Getting early customer feedback is critical to fine tuning your product so that you can scale up. The temptation is to use a on-line survey tool to save your time, but I think for your early customers a questionnaire may only give you the answers that you are looking for, not the information that you need.
Getting Early Feedback Read More »
Commentary on Julian Fellowes answers to 3 interview questions about the need to get started, persist, and accept the logical consequences of your choices.
Julian Fellowes on Persistence, Getting Started, and Logical Consequences Read More »
An excerpt from Soren Kierkegaard writing on helping others to understand. The key is to start from a deep understanding of the other person’s world view. This echoes Steven Covey’s fifth habit: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Kierkegaard on the Art of Helping Others to Understand Read More »
The Annual Stanford Entrepreneurship Conference featured Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, as its keynote speaker. Ed gave a great presentation on lessons learned from structurally organizing a company for effective communication across its departments. In the beginning, Ed believed they had created a very strong culture at Pixar. They had paired up programmers
Pixar’s Ed Catmull Highlights Value of Post Mortems Read More »
I had lamented that I always Google too late, but lately I’ve been getting better. Here are some tools to use beyond Google and LinkedIn for searching for different kinds of specialized information. A9 let’s you search the contents of any books that Amazon carries, all of Amazon, and another 500+ specialized information sources. Citeseer,
Beyond Google: A9, Citeseer, and Krugle Read More »
Here are three ways for building credibility. Referrals A referral is an introduction to a prospect with an endorsement. A referral allows you to borrow credibility from a trusted third party. They spring from shared success with your customers or former co-workers, someone who knows your potential and can vouch for you or your team’s
3 Ways to Build Credibility with Prospects Read More »
“People Manage People, Tools Manage Data” is a very good rule of thumb for guiding your sales and implementation efforts for a new system. People Manage People, Tools Manage Data This was a principle for systems design suggested in a talk I heard 15-20 years ago. I can no longer remember the speaker’s name but
People Manage People, Tools Manage Data Read More »
I had the good fortune to attend the SVASE CXO Forum Dec-6-06 where Peter Bakonyvari, Vice President of Sales at JPMorgan SymPro, explored some of the practical realities in building a sales team. In particular what is involved in hiring and firing a sales person. First 90 days Is Critical Bakonyvari’s made the point that the first 90 days
Tips for Hiring (and Firing) a Sales Person Read More »
Theresa heard a radio interview with Barry Moltz in 2003 and suggested that I get his book. In December 2003 I purchased a copy of You Need to Be a Little Crazy and when it arrived from Amazon I put it on my to-be-read pile where it languished until early this morning when I read
You Need to Be a Little Crazy Read More »
“Plus Minus People” make a strong initial impression but once you start working with them (or you hire them) you realize that they have a negative impact on the team.
12 Books For the Busy CEO: spend an hour and leave with a summary of key marketing insights and some rules of thumb for successful innovation in Silicon Valley. You might even identify one or two books that you haven’t read that will be worth your time over the Christmas holidays. I will cover twelve
12 Books For the Busy CEO Tonight (Mon Dec-11-2006) @ SDForum Read More »
Going pro means learning how to deliver the results required. Some key points to remember as you ask folks in larger firms to take a risk with your new offering or service. They are from a March 1993 column entitled “Going Pro” by Asa Baber.
Always carry 3×5 cards with you wherever you go. I keep a handful in my shirt pocket and jot down those sudden inspirations or solutions to small problems that I would otherwise quickly forget.
Email overload has become an overused term. But I find myself with an inbox hovering near 6,000 messages (5932 at the moment) and so I have to make some serious changes.
John Nesheim, author of High Tech Startup, has been blogging for a little over a year. His most recent post, just before Thanksgiving, gives his perspective on bootstrapping BOTTOM LINE: Bootstraps are difficult to do. A few rare ones become giants (Dell). Most struggle and remain small, or go out of business. Buyers of such
Nesheim vs. Cowan on Bootstrap Economics Read More »
Bruce Mau wrote 43 statements in 1998 to articulate his beliefs, motivations, and strategies in what he called “An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth.” His focus is on “growth” in the sense of increasing both craftsmanship and artisanship. I have selected eight that I think are are the most applicable to folks in software startups. I kept the
Bruce Mau’s Incomplete Manifesto for Growth Read More »
Startups offer a continuing education in entrepreneurship but effective entrepreneurs learn from other’s experience in addition to their own.
Continuing Education In Entrepreneurship Read More »
Triggered by “Google Me This, Batman” I will try and make some different points. I don’t know how many times I have come back from an meeting (or event or trade show) with business cards or notes on my 3×5 cards and run the people and company names through Google to discover things that would have helped
I Always Google Too Late Read More »
