Insights from De Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” chapter on “How Americans Combat Individualism by the Principle of Self-Interest Rightly Understood”
De Tocqueville on Concept of “Self-Interest Rightly Understood” Read More »
We offered a Book Club for Business Impact webinar on Sep-4-2012 that addressed “Lessons Learned Implementing The Great Demo Methodology” based on the Great Demo! book by Peter Cohan. We had two change agents join us on the panel: Barry Nelson and Jolie Rollins and our intent, consistent with the Book Club’s promise, elicit actionable
Recap and Audio From “Lessons Learned Implementing Great Demo! Methodology” Read More »
The Great Demo! methodology offers a lean approach to sales. It encourages you to get to the point quickly with an example of a solution you believe that the customer will find valuable
Great Demo! Methodology Offers a Lean Approach to Sales and Presentations Read More »
Live roundtable on lessons learned implementing the “Great Demo!” methodology Tue-Sep-4-2012 12:00 p.m. Pacific / 1:00 p.m. Mountain 2:00 p.m. Central / 3:00 p.m. Eastern 8:00 PM London / 9:00 PM Paris & Berlin Update Sept 6: “Recap and Audio from “Lessons Learned Implementing Great Demo! Methodology“ Great Demo!: How To Create And Execute Stunning
Book Club: Lessons Learned Implementing “Great Demo!” Methodology Read More »
Scott Sambucci of Sales Qualia recently self-published a great book on selling entitled “Startup Selling: How to Sell If You Really, Really Have to and Don’t Know How…” It’s a slim volume chock full of practical advice for entrepreneurs new to selling to businesses. Unlike many business books that have 20 pages of useful content
Scott Sambucci: Seven Tips For Selling as a Startup Founder Read More »
You can fail to live up to your espoused beliefs due to hypocrisy or because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. The difference is an important distinction and one with implications for the example you set in establishing the culture in a startup. Is there one set of rules that everyone strives
Neal Stephenson on Distinguishing Different Motives for Hypocrisy Read More »
Two excerpts from Neal Stephenson‘s “The Diamond Age” that have implications for the culture of a startup or an economic region. These are from pages 24 and 25 and outlines two real life events as a part of the back story of one of the characters in the novel, hyperlinks have been added to provide
Neal Stephenson on the Importance of Culture Read More »
It’s less about working day and night than working on the right things. I used to determine when I needed a break by when I was too sick to work. It’s an effective stopping rule but not particularly well thought out.
Working Day and Night Read More »
Debugging your startup requires peace of mind because debugging any problem, including debugging yourself, requires peace of mind. It’s what enables you to stay in flow.
Debugging Your Startup Requires Peace of Mind Read More »
S. John Ross wrote a great short essay on “Five Elements of Commercial Appeal in RPG Design” (that I first read in “Things We Think About Games” by Will Hindmarch and Jeff Tidball) that suggested these elements were critical for creating a commercially successful RPG. I think they are also a good way to think
Cliche, Combat, Fellowship, Anarchy, Enigma Read More »
I picked up “Education of a Wandering Man” by Louis L’Amour book without expectations. Someone had recommended it as a good autobiography of a writer. His life was fascinating. He offered a number of useful insights. What follows are some excerpts with additional commentary.
Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour Read More »
After my first son was born a friend recommended that I read “The Measure of a Man: Becoming the Father You Wish Your Father Had Been” by Jerrold Lee Shapiro. It was very good advice that I now pass on for Father’s Day.
Tomorrow, we complete our coverage of “The Innovator’s DNA”. We have a great panel who will share their tips and lessons learned running experiments that improved their products and business models. Michael Fern, CEO of Intigi, Inc. Edith Harbaugh, Product Manager at Tripit, Inc. Steve Hogan, Managing Partner at Tech-Rx, Inc. Sean Murphy, CEO at
How To Run Experiments That Improve Your Business – On-Line Book Club June 20 Read More »
I am interested in talking with anyone who is using Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) or Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) methods and paradigms to inform their customer interviews. I have been reading “Working Minds: A Practitioner’s Guide to Cognitive Task Analysis” by Gary Klein et. al. and I had an epiphany that these techniques would be
Are You Using Cognitive Task Analysis for New Market Exploration? Read More »
Recorded discussion on Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen’s The Innovator’s DNA chapter 6, recorded on June 20, 2012. Michael Fern and Edith Harbaugh join Steve Hogan and Sean Murphy to discuss lessons learned experimenting to foster innovation. Chapter 6: Discovery Skill #5 Experimenting The Innovator’s DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M.
Book Club: Chapter 6 The Innovator’s DNA: Experimenting Read More »
We continue our review of “The Innovator’s DNA” by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen with a focus on networking, which the author’s define as seeking serious conversation with individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and expertise. Here is a quote by Ronald Burt on creativity from idea brokerage (condensed from page 117): “People connected
Tristan Kromer Joins Book Club’s Panel on Networking Skill Development Read More »
Call-in Book Review recorded on May 16, 2012 Tristan Kromer, Steve Hogan and Sean Murphy discuss the book and specifically Chapter 5 on networking. Chapter 5: Discovery Skill #4 Networking The Innovator’s DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen Practical and provocative, The Innovator’s DNA is an essential resource for individuals and teams
Book Club: Chapter 5 – The Innovator’s DNA Read More »
Alberto Savoia defines pretotyping as determining that you are “building the right product before you invest in building your product right.” His book “Pretotype It” (Second Edition available as a Free PDF or on Kindle for $0.99) lists a set of seven techniques for pretotyping on pages 39-40. This post analyzes and elaborates on the techniques
Pretotyping – Techniques for Building the Right Product Read More »
Startups originate in the mind of an entrepreneur, often as the result of observing something that seems odd, or is the result of juxtaposing two or three seeming unrelated or even incongruous ideas. The first challenge the entrepreneur faces turn his insight into something others can critique and improve upon: to show them sketches of
Sketching The Likeness Of An Imaginary Business Read More »
Recorded discussion on Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen’s The Innovator’s DNA chapter 4, recorded on April 25, 2012. Jeff Allison, former VP of Engineering at Cisco Systems joins us to discuss observing. Chapter 4: Discovery Skill #3 Observing The Innovator’s DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen Practical and provocative, The
Book Club: The Innovator’s DNA: Observing Read More »
