It’s useful to think very deeply about a situation but beyond a certain level of effort or length of time you need to do some drifting and recharge. I think you need a mental circuit breaker for detecting an impasse and triggering activities that can lead to a change in perspective.
It’s rare for a new initiative to work the first time, at least when I try. I have to “walk around the problem” to look at it from different perspectives.
Take Time to Walk Around The Problem Read More »
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–December 2010 Read More »
One of the things it took me a long time for me to get used to living in Silicon Valley was the lack of snow. Not snow that you could visit in places like Tahoe but snow that visited you. A few years have seen snow in the foothills but nothing like winter mornings in
The Snow Lay Round About, Deep and Crisp and Even Read More »
I have been thinking about different kinds of teams and team work. For example a choir has sheet music (“Let Men Their Songs Employ”) that predefines the content and timing of each person’s contribution. In a different way the script for a play outlines the content and sequence of each actor’s part.
Let Men Their Songs Employ Read More »
Here is another excerpt from my September interview with Gabriel Weinberg. This one focuses on why payment and testimonials are so important to differentiate users from actual customers.
If Money Doesn’t Change Hands, You Can’t Call a User a Customer Read More »
A couple of quotes for entrepreneurs on the limitations of cleverness. Don’t just be clever, be kind and make things of beauty with care.
Quotes On The Limitations of Cleverness Read More »
Most of our clients offer complex software products, frequently in combination with some amount of consulting services. Their sales are not the results of credit card transactions but a complex orchestrated sales process. Frequently their prospects need to see a custom demonstration or a benchmark that relies on their own data, not just the standard
Keeping the Ball Rolling With Prospects Read More »
Some quick thoughts on selling for software engineers. Sell results, not method. Land and Expand. Get clarity on the customer’s view of the problem. Listen.
Quick Thoughts on Selling For Software Engineers Read More »
We have a very fun group of entrepreneurs today in the workshop. Every time we give our workshops, I learn so much from our attendees. Today, I learned about a couple of new tools I am planning to check out: Small business CRM http://batchblue.com/ Demandbase http://www.demandbase.com/ I also was given the idea to use twitter
Fun Getting More Customers Workshop Today Read More »
Paying dues–putting the time in not only to understand but master a problem or situation–is a critical element of success in many circumstances.
Orienting, Observing, Doing Homework, and Paying Dues Read More »
If you accept the premise that we are living in an age of accelerating change, then you have to build and manage a learning process for your startup.
Building and Managing a Learning Process Read More »
In July I posted “Ten Design Thinking Quotes From Marty Neumeier. Mr. Neumeier has continued his drip irrigation of brilliant insights on twitter at @MARTYneumeier so here are seven of his recent ones related to learning and measurement.
Seven Quotes on Learning and Measurement From Marty Neumeier Read More »
We have added two Holiday Bootstrapper Breakfasts in the week between Christmas and New Years, continuing a tradition started two years ago of running two breakfasts that week at 9am. Any of these December breakfasts are a great opportunity to take some time to not only recap 2010 but also look forward for 2011. Your
Bootstrapper Breakfasts in December 2010 Read More »
A story from my interview process at Cisco. I asked “what are you doing to obsolete your product?”
What Are You Doing to Obsolete Your Product? Read More »
“Communities already exist..think about how one may help a community to do what they want to do.” Mark Zuckerberg As a rule of thumb if you cannot find a forum (broadly defined) that has already collected a chunk of your prospects–a target rich environment–then one of three things is true: You are in a nascent
Find Early Customers In Forums Read More »
You can follow @skmurphy to get these quotes for entrepreneurs hot off the mojo wire or wait until the end of the month when they are collected on the blog. Enter your E-mail if you would like new blog posts to your inbox.
Quotes For Entrepreneurs–November 2010 Read More »
Earning and keeping your customers’ trust is essential to your success as a startup. Gerald Weinberg’s “Secrets of Consulting” offers “11 Laws of Trust” as a guideline for establishing and maintaining successful business relationships.
Keeping Your Customers’ Trust Read More »
I spend a fair amount of time advising entrepreneurs, both informally when solicited and formally when I have been retained–and sometimes even when I have not been asked for advice. Here are some key principles I follow.
Advising Entrepreneurs Read More »
