Category Archives: entrepreneur

Those Magical Two Words

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There are two types of people who are working your projects. Lazy people don’t count.

One type just wants the job to be over and is trying to find the quickest possible exit. The other type are those who are on the look out for how to make your project remarkable. Both have their place as long as they are working, but I’d rather have the person who is in pursuit of excellence. You know you have found one of these types when they include the glorious little phrase “and also” into sentences.

“I finalized the contract and also was able to save us 10%.”
“We finished the code and also found a couple of ways to make the site more user friendly.”
“I wrapped up the work outlined for this week and also had time to get ahead on next week’s items.”

‘And also’ hints at a person’s willingness to work hard and also their capacity to see what’s ahead and take initiative. Do you have people on your team like this?

Personalized Anti-fear Training

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Leaders conquer fear… So why not personalize it for your own training purposes? My thought process: If you get used to taking on your personal fears then you will be better prepared to take on fears in your professional, leadership life as well.

I don’t know of many everyday fears, but the ones I have I want to conquer. Don’t ask me when… I will get to each of them in due course. As a normal course of life, I try to take 1 fear off my list each year. A current & complete list of my life’s remaining fears:

  • Surgery with anesthesia - Any kind of surgery will do, but particularly I am fearful of life threatening or serious surgeries. I am going to take on this one when it comes and I don’t plan on scheduling it.
  • Sky-diving - Seems easy enough but just last week I read an article about this retiree dying while out for a recreational ‘jump’.
  • Bungee jumping - Similar to sky-diving, but instead of a parachute it’s a rubber-band around the leg. Who thinks of these things?
  • Solo wilderness camping - This needs to be 2+ nights out in the wild, not camping in an RV at the local KOA, although I might use that as a ‘building-up-to-it’ type of training experience.
  • Self-reliant ocean sailing - The correct terminology I am not sure of; solo sailing I think. If a 16 year old can do this, then heck, why can’t I? I am thinking my late-40′s and the Caribbean island chain as part of my early planning.
  • Noodling - Nothing about the swamp, sticking my arm into submerged caves and letting a very large animal swallow a necessary appendage sounds like a rational sporting activity. And the ‘experts’ seem crazy and most likely suffer from in-breeding.
  • Scuba caving - Combining two fears I have already mostly conquered make for an all together natural ascension to eradicating them from my conscience.
  • Everest Summit - Like the sailing, this one will take time and tons of training not to mentioned a certain amount of ‘odds’ being on my side.
  • War / hand-to-hand combat for my life  - Not much needs to be said here. I will not seek this one out, but I resolve to not back away when the moment presents itself.

* Perhaps I haven’t thought of a few things that should be on this list but are not. Feel free to hit me with fears that I have not yet considered…

Richard Petty Race Experience – 160mph – the day after Dan Weldon died on the same track.

A Finite Life and All of The Possibilities

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Ok. My last post sucked. I was trying way too hard and came off as a Seth Godin wanna be., so here’s another attempt, trying to say it better.

I mentally wrestle with the billions of possibilities that are out there in the world and I don’t care what all of the tech geeks say, the world isn’t getting smaller. If anything it just keeps getting bigger with more problems, more things to buy, more business opportunities to develop and more friends to have (thanks a lot facebook & twtitter). The world is such a huge place and there is just so much cool shit out there. And beyond all of the cool stuff that the internet and news media sources bring to us, it also brings us a much, much clearer picture of all of the true need, hurt, war and helplessness that exists in the world.

I can get locked-up with all of possibilities.

At times it rattles me and prevents me from going any particular direction. I find myself asking, “Which way should I go? What should I choose to do really well and pursue with all of my energy and passion?” I could be totally into myself and seek daily pleasures and recreation. I could launch full force into a business idea. I could radically change the lives of a small village in Africa (or South America, or Asia, or Eastern Europe or the inner-cities of any major US city). And.. I could do all of this stuff at the same time if I really applied myself.

My life is finite but the possibilities are not.

