Expertise in a complex skill, like the skill of entrepreneurship, requires mastery of a constellation of techniques and methods. I use an essay by Ursula K. Le Guin “Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?” as a point of departure to explore the “continuous cultivation of a disposition, leading to [...]
Serge Toarca offers three good reasons to consider starting in a smaller market in “Why the hell am I building a product with a tiny market?” I offer another ten. […]
An interview with Tim Lombard on a tool he has developed called PCBevo. PCBevo helps design engineers and layout designers track the co-evolution of the design specification and the layout of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). […]
In “Thinkertoys,” Michael Michalko describes “The Phoenix Checklist” as a rich set of questions developed by the CIA designed to help agents look at a challenge from many different angles. […]
I had a birthday this week which triggered from reflections on my life. I prepared a short list of lessons learned for my party. I hope you find them helpful. […]
David Jeske divides the agile principles into high level, individual empowerment, and contract development. He embraces the first two, rejects the third. […]
In “The Dance of the Possible,” Scott Berkun outlines four tests for understanding the real work involved to translate observations and creative insight into a solution. […]
Some thoughts on things we do to make it easier for teams who speak English as a second language to understand us. […]
Entrepreneurs need to focus on innovation or the first reduction to practice of an idea in a culture because this is the critical precursor to customer value. […]
I was asked by the son of the founders of the Computer Literacy Bookshop chain in Silicon Valley to contribute a remembrance of the stores as part of a Father’s Day gift he was preparing. Here is what I wrote. […]
I like working with entrepreneurs because I find it easier to deal with their psychological challenges and the small team dynamics of a startup than the political problems of an enterprise. […]
Here are six practical lessons from Priya Parker’s “The Art of Gathering.” It’s a great book that provides both practical and conceptual guidance for anyone who is planning or hosting a meeting. […]
The following is an edited version of a recent online conversation I had with a team of bootstrappers about how to make their product attract early adopters. […]
My July 2019 collection of quotes for entrepreneurs has a focus on the need to take responsibility for the consequences of our beliefs and actions. […]
Paul Tyma defines the Old Man’s Business Model as taking the sure way, even though it may be longer than shortcuts that may not work. Tyma calls a “trade-off of investment up-front versus brute-force hope.” The “old man” makes an investment up front instead of hoping a quick and dirty [...]
Humans like to give and to receive without cheating or being cheated: we want to be part of networks of reciprocal gift-exchange. If you want to become a member in good standing of community you will need to “give to get.” […]
Doing business with friends presents a number of challenges for entrepreneurs, as does setting limits on asking for “free advice” to know when to pay. […]
The American declaration of independence and rebellion against the British was an incredibly risky proposition. George Washington often advised his army that they would either “conquer or die.” […]
Entrepreneurs are often quick to characterize prospects who don’t see the benefits of their new shiny technology as laggards. Sometimes that’s the case, but often the product presentation does not present benefits that are either relevant or compelling. Laggards get a lot of bad press in the startup community, but [...]
My June 2019 collection of quotes for entrepreneurs has a focus on learning and exploration, triggered by Lord Kelvin’s observation, “When you call a thing mysterious, all that it means is that you don’t understand it.” I think this also applies to things we call chaotic, random, or unpredictable. [...]