Silicon Valley: Not as Nuts as 99…Yet
Entrepreneurs prowl Silicon Valley for a Venture Capitalist to listen like a department store Santa to their list of needs and make their dreams come true.
Silicon Valley: Not as Nuts as 99…Yet Read More »
Rules of Thumb
No More Than Four Items on Your To Do List
You can only have four top priorities at any one time according to Tom Peters. The Marines advise limiting your key objectives to no more than three in situations of uncertainty and high hazard. Limiting the “must do” section of your to do list to four items seems like a good idea for startups.
No More Than Four Items on Your To Do List Read More »
Crossing the Chasm – Look for a Niche in a Lot of Pain
Crossing the chasm between risk tolerant early adopters and risk averse early majority? Look niche markets of early majority prospects who are in a lot of pain.
Crossing the Chasm – Look for a Niche in a Lot of Pain Read More »
3 Things I Learned at WIC Tech Talk
I enjoyed the latest WIC (Women In Consulting) South Bay lunch today. Denise Brosseau from Brosseau & Associates talked about tools that she or clients use to run their business. Her talk, “Play Like the Big Guys: How To Use New Web Tools To Easily Build Your Company” was full of ideas and useful tools.
3 Things I Learned at WIC Tech Talk Read More »
Applying the “Agile Manifesto” to Software Startups
What follows are some quick thoughts on how to apply insights from the “Agile Manifesto” (see also Martin Fowler’s excellent essay on “The New Methodology” for a nice overview of what agile development entails) to early stage software startups. Value This More In Preference To Individuals And Interactions Processes And Tools Working Software Comprehensive Documentation Customer Collaboration Contract Negotiation
Applying the “Agile Manifesto” to Software Startups Read More »
Getting Early Feedback
Getting early customer feedback is critical to fine tuning your product so that you can scale up. The temptation is to use a on-line survey tool to save your time, but I think for your early customers a questionnaire may only give you the answers that you are looking for, not the information that you need.
Getting Early Feedback Read More »
Julian Fellowes on Persistence, Getting Started, and Logical Consequences
Commentary on Julian Fellowes answers to 3 interview questions about the need to get started, persist, and accept the logical consequences of your choices.
Julian Fellowes on Persistence, Getting Started, and Logical Consequences Read More »
Kierkegaard on the Art of Helping Others to Understand
An excerpt from Soren Kierkegaard writing on helping others to understand. The key is to start from a deep understanding of the other person’s world view. This echoes Steven Covey’s fifth habit: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Kierkegaard on the Art of Helping Others to Understand Read More »
Pixar’s Ed Catmull Highlights Value of Post Mortems
A summary of a keynote by Ed Catmull at The Annual Stanford Entrepreneurship Conference. Catmull is the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios.
Pixar’s Ed Catmull Highlights Value of Post Mortems Read More »
Beyond Google: A9, Citeseer, and Krugle
Beyond Google: A9, Citeseer, and Krugle I had lamented that I always Google too late, but lately I’ve been getting better. Here are some tools to use beyond Google and LinkedIn for searching for different kinds of specialized information. A9 let’s you search the contents of any books that Amazon carries, all of Amazon, and
Beyond Google: A9, Citeseer, and Krugle Read More »
3 Ways to Build Credibility with Prospects
Here are three ways for building credibility. Referrals A referral is an introduction to a prospect with an endorsement. A referral allows you to borrow credibility from a trusted third party. They spring from shared success with your customers or former co-workers, someone who knows your potential and can vouch for you or your team’s
3 Ways to Build Credibility with Prospects Read More »
People Manage People, Tools Manage Data
“People Manage People, Tools Manage Data” is a very good rule of thumb for guiding your sales and implementation efforts for a new system. People Manage People, Tools Manage Data This was a principle for systems design suggested in a talk I heard 15-20 years ago. I can no longer remember the speaker’s name but
People Manage People, Tools Manage Data Read More »
Tips for Hiring and Firing a Sales Person
Peter Bakonyvari, VP Sales at JPMorgan SymPro, explains the practical realities of building a sales team: In particular firing a sales person.
Tips for Hiring and Firing a Sales Person Read More »
Iterating Towards Bethlehem: Michael Sippey at SVPMA 8/2/2006
In “Iterating Towards Bethlehem” Michael Sippey addressed making the shift as a product manager. from packaged software to hosted services.
Iterating Towards Bethlehem: Michael Sippey at SVPMA 8/2/2006 Read More »
You Need to Be a Little Crazy
Theresa heard a radio interview with Barry Moltz in 2003 and suggested that I get his book. In December 2003 I purchased a copy of You Need to Be a Little Crazy and when it arrived from Amazon I put it on my to-be-read pile where it languished until early this morning when I read
You Need to Be a Little Crazy Read More »
Plus Minus People
“Plus Minus People” make a strong initial impression but once you start working with them (or you hire them) you realize that they have a negative impact on the team.
12 Books For the Busy CEO Tonight (Mon Dec-11-2006) @ SDForum
12 Books For the Busy CEO: spend an hour and leave with a summary of key marketing insights and some rules of thumb for successful innovation in Silicon Valley. You might even identify one or two books that you haven’t read that will be worth your time over the Christmas holidays. I will cover twelve
12 Books For the Busy CEO Tonight (Mon Dec-11-2006) @ SDForum Read More »
Going Pro
Going pro means learning how to deliver the results required. Some key points to remember as you ask folks in larger firms to take a risk with your new offering or service. They are from a March 1993 column entitled “Going Pro” by Asa Baber.
3×5 Cards
Always carry 3×5 cards with you wherever you go. I keep a handful in my shirt pocket and jot down those sudden inspirations or solutions to small problems that I would otherwise quickly forget.
Email Overload
Email overload has become an overused term. But I find myself with an inbox hovering near 6,000 messages (5932 at the moment) and so I have to make some serious changes.