JasperReports because we believe that companies should adopt an open, flexible technology strategy.

[End technology digression]

That’s where we’re at right now. I’d like to thank BrandDesignStrategy for their excellent work on our corporate identity and all of the friends and family who have been so supportive. Special thanks to Sarah for reading and re-reading the website. We (myself and my new business partner Reg Pew) welcome any feedback — either on this blog or on the 3Simple website.

Technorati Tags: businessintelligence, evidence-based, Toronto

A few months ago I read Fantastic Voyage by Kurzweil and Grossman. If you’ve been feeling a little sluggish or just plain unhealthy and want to change your ways, I really recommend this book. Some parts are a little out there (their goal, after all, is to actually live forever) but I think the fundamental message is true. It’s the straight goods on human dietary needs mixed with a dicussion of future technologies that will help us stay alive until the planet will no longer support us.

Kurzweil’s one of the most exciting thinkers on the planet, the inventor of the first reading machine for the blind and, I’m told (source: Hans at Wiki Tuesday) that he’s the only person to start two, count ‘em two, billion dollar companies.

Technorati Tags: diet, health, productivity

This past weekend in Toronto was barcamp tdot held in this massive open space in Liberty Village. (For those of you not from Toronto — Liberty Village is in an up and coming part of town filled with software shops and both g-rated and adult media offices.

The first talk I went to was about elements of design and was lead by John Green of Nuvvo. Although I have played around with Photoshop for a number of years, I never took the time to understand the fundamentals of on-screen graphics. John discussed things like vector vs. raster graphics and additive vs. subtractive colour theory. I learned quite a bit but not that much of it was applicable to my day-to-day work. If I could wish upon a star, it would be that the next talk focus more on things web developers need help with such as layout and selection of colour palettes.

Next I dropped by the Extreme Programming room and got to work with Mishkin Berteig of AgileAdvice.com. The XP room was set up to mimic a typical software development project with one moderator acting as the customer. Mishkin worked patiently with us to demonstrate how we’d go about putting agile programming practices to use. Unfortunately 45 minutes just wasn’t enough time to get much done. I really enjoyed wrapping my head around the problem and would have definitely got a lot more out of it if I had spent the rest of the afternoon there, but I wanted to check out other topics.

Next I was off to a talk lead by Derek and Ryan of Redflagdeals.com about making money on the Internet in Canada. This was a lively discussion. Here are all the insights in one big list:

• know your audience - and create content relevant to them
• credibility is crucial - develop a relationship with your audience
• interaction (forgot to take notes on this point)
• 80/20 rule applies - 20% of audience are power users that provide 80% of profit - get to know them and treat them like gold
• good content is viral
• Chad from tophost.com encouraged us to look beyond Canada and the US
• Ken from onedegree.ca cautioned us not to target a niche within a niche
• other sites mentioned: postbidwin.com, moola.com, conceptshare.com, zoomer.com and some others…

For the last couple sessions I walked around and did the tour thing. It probably wasn’t the best idea because at times it was difficult to hear what was going on and I really didn’t get a feel for the group.

Regardless, I had an excellent time hanging out with everybody. Thank you to the organizers and all the sponsors. I’m wearing my barcamp tdot t-shirt right now.

Technorati Tags: barcamp, barcamptdot, torcamp

One of the hardest things about writing and researching a business plan is that you have to base it on data that’s currently available. The problem is that the data out there indicates how market conditions used to be.

You can’t possibly come up with evidence that an innovative product is going to work. An innovative product is a product that challenges the status quo. If all you’re doing is researching the status quo, then you’ll only find data that proves you wrong.

Don’t let this discourage you. Starting a business takes a good deal of resolve. Don’t worry about the people who criticize. Just march on. You’ve just stumbled upon the reason why so few people start businesses — it’s the uncertainty — get used to it.

Technorati Tags: startup, entrepreneur, uncertainty

I was reading this book last week to give some ideas about marketing the new consulting business. In it the author states that what marketing activities you choose are not as important as the choosing itself. According to Hayden, a marketing program is effective when the same things are done over and over again. So it doesn’t matter what you choose, just choose something and do it often. (BTW — Get Clients Now is a great book and really worth a read if you’re in the consulting business.)

I have to agree but it is extremely tough to stay focused when you’re starting a new business. The self-doubt is constantly lurking in the background. Am I doing the right thing today? What should I be doing instead? Did we choose the right marketing approach? Should we change our focus? And on and on…

I know that it’s totally normal to feel this way. It’s exactly how I felt at the beginning of my last business but I really forgot what it felt like. My solution is to shut out all other distraction, trust in myself and stay focused.

Technorati Tags: entrepreneur, marketing

My lawyer once told me that business is just taking a product or service and selling it for more than you obtained it for. And I believe that. Sometimes I think all of this business theory is more than a little overdone. Truth be told, you can go a long way without any of it. Sam Walton made it pretty far on his own instinct. Here are the basics you need to start a business as I see it.

Strategy

I think the most important idea is strategy is summed up in Jack Welch’s Winning:

“In real life, strategy is actually very straightforward. You pick a general direction and implement the hell out of it.”

Marketing

All you really need is The World’s Shortest Marketing Plan to get started. (I found this via Guy’s blog.)

Accounting/Finance

Get a decent accounting program and track your revenues and expenses. Be meticulous and keep your books up to date. When you need help with government filings and other complications — retain an accountant that knows your software package.

As for financing — start with your savings and beg your friends and family to help you. That will get you started. Just watch those expenses — build it on the cheap.

Operations

Don’t be reckless. Design operations to be as efficient as possible by stepping back and thinking about your business as a whole. Work to automate those tasks that take up most of your time. Don’t worry about those that cause minor inconvenience. And again — watch those expenses.

HR

Even when you’re tired or moody, try to treat your employees like gold.

Technorati Tags: businessplan, basics, entrepreneur

I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of integrity today. It started when I was watching some of the extras on my Glengarry Glen Ross DVD. In one segment, Jack Lemmon talks about how his father would have been appalled by the behaviour of the characters in the movie.

My mind then wandered to Warren Buffett who has always preached that integrity is the most important part of business. To be more accurate: “Mr. Buffett has been quoted as saying that he looks for three things in his manager: intelligence, honesty and integrity. If they do not possess the last two characteristics, the first one will kill you.” (source). Countless others have identified integrity as paramount to success. (My favourite being Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Character is higher than intellect.”)

Integrity isn’t a selfless act. I believe that having principles and honouring them forces one to acknowledge something bigger than oneself and provides meaning in the process. And if Harvard’s class on positive psychology is any indication, this is one step towards happiness.

I understand if you’re skeptical. The business world has been plagued by scandals and this trend will no doubt continue. People abuse power. And if you do a search on integrity you’ll find all sorts of articles about how businesses implement it and even a list of the Ten Universal Characteristics of Integrity. All of these things are meaningless if you really don’t believe that integrity should be the number one guiding principle of your business and your life.

Technorati Tags: integrity, business, bigpicture, happy