When I started out at Cisco in 1990 it was a part of the culture that a request for help or question that was too vague or poorly specified would be answered with “How long is a piece of string?”
How Long is a Piece of String Read More »
When Do I Need a Model? I am Bootstrapping I have condensed this from a recent series of conversation with bootstrapping entrepreneur. I thought it captured many of the key questions that you need to be consider once you are “open for business.” Bootstrapping Entrepreneur: I am just getting started on a new project. I
When Do I Need a Model? I am Bootstrapping Read More »
How Not To Manage Early Adopters Sometimes a bad example can be useful. I got the following E-Mail from a startup whose tool I had tried to use about a year ago but gave up because it embodied too idiosyncratic view of a particular productivity problem. I had probably spent an hour trying to work
How Not To Manage Early Adopters Read More »
Humiliation “My own view is,” I began, but no one listened. At the next pause, “I always say,” I remarked, but again the loud talk went on. Someone told a story. When the laughter had ended, “I often think—”; but looking round the table I could catch no friendly or attentive eye. It was humiliating,
Find A Peer Group Who is Interested In What You Have To Say Read More »
Stonehenge They sit there forever on the dim horizon of my mind, that Stonehenge circle of elderly disapproving Faces—Faces of the Uncles and Schoolmasters and Tutors who frowned on my youth. In the bright center and sunlight I leap, I caper, I dance my dance; but when I look up, I see they are not
When I was a boy the 4th of July was sparklers and fireworks in Kirkwood Park. While I don’t find fireworks as exciting today as when I was younger, I do have a better understanding of these words from the Declaration of Independence and I find them very energizing.
July 4, Independence Day, 2011 Read More »
Learning to explore is a key skill for entrepreneurs. Ask questions you don’t know the answer to–where the answer would have an impact on your ability to assess the risk in your venture or would help you to define a key aspect of your business.
Buying a Map vs. Learning to Explore Read More »
You can follow @skmurphy to get them 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 new blog posts to your inbox.
Quotes For Entrepreneurs–June 2011 Read More »
This is a recap of the presentations from the 2011 Startup Lessons Learned Conference. My intent is to provide links to the presentations, videos, and relevant blog post for each session. Update Aug-5-2014: none of the Justin.TV links resolve at this point because of their exit from the video hosting business. As I find other
Startup Lessons Learned 2011 Roundup Read More »
People ask me where to get started. Lately I have been telling them: start where you are and sell what you have. Meet people, help them connect, and explore possibilities. Knit your network now before you need it.
Start Where You Are Read More »
“When my father died it was like a whole library burned down. ” Laurie Anderson “World Without End” Father’s Day has me reflecting on my father’s passing almost four years ago now: there isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t wish I could still give him a phone call. I moved away from St. Louis
A talk on “Crucial Customer Development Concepts” that covers the basis for conventional wisdom on customer development in Silicon Valley.
Crucial Customer Development Concepts At GITPRO Sat-Jun-18 Read More »
What situation is your team training for: the key to effective and rapid execution is appropriate shared rehearsal and training.
What Situation Is Your Team Training For? Read More »
SKMurphy’s Book Club For Business Impact covers Barry Moltz’s “You Need To Be a Little Crazy” in a webinar Wednesday June-8-2011 Noon PDT.
Book Club June 8 Noon PDT Moltz’s You Need To Be A Little Crazy Read More »
Some excerpts from “The Best of Ed Weissman” Chapter 10 “Selling” item 240. “How do you crack the enterprise world?”
Ed Weissman on B2B Opportunities For Startups Part 3 Read More »
Want a simple way to determine your competition during customer discovery: consider what your prospects would have to give up to buy and use your product or service. The time and money you want prospects to spend on your offering have to come from somewhere: prospects will normally choose to take it from what they
How To Determine Your Competition During Customer Discovery Read More »
You can follow @skmurphy to get them 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 new blog posts to your inbox.
Quotes For Entrepreneurs–May 2011 Read More »
On Memorial Day 2011 we commemorate those who died in the service of our country. I offer three quotations related to men giving their lives in battle for you to meditate on.
SKMurphy’s Book Club for Business Impact provides actionable insights for the entrepreneurially minded, whether you are trying to bring change to a market or an organization. It’s a webinar / call in with a panel that has a roundtable discussion with the audience. Everyone will have a chance to contribute their experiences and lessons learned
Actionable Insights For The Entrepreneurially Minded Read More »
Distinguishing between where you are giving up too soon or are persisting too long is a hard problem. Here are some tips.
Giving Up Too Soon, Persisting Too Long Read More »
