Ed Ipser of IpserLab explains how Sean Murphy adds value as an advisor to startup teams: “he helps hold everyone accountable by digging in to uncover and address the real issues.”
Ed Ipser: Sean Murphy Asks Probing Questions To Address Core Issues
“Sean Murphy is a valuable addition to our team. In his role as an advisor he helps hold everyone accountable by digging in to uncover and address the real issues. Sean doesn’t put up with BS and I value that; I have no use for people who just want to get along, especially when dealing with business problems. He serves as a detached observer cutting through the bull to get to the heart of the matter, pushing us to deal with the problems rather than letting them fester. Sean’s constructive directness propels collaborative problem-solving.”
Ed Ipser
About IpserLab
About IpserLabIpserLab launches startups. IpserLab provides services and support for idea development, commercialization, and business formation for entrepreneurial efforts. Everyone involved, IpserLab partners, advisors, cofounders, and interns, are all working for equity. IpserLab is focused on the earliest phase of the startup, from concept to traction, where a startup is most likely to fail. Once teams demonstrate the viability of the concept and traction with customers they are able to attract investment if it’s needed.
“An innovation plan often underestimates the resources and time required. We can easily visualize–and therefore estimate–the case where everything goes well. It’s harder to anticipate what problems we might encounter and how they may affect the schedule.”
Ed Ipser in “Conquering Innovation”
SKMurphy Take
Successful startup teams need a “full and frank exchange of views” not only to survive but to thrive. Of course there has to be mutual respect and mutual support as well or things can degenerate pretty quickly. Most issues either need to be dealt with promptly or ignored, a few may need to be monitored but very few problems that a startup faces improve upon delay. I try to focus on what needs action today–or at least discussion today and action this week. Ed has a good quote in his book “Conquering Critical Thinking” on the need for critical thinking to discern the truth and to enable effective action:
“You can’t wait for the truth to be delivered to you. You must proactively uncover the errors, assumptions, and biases in your own thinking.
Critical thinking is the deliberate, methodical, and purposeful pursuit of truth. It aims to discern the best answer to a question, conclusion to a discussion or debate, or judgement of a situation by utilizing the best methods and avoiding common errors. In short, critical thinking aims to discern the truth reliably from falsity in order to decide what to believe or do.
Critical thinking is distinct from creativity, which is the exploration of ideas without an immediate concern for their validation, and rhetoric, which is oriented toward persuasion.”
Ed Ipser in “Conquering Critical Thinking“
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