The Best Bad Plan
You often must choose from alternatives that all have problems or to triage and identify where you efforts will have the most impact in a bad situation. Reconciling yourself to the “best bad plan” is a key skill for entrepreneurs.
Your Startup Is Only One of Many Obligations
Your startup is only one of many obligations: don’t wait to reconnect with folks who have made a difference in your life. Your Startup Is Only One of Many Obligations “Fifty years of experience have taught me that admission to an academic hospital is not restful. I have stopped counting the patients who want to
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GroundFloorSV Leaving 2030 Duane Location Nov-30-2012
GroundFloorSV left their 2030 Duane Location Nov-30-2012. They initially indicated they would re-establish elsewhere but never did.
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Dr. Atul Gawande on Managing Complexity and Uncertainty
Managing complexity and uncertainty was the focus of Dr Atul Gawande’s commencement address at Williams College on Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 (Reprinted in New Yorker as “Failure and Rescue“). The entire talk is worth reading and offers a medical case history as a compelling context for his points. “…the critical skills of the best surgeons
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Subsidizing Startups Does Not Produce Entrepreneurs
While subsidizing entrepreneurs may produce startups, subsidizing startups will not produce entrepreneurs.
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Hacker Dojo Relocates To 599 Fairchild in Mountain View
Hacker Dojo announced today that they are moving to a new home at 599 Fairchild Drive in Mountain View from their problematic location at 140A South Whisman Road in Mountain View. Hacker Dojo has found a new home, just 5 minutes away from our current location. The new building is bigger, better, and we’re excited to
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Changing Management’s View of an Innovation From “Probably Not a Good Idea” to “We’re Late”
The key to changing management’s view of an innovation from “probably not a good idea” is to assess the impact of metrics that they care about. At which point you are often told “We’re late.”
Three Insights from Walter Bagehot’s “Physics and Politics”
Three excerpts from “Physics and Politics” that highlight impact of rapid change, value of perseverance, and importance of collaboration.
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Innovation Often Obsoletes Assumptions, Political Boundaries, and Work Process
Innovation often obsoletes assumptions: when a business adopts a new technology to support a process it often changes political boundaries and alters existing relationships.
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Finding Silicon Valley in Two Passages from E. B. White’s “Here Is New York”
Two excerpts from E. B. White‘s 1949 essay, “Here Is New York,” that I thought were also applicable to life in Silicon Valley.
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The Benefits of Collaborative Writing, Interviewing, and Improvisation
Our collaborative writing approach has no backstage: clients see our ugly early first drafts, but this “wiki style” collaboration allows rapid iteration.
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Startups Should Focus on Impact and Innovation Before Growth
Growth is an outcome of impact. Focus on impact and innovation before investing efforts in growth. Once you have identified an opportunity to make an impact you can plan for growth.
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Amar Bhide: Start With Affordable Bets in Markets Too Small to Interest Large Players
In the “Origin and Evolution of New Business” Amir Bhide advises startups to start with affordable bets in markets too small to interest large players.
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–September 2012
You can follow @skmurphy to get these hot off the mojo wire or wait until the end of the month when these quotes for entrepreneurs are collected on the blog. Enter your E-mail if you would like to have new blog posts sent to your inbox.
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Real Innovation Requires a Community of Practice Fostering a Cascade of Inventions
In May of this year I was invited to take part in a month long group discussion on CPSquare where my consulting practice was the topic. This question on innovation was the first that I answered, it was prompted by my opening statement.
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Q: Should I Get A Normal Job Or Work At A Startup?
Entrepreneurship gets a lot of hype but it’s not for everyone: here is a brief discussion of some of practical realities of what it’s like to work at a startup.
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Startup Founders Announced for Working For Equity Panel at SVCC 2012
For the third year in a row I will moderate a panel of startup founders sharing lesson learned bootstrapping a technology startup at Silicon Valley Code Camp. This “Working for Equity” session will be on Sunday Oct 7 at 9:15am. Here is the announcement Many of us in Silicon Valley seek to found or be
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Joel Mokyr on Creative Forces and Cardwell’s Law
Cardwell’s Law (named for British historian Donald Cardwell): every society, when left on its own, will be technologically creative for only short periods. I explore the implications for Silicon Valley and for entrepreneurs.
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Q: Can a Custom Solution Be The Basis For A Product?
A custom solution that has been adopted by a paying customer can be the basis for a successful product. This is a common way to get started.
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Howard Tullman on Distinguishing Mistakes From Failure
Howard Tullman outlines the important distinction between mistakes and failure: mistakes are intrinsic to risk-taking and learning, failure is when you give up.
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