Last Saturday I had breakfast with friend who most consider a sage. He is affectionally known as “the silver fox” by some. Over the last 10 years he has lead a team to radically and holistically transform a small village in the Dominican Republic who had great need. They have experienced tremendous results. Our meeting was on point about his desire and plane to re-launch his team to do it again with another village.  He’s passionate, driven and on task about making a difference in the D.R., but the question that bothered me was “why”. Not ‘why’ as in “why are you doing this?” But, more specifically “why there?”. I wanted to know how he chose. What helped a smart guy with a large world view decide to give his time, talents and resources to a small village in the Dominican Republic. What made it more worthy of his help? What comprehensive matrix did he utilize in making his selection? Did he receive a voice from heaven directing his path? Why not  _________? (you fill in the blank)

His answer: “Because it’s an opportunity that came to me.” (That’s roughly paraphrased; I forgot to turn on my iPhone recorder) He went on to explain that of all of the things he could possibly do here was an opportunity (not a possibility) that came to him through his network of trusted relationships. It fit him. It was his size, his style, within his ability and leadership and it needed to be done.

Man!, I need to make things easier on myself. I need to quit searching so hard through all of the possibilities and start focusing on opportunities that are right in front of me.

On a related topic, I watched this very good movie last night.

Possibilities vs. Opportunities

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The world is full of possibilities… ever more so with the internet. It is possible for you to get involved, to make a difference, to collaborate with professionals in all sorts of fields, to change the world, to do international BIG business, to survive and excel in a niche market, to present yourself as bigger than you are, to have your own voice and matter or to be a silent partner with a huge amount of big impact ability.

Wow! The world is full of possibilities. There are so many possibilities that it can be overwhelming. So how do you filter through the possibilities? By looking for your opportunities.

Opportunities are possibilities within your specific reach and ability. Opportunities are possibilities that are uniquely positioned for you to take advantage of. Opportunities are natural leads, made friendships, networked relationships. Opportunities come about through your leadership portfolio.

Possibilities are made with the stuff of dreams. Dreams can come reality when you look for opportunities and then do the work of making it happen.

The 3 Most Important Resume Items

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I’ve seen a thousand+ resumes over the years and now it is time to declare that the traditional resume must die. Here are 3 things that matter most for your new generation of resume.

1. Remarkable Performance.
This is also known as your portfolio of art, accomplishments, projects and leadership. Believe it or not, when you are exceptional with who you are and at what you do, word does still get around.

2. In-Person Network
All things being equal, the living, breathing human being still makes the most accurate and best impression. Way too many people are jobless because they are hiding behind their computers or are too lazy to drive down the street to me a possible employers or customers. Get out! Go meet some new people that matter. Learn what they do. Share what you do. Volunteer on local projects that matter. Make some free contributions to share your remarkable abilities. Knock on the door on the head of HR, maybe they are more available for real people than you know.

3. Online Presence
NO! I am not talking about your wasted Farmville time on Facebook. Share your art, your talks, your thoughts and your references from bosses, peers, and employees.  Blog about your industry, your role and how you are leading, serving or producing. (Heck, just do it at least once a month if you struggle to get started.) Post interesting and excellent pictures of yourself and possibly short videos. List your past projects giving a few important details. Make it easy for people to contact you via email and phone. If you are worried about security & spam, get a FREE number & email through google, then give your real stuff to legit contacts.

Do these 3 things well and you will never need your college formatted, Microsoft word template resume again.

You Should Fool Around

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“Stop fooling around!” Can’t you just picture the agitated and harassed face of one of your elementary school teachers? Things haven’t changed just because we have gown up, it’s just a new person saying the same sentence. Unfortunately though, the person who now usually says it to you IS you. Stop it. Your growth in leadership is stagnant because you aren’t fooling around. The best ideas and some of your brightest opportunities are waiting for you in those forbidden moments. A next great step in your leadership, art and your life purpose will come from fooling around on the side of what you are already doing.

So…. start fooling around… with ideas, business concepts, dreams, leadership and even your current job.
Have fun.
Be ridiculous, like when you were a kid playing with your toys.
Include some smart & creative friends.
Dream big without boundaries.
Put the ideas down on paper.
Make a sketch.
Fiddle with a name and logo.
Make time to fool around once or twice a week.
Knock out some of the details in a list with categories.
List out the possibilities
Do a little research.
Put together a possible budget.
Use your imagination.
Make a couple of phone calls.
Share some of your best ideas with more of your smart friends; ask for their thoughts, their collaboration, advice and expertise.
Maybe, just maybe, you’ll come up with something huge.

