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Quotes for Entrepreneurs–December 2011
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“When you choose your friends, don’t be short-changed by choosing personality over character.”
William Somerset Maugham
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“It’s not that we need new ideas, but we need to stop having old ideas.”
Edwin Land
This reminds of Peter Drucker’s “organized abandonment” model for firms. He suggests that every year a business re-evaluate products and markets by asking themselves “if we did not do this already, would we go into it now, knowing what we now know?” If the answer is no then it no longer represents an opportunity. Further investment should be considered very carefully and deferred where possible in favor of new and emerging growth opportunities. See also:
- Brad Pierce’s “Reversify Your Product Offerings: Do Less with More“
- Carmine Gallo’s Fast Company article on “Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs” in particular this excerpt:
Early in Apple’s history, lead investor Mike Markkula sent a memo to Apple’s employees that outlined his marketing strategy. In that memo he talked about the importance of focus. Markkula wrote, “To do a good job of those things that we decide to do, we must eliminate all the unimportant opportunities, select from the remainder only those that we have the resources to do well, and concentrate our efforts on them.
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“Bootstrapping is not seeking outside funding until you have a business that both requires and merits investment.”
Sean Murphy
This is similar to an entrepreneurial proverb that Marc Hedlund offered:
The pitch that goes, “We could accelerate our growth with more money” is much more compelling than, “I need your money or our doors will close.”
More context:
The best way to get investment is not to need it — if you have a running business with real customers and you’re paying all your bills, you are much more likely to get a funding round than if you need the round in order to survive or succeed. The pitch that goes, “We could accelerate our growth with more money” is much more compelling than, “I need your money or our doors will close.”
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“Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.
Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.”
Samuel Johnson
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“Don’t undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible.”
Edwin Land
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“Zoom in for traction, zoom out for impact.”
Sean Murphy
I used this as the title for “Zoom In For Traction, Zoom Out For Impact”
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“Science is a method to keep yourself from kidding yourself.”
Edwin Land
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“Treat your customers as if they were newspapers reporters; this is the new mantra for savvy companies of all sizes.”
Matt Mickiewicz in “Why Customer Service is the New Marketing“
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“It’s the picture on the box that sells the LEGO set.”
Sean Murphy
I used this as the title for “It’s the Picture on the Box that Sells the LEGO Set.”
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“It’s a whole year between Christmases, but it’s a short Christmas between years.”
Ashleigh Brilliant
For Christmas I was given a CD that collects all of Ashleigh Brilliant’s Pot Shots (epigrams). They are quite good: I will be weaving more of them into my quotes for entrepreneurs in 2012.
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“We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.”
Alexis de Tocqueville
I used this quote to open “Record to Remember, Pause to Reflect“