A Nicely Furnished Room In A House That’s Burning Down
Silicon Valley is a nicely furnished room in a house that’s burning down, the state of California.
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skmurphy
How Long is a Piece of String
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?”
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When Do I Need a Model? I am Bootstrapping
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
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How Not To Manage Early Adopters
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
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Find A Peer Group Who is Interested In What You Have To Say
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,
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Look Forward
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
July 4, Independence Day, 2011
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.
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Buying a Map vs. Learning to Explore
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.
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–June 2011
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.
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Startup Lessons Learned 2011 Roundup
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
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Start Where You Are
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.
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Father’s Day 2011
“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
Crucial Customer Development Concepts At GITPRO Sat-Jun-18
A talk on “Crucial Customer Development Concepts” that covers the basis for conventional wisdom on customer development in Silicon Valley.
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What Situation Is Your Team Training For?
What situation is your team training for: the key to effective and rapid execution is appropriate shared rehearsal and training.
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Focus Needs Buffers and Free Time
This is my first day off in about three weeks. A client has been preparing a proposal and presentation for a significant opportunity that they have been invited to compete for and between that and existing obligations it’s been hectic. It’s more clear than ever that focus needs buffers: letting administrative tasks pile up too
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Book Club June 8 Noon PDT Moltz’s You Need To Be A Little Crazy
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.
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Ed Weissman on B2B Opportunities For Startups Part 3
Some excerpts from “The Best of Ed Weissman” Chapter 10 “Selling” item 240. “How do you crack the enterprise world?”
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How To Determine Your Competition During Customer Discovery
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
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–May 2011
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.
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Memorial Day 2011
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.