Normally if you are not getting traction, if you are not able to reliably set and hit goals, then it’s a good idea to narrow your focus and take smaller steps. Zoom in for traction. This is a good rule of but you may need to take a step back and look at yourself as […]
Step Back To See Yourself In The Problem Read More »
In new situations, keep a journal of your experiences. This helps you organize your thoughts and remember observations clearly. When exploring, keep a log. This strategy is useful if you are starting a new job, a new project, forming a startup or launching a new product in an unfamiliar market.
When Exploring, Keep a Log Read More »
When I first went to work for Monolithic Memories my boss, Ivan Pesic, told me, “It will be rough for the next two months and then it will get easier.” He was still telling the team that a year later when someone else offered that advice during a problem solving session and we all broke
Your Startup Never Gets Any Easier Read More »
Trust is built over repeated interactions between people. If your business requires long term relationships then you have to make sure that investments in automation are not deployed in a way that undercut your ability to have real conversations. Unfortunately, some uses of email automation tools are pushing sales conversations into the “Uncanny Valley” because
The Uncanny Valley of Email Automation Read More »
Q: We have a product for bloggers but I am having a lot of trouble getting leads. I have met bloggers from popular media companies at events, I have cold called them, e-mailed them, and e-mailed to on-line groups that I am a member of. None of this has worked. How do I interest people
Q: How Do I Interest People In My Product? Read More »
Lee Kuan Yew’s passing had me re-read “The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew” a book of quotes curated from public sources. I have added comments related to entrepreneurship.
Lee Kuan Yew 1923-2015 Read More »
Simon Sinek earned a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University; he attended City University in London with the intention of becoming a barrister, but left law school to go into advertising. He was interviewed in August of 2014 by John Wall on the RoninMarketeer site in connection with the launch of his second
Simon Sinek: Put People First Read More »
I remember first learning the principle that leaders eat last from John K. Russell, an advisor on a summer Presbyterian workcamp in Westpoint Mississippi. He had been an officer in the Army and talked about how the officers had nicer silverware and napkins but it was the same food and they ate after the enlisted
Simon Sinek: Why Leaders Eat Last Read More »
Four excerpts on how entrepreneurs exploit errors in conventional wisdom. The first two are from a Feb-8-2001 public forum that was part of BusinessWeek’s “Captains of Industry” series, where Oracle Corp. CEO Lawrence J. Ellison sat down with Editor-in-Chief Stephen B. Shepard. The last two are from Peter Thiel’s CS183 class lecture on secrets.
Entrepreneurs Exploit Errors in Conventional Wisdom Read More »
I really like this 2013 passage by Patrick Brady from his “Enter the Deuce Series” that addresses his desire to make his son a repository for dreams. It offers useful insights for both parents and entrepreneurs. I cut it from my “If you are cycling through chaos keep pedaling” post but I liked it so much
A Repository For Dreams Read More »
We help founders find leads and close deals; our focus is on early customers and early revenue for technology and expertise-enabled products and services. We specialize in complex and orchestrated sales to businesses.
Explaining Early Customers and Early Revenue Read More »
Patrick Brady writes at “Red Kite Prayer” on cycling and related topics. His blog took a very personal turn in February of 2013 with a post entitled “Any Normal Person.” In reading the series I was reminded of a remark Irwin Federman made to MMI employees when were using four day work weeks (actually five
If You Are Cycling Through Chaos, Keep Pedaling Read More »
The psychiatrist Eric Berne created transactional analysis for psychotherapy and authored 8 books on psychiatry and human psychology, the most famous is the 1964 Games People Play. Berne defines a winner has having four key qualities:
Eric Berne on Winners and Losers Read More »
Leonard Nimoy’s portrayal of Spock in Star Trek offers inspiration and lessons for entrepreneurial engineers and scientists. Here are a few Spock quotes that I thought were representative of the character with some additional commentary for entrepreneurs.
Leonard Nimoy 1931-2015 Read More »
BeamWise will be demonstrating an integration with Zemax at Photonics West 2015. Stop by our booth #4034 to see a demo of our bidirectional interface with Zemax. We are excited to be accepted into the Zemax partner program.
BeamWise Debuts Zemax Integration at Photonics West 2015 Read More »
David Cain wrote a thought provoking, practical, and inspiring blog post today on “67 short pieces of advice you didn’t ask for.” Here are seven pieces of unsolicited advice that I took away, I have preserved his original numbering and added a few comments to particularize them for entrepreneurs.
Some Unsolicited Advice From David Cain Read More »
I was gratified to be elected to the board of directors for the IEEE Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley as an at-large director and chair of the marketing committee for 2015. My specific focus will be on initiatives to increase awareness of the CNSV Project Bank and to foster programs–including special interest group meetings, clinics,
Sean Murphy Joins IEEE-CNSV Board of Directors Read More »
In the later chapters of Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain wrote about returning to his home town of Hannibal after many years. In this excerpt he offers a number of insights about coming home.
Mark Twain on “Coming Home” Read More »
A collection of quotes of interest and use to entrepreneurs: these quotes for entrepreneurs were identified in January 2015. You can follow @skmurphy to get these quotes for entrepreneurs hot off the mojo wire or wait until they are collected in a blog post at the end of each month. Enter your E-mail address if you
Quotes for Entrepreneurs–January 2015 Read More »
Ask yourself this question, “What do employers owe the people they do not hire?” Brooke Allen’s answer from “How my life was changed when I began caring about the people I did not hire” offers three great suggestions for the startup hiring process.
Brooke Allen’s Hiring Process Read More »
