Sometimes the best business strategy is to stop innovating and just sell what you’ve got.
An old mentor used to say, “You have to take the roast out of the oven.”
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Bill Rice
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Bill Rice
Business Challenges…They’re Like Curveballs
It is amazing how many people with daily life challenges tend to rise above what those with near perfect lives never can.
I recommend reading this New York Times interview of John T. Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems. This is one of my favorite quotes in the article–Chambers describes how he was taught to deal with challenges:
I had an issue with dyslexia before they understood what dyslexia was. One of my teachers, Mrs. Anderson, worked with me and she taught me to look at it almost like a curveball. The ball breaks the same way every time. Once you get used to it, you can handle it pretty well.
Obviously challenges give us skills that make us better, stronger, and higher performing. Is that how you look at challenges?
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Bill Rice
Jason Nation…bah humbug…We are the Kaleidicians!
I guess you have arrived when members of your company are given a “nickname” by reporters–The Kaleidicians! I am not sure if this makes us a nation, a sports team, a gang, or a cult?
I do know that while the Jason Nation is out thinking up logos we are quitely gaining underground strength.
Follow me and the other Twitter enabled Kaleidicians:
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Bill Rice
Why Develop Applications on Twitter?
1. Twitter has tons (maybe more than a million) of users
2. It’s a social ecosystem
3. Everyone can create their own experience
4. You can listen to your customers
5. It creates competitive advantage
7. It’s just fun–try it!
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Bill Rice
In Case Anyone Wants to Know Kaleidico’s Strategy
From one of the smartest guys in the software business, Joel Spolsky:
I’ve never learned as much about business strategy as I did from the simple infantry concept called fire and motion (it’s also sometimes referred to as fire and movement).
Here is how it works. You fire at the enemy. That’s the fire part. And you move forward at the same time. That’s the motion. Get it?
You’re firing because then your enemy has to take cover. He can’t fire back at you when he’s cowering behind a wall. But firing is not enough. You also have to move forward, or you won’t make any progress. Moving forward brings you closer to the enemy. And closer enemies are easier to hit. You need both — fire and motion — to accomplish anything. Almost every military tactic, whether it’s employed on air, sea, or land, is a variation on this fundamental pattern. Successful business strategies are based on fire and motion, too.
(Source: “Fire and Motion,” Inc.com, April 2008)
I was in the military too. Competitors, feeling any fire? We’re moving!
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Bill Rice
Seth’s Blog: “It’s just business”
Amen!
If you are willing to compromise principles because “It’s just business” Why would I trust you to treat customers, people I care about, or me with anything but a what is best for you attitude?
Fire these people immediately!
(Via Seth’s Blog.)
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Bill Rice
Integrity has to be a Business Fundamental
Successful businesses have to be built on a foundation of integrity. You have a responsibility and trust built between yourself, your customers, your investors/shareholders, and your employees.
I have seen early startups swimming in deception about things like financial pro formas, market opportunity, sales pipelines, funding opportunities–they always flounder or fail in this state. Leadership that is willing to compromise their integrity will infect their companies with a cancerous tumor that is complicated to eradicate.
Marketwatch covers the H-P scandal and makes a nice reference to how Warren Buffett values managers, with integrity as a key tenets
(Via Marketwatch.)
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Bill Rice
BeyondVC: Questions entrepreneurs should ask themselves
Ed Sim adds color to a good post by Andy Sacks of Judy’s Book about questions you should ask of your business.
I think this highlights a broader and more important entrepreneurial concept–turning your brain back on.
Becoming an entrepreneur requires you to turn your brain back on after quit possibly years of corporate brain drain. You have to open your eyes and see and understand everything that is going on around you. I equate it to the lessons I teach my son about Chess:
- Control the center
- Watch the whole board
- Don’t take everything the competitor gives you
- Have a plan A, have a plan B, have a plan C, assume you are going to play plan B or C
- Wreck the competitors plans’, never follow their plan
(Via BeyondVC.)
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Bill Rice
Some Rules for Entrepreneurs
An interesting reflection piece by Seth Goldstein on entrepreneurship. Seth, the CEO of an interesting start-up Root Markets, provides Some Rules for Entrepreneurs.
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Bill Rice
Bezos Expeditions invests in 37signals
Bezos Expeditions investing in 37signals is an interesting development. 37Signals has the makings (foundation/platform) for a Web-based productivity and collaboration suite. Is this a strategic hedge or counter punch to Google’s foray into Web-based spreadsheets and word processors?
(Via tech.memeorandum.)
Todd is discussing.
Todd 7:45 am on July 27, 2006 Permalink
37signals and their simplistic web-based technology (code) is helping to turn the Internet into more of a software application – way more friendly – way better user experience. Finally, sites are catching on and moving away from the haphazard mess of functions and links.
Interesting move by Bezos and crew helping to take it mainstream!