A Balancing Act
March 6, 2010
Too many ideas, too little time!
That may sound a little arrogant, but it’s actually a genuine problem, and I’m not the only one. Some may say it’s a good problem, but I’m not so sure.
It’s frustrating as hell to have an idea or a solution, that you know you have to let go or forget about, as you have 20 more waiting in the wings to be fulfilled. And if that’s not frustrating enough, when I pass on and explain a really good idea to someone else, someone that I know could do great things with my concept, they unfortunately, are too short sighted to see the full potential to do anything with it! So at the end of the day, I simply have to do it myself.
As Friedrich Engels said, “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory”
A few months ago I decided I’m going to change the world… well I never said my ideas were small, or easy… if they were, I guess anyone would take up the task and do it… but they’re not, so I might as well do them myself. I’ve set a time frame of ten years… that may seem like a long time, but it’s not really, as when you think about it, the world’s a pretty big place!
The 80% Rule
November 9, 2009
Working flat out? Have too much to do? What can you do about it? Put your prices up, because you’re under charging!
You’ll probably lose some clients, but with the extra capacity you’ll be able to deliver higher quality solutions, thus better value for the clients you retain. A good balance is 80% capacity, but you decide. You’ll have the same overall profit, your clients will benefit from you doing this and so will you!
I Say Potato, You Say Potarto
November 4, 2009
How most entrepreneurs initially present their idea to a Venture Capitalist.
Me Me Me!
2 mins Introduction: why they’re amazing
5 mins The Problem: why everyone else is wrong (why they’re amazing)
15 mins My Solution: passionately explaining their solution in depth (why they’re amazing)
5 mins Capital Expenditure: whiz through what they will spend the money on
2 mins The Plan: Blue sky 5 year plan on how the business will grow exponentially
Then they wonder why it didn’t work. The ask, “is it because they didn’t explain their vision clearly enough? mmmm, surely not… it must be because the VC is short sighted and doesn’t like or understand their idea?” So, the entrepreneur asks how can they get the VC to be as passionate about their idea, as once they do, surely they’ll invest?
It won’t work and they won’t (except in rare occasions), they’re only investing with the entrepreneur for one reason, to make money! They’re not interested in the problem, or the solution, or what the entrepreneur does, so the entrepreneur shouldn’t waste their time and effort trying to get the VC interested. The entrepreneur has to think like the VC! so if you’re presenting to a VC here’s the way to do it.
Show Me The Money!
5 mins ROI: What is their return and when will they receive it
10 mins Capital Expenditure: How much investment you need, time frame, phases and why
10 mins Risk Assessment: Company structure, detailing assets, IP, tangibles etc
2 mins The Idea: The product
2 mins You: Your background and history, contact details
This doesn’t only work on VC’s, try this approach with your next client presentation, get all the guess work, the money & nitty gritty details out of the way at the beginning, then show them where there money is being invested, that way you’ll know right from the start whether you’re wasting your time or not, and if they’re really interested they’ll extend the meeting to talk through your ideas.
Breakdancing Babies
September 12, 2009
No this isn’t one of Evian’s Dancing Babies
After posting an incredible break dancing video the other day I saw the one below on Phil’s Unionversity website, so had to share it, ouch!
A Very British Contract
September 11, 2009
I always believed and pushed for a flat hierarchy in my business structure… and yes I realise that a flat hierarchy is an oxymoron, but it’s a great way to express my approach to organising my business structure, as the entire thing is built upon respect & trust and not meaningless job titles! (a pet peeve of mine!)
We had a very British contract for all staff including myself, it contained the sentence, “Everyone Makes The Tea” what that meant, was everyone within the business was an equal, anyone & everyone was free to suggest & implement new ways of doing things, but on the flip side they were expected to perform the most mundane tasks, if they saw something was amiss, it was up to them to deal with it, not simply pass it on to someone else, it was all about being pro-active and not re-active.
We started off with a policies & procedures document, but we got rid of it in the end, as it was simply full of rules, thus limitations. I’d sooner have a frame work that everyone can work within, than hard and fast rules of what must and must not be done.
There are the nay sayers, those that say this approach never works, that you will simply end up in chaos (Anarchy is a great thing until you need a plumber!), but I disagree, allowing autonomy to flourish instills a culture of respect for those working with you (not for you), it’s highly rewarding, and you might be surprised with the outcomes!
You Lucky Bastard!
September 3, 2009
Next time you think someone’s lucky, remember there’s no such thing as luck, it doesn’t exist.
Of course there are those that are born into wealth, survive death defying accidents, born with good health etc, but that isn’t luck, that’s good fortune.
If an opportunity arises and you take advantage of it, some will see that as luck, you were in the right place at the right time, but you know that you’ve likely worked very hard to be prepared & be in a position to take advantage of the opportunity when it arose.
So luck is being prepared & being in a position to take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself, it’s that simple.
I’ve never made a mistake in my life!
September 2, 2009
I was watching a film the other day and it had the following line…
“A man learns nothing from winning, but the act of losing elicits great wisdom, not least of which is how much more enjoyable it is to win… it’s inevitable that you will lose from time to time, the trick is not to make a habit of it”
I’ve often said that I’ve never made a mistake in my life! OK I admit, that may sound a bit pompous… sure I’ve made errors, big ones! but I’ve always learnt from them, so I don’t see them as mistakes, but as learning experiences.
The day I stop learning from them, is the day I start making mistakes!
Brands Build Character – Character Builds Brands
August 28, 2009
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. What branding expert said that? Abraham Lincoln of course???