My favorite time & places to start fooling around:
- While smoking a cigar with a sharp friend.
- On a hike or during a mountain bike ride.
- Online through a google doc.

Warning! You won’t ever come up with the next cool thing by just doing what you do every day, so find that extra time to start fooling around.

Warning!! Some of the best “next” things that you could be doing end up dieing because you won’t go work hard on them.

Someone Else’s Strategy

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Recently I elected to take a 13 week education course on finance. Initially, I was very resistant to giving up a minimum of 20+ hours of my time over the course of 3 months, but the series of talks has come highly recommended. For context, I haven’t felt a compulsion to buy the course book to accompany the talks and I see the small recap/study groups afterward as a low return proposition. The topics aren’t rocket science, plus the material is online for free along with the accompanying work study projects. If I really wanna read the text, like a cheap college student I figure I can borrow it from someone who drops outs or that isn’t using it the 5 other nights of the week. As with most other things in my life, I have adapted the process to suit my style, needs, interests and study habits.

What should not have astounded me in the first 3 weeks of the course is how taking class with adults is similar to junior high school. Comments directed my way over the first few weeks, “I’m wondering, why you don’t bring your book to class?”, “Did you get your homework done?”, “Can you really be paying attention while you are checking your email & reading news on your phone?”

Simple leadership observations:

  • Know your strengths, you best modes for learning and working, and regardless of what other people think about your methods, focus on the results and maximizing your effectiveness and time.
  • Another way of saying it, you can’t run everyone else’s race, you can only runs yours. What is required for your optimal performance will be unique to you.
  • If you do it the way everyone else does it you will get the same results as them, not exceptionally better results.

My challenge: Aspire to be different and see things from a different angle. Prepare yourself for the resistance, because when you don’t ‘fit it’ it will bother other people.

Here’s is a impact talk from Steve Jobs to expand on the concept.

The Best Non-Profits?

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I am working on a project right now connected with Launch501c3.com and I need your help. The question, What are the best, most influential, NEW or YOUNG non-profits out there that are poised to make a serious impact on the world?

Certainly I have some thoughts, but I know many of you are seeing and experiencing things that aren’t getting enough attention. Share them with us.

If you wanna check out a cool, high impact kid that I have stumbled across that is poised to be a future leader, check this out: The Little Red Wagon Foundation.

Will You Show?

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Starting a new pursuit is hard. Showing up the second week of the new pursuit is even harder. Doesn’t matter if it is training for a marathon, starting new disciplines in your finances or ramping up the concepts of a great new business opportunity, the second week is telling. Reality started to set in after the first seven days; the truest costs of the endeavor have just begin to start unveil themselves. Your commitment is now going to be challenged. You will have to wrestle with your own motivation. The ‘coolness’ of the idea will fade away. So, will you show? Or will you quit before you have even really begun and slouch back to the way things were before?

Launching Basics

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Getting ready to launch your own non-profit?

Have a unique focus or problem to tackle - If you aren’t going to be original or if you aren’t going to strive to be the best in your area of focus then go work with the ones who are. There is a TON of redundancy in the non-profit, social good space already. Yes, I am speaking to the ministries too.

Demonstrate & prove your concept - Seek early wins, even if they are small ones. start with your free time. Jump in with your money and energies first. Know what you are talking about from an experiential perspective. Draw from your in the trenches experience to cast a grander vision.

Develop a thorough but basic plan – You don’t need 10 pages to make your point, but you do need a few. Websites are nice, but be sure that you can easily share your plan & strategy with others. Avoid writing a novel but be sure to outline the “who, what, where, why, how, when, and how much” for all who are interested. Be specific and brief.

Recruit leaders - Every non-profit seeks volunteers, but what you really need early on is leaders. Leverage your personal relationships, contacts and networks. Seek leaders by having leadership opportunities for them to tackle with you. Don’t ask leaders for basic things… they want to jump in on real issues you with you.

Communicate a crystal clear mission – Don’t give vague concepts and flowery anecdotes; tell us what is going to change because you are in existence. Be bold. Be brave. Be simple if necessary. Help all of us to “get it”. And it quickly. Without flinch