Strategy: Many partners, one decision maker.
Strategy: The more you do for customers, the more business you'll do.
Strategy: Assume that you'll never raise another dime from investors.
Don't think about 'international' as being part of our business. It IS our business.
Customers are the force transforming entire industries.
You can't just cruise along on conventional wisdom today.
Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing
to be different.
There may be a lag, but eventually money will flow into this medium. We're
talking about a world where not a single marketing dollar is wasted. No
one is going to walk away from that.- Brian McAndrews
Senior-level executives get to see whether their team members can adapt to new
tasks - like being asked to round up a few stray doggies.
In the end, a customer-centric culture sustains itself during times of change.
Teach your leaders that their main priority must be to fully energize and continue
to grow their team around themselves.
Leadership is about making a vision happen - Vision Acts.
Relationships are the most powerful form of media.
Smart, ambitious, educated and anti-establishment people with scuffed shoes
have displaced dumb good-looking people with great parents.
For European countries, catch up with the US is not about capital or technology:
it's about human resources.
Recruit your people every day even though your crew is already on board.
It's tempting not to hire people who compensate for your weaknesses - because
during your period you don't want to admit that you have any. But to smooth
the transition of growth, you've got to understand the strengths and weak-
nesses of your entire group and to hire accordingly.
The #1 reason why people leave their jobs is to pursue personal development and
the chance to learn something new. If you want to hold onto your best
people, you've got to make sure that they're learning, growing & changing.
Our company has enough talented managers to pursue all or most of its promising
opportunities. (Surveyed: 7% strongly agree.)
We should abolish the distinction between work and leisure.
[It] enables employers to keep workers in Lousy Jobs by granting them
some leisure time.
Ultimately, it's not a matter of which style works better than the other. It comes
down to which style works best for you.
Significance means doing work that you are called to do, rather than work that
you want to do.
Ultimately, promoting diversity is good for business.
The most powerful force on Earth is knowing how to be you.
I'll do something outrageous and people will think that I'm a bit strange. But then,
that's good.
You don't have to spend your time visiting everybody. Just see the customers who
will give you good feedback.
One of my students put it this way: My work is a series of projects. My life is a
series of moves. What can I connect to?? My community!
Our company has enough talented managers to substantially increase our
performance relative to competitors. (Surveyed: 11% strongly agreed.)
Every fall since 1993, Samuel Mackbee & his architect students have left Auburn to
headed west to Hal County, one of the country's poorest regions.
It sounds corny, but it's true. Bishop William Swing is a man on a mission.
His goal? To change the relationships among the world's religions from
hostility to harmony. And he's borrowing ideas from business to wage his
crusade.
Religions know a great deal about competition, but they don't know much about
cooperation.
I'm not an owner. I'm a founder. This team is a community asset.
You have to look at the culture of a place over three to five years to see if you
have really made anything happen.
I think like an atom. If I were an atom and looked around, what would I see?
What would I want to bond with?
Our forests are not just about carbon offset. They're about biodiversity, natural
habitats, and having a cool place to go.
This is supposed to be the Internet, right? It was suppose to be a center less,
self-healing network. And that's what our organization should look like.
I've never valued my worth in terms of how big my kingdom is. I've valued it
based on the impact that I'm having.
Like the King, King David knew how to strum a person like an instrument.
You have to be incredibly curious and want to know why and how. Not just
whether or not.
Teachers in an economy built on ideas: The most important job description is
that of the teacher. One who opens others to a new possibilities and
then introduces them to new experiences.
A trademark plays defense. It's the way that you protect what you've already
built up. It's your copyright, your patents, your table stakes. But
trustmark plays offense. It's the emotional connection that lets you go out
and conquer the world.
A trustmark is a distinctive name or symbol that emotionally binds a company
with the desire and aspirations of its customers.
Developing products quickly is a like running a relay. Speed becomes meaningless
when a handoff from one team is unusable to the receiving team.
The first stage of the Internet revolution has come and gone. It was certainly
one helluva run. Or have we barely begun the first stage?
Don't get cute with capital. Presume that you'll never raise another dime.
The companies that have the strongest intranets have the flattest organizations.
In the end, you're crazy to let any kind of success go to your head.
Being the first mover with the right approach is very important. Being the first
mover with the wrong approach means you're dead.
In the startup world, you're either a genius or an idiot. You're never just an
ordinary person trying to get through the day.
The 21st Century will be a search for meaning. We're going to find meaning in
stories that tell us who we are...story is what touches people.
I'm happy to be called a capitalist. Making a change in the world requires
creatively employed capital and understanding how the engines of
commerce work.
Equanimity will probably see you through tougher times than passion or balance.
If you live a rich life of the spirit, you are not distracted. You carry out your duty;
your dharma, no matter what.
The Internet is a marathon, not a sprint.
The ultimate test is getting it right. The problem is that REALITY costs money.
When the tough get going, the e-holes get lost.
If you're working on a $38 table, that frugality tends to pervade every decision
you make.
Great design is an icon of the time, an expression of sincerity and authenticity.
Everybody can do something that makes a difference.
Businesses that provide opportunities for employees to Give Back create balance -
for the company and for its employees.
You really can do well and do good at the same time.
Community makes life fun and meaningful.
If you/re an entrepreneur you already know how to do venture philanthropy.
Philanthropy has a new model since the days of Andrew Carnegie.
The truth is that as a volunteer you have to set limits.
Remember to keep your nose in and your fingers out.
Small acts really can add up to big transformation.
The smaller you adjust your sights, the more likely it is that you'll succeed.
Start with modest goals -- and then find a great team to work with.
The rules that govern who has money and who doesn't are not random.
Good team players take action. They don't stew about whether it's their job or
about whether they're going to offend someone.
People may differ religiously or politically, but we can all agree on A
HAMMER is a way to help people in need.
Selfish people spell doom for a team effort.
Innovative managers must do more than manage people. They need to manage the
interactions between people.
Respect. A common vision. That's what you need.
The notion that a team is always better is misleading, yet all too often, that's the
path that managers choose.
A team works better when people are at ease with the leader.
Size is the key. Have the smallest number of people possible on each team.
Troubles? My advice is this: Bring in a facilitator.
Team members have to like one another; they have to like what they're doing.
The natural inclination is to protect what you have and not allow a new star to
rise to the top. Team members have to fight against that.
If you don't want to be a slave, you must do something. If you act as though
you are free, you will feel free.
Communism has fallen all over the world, and it doesn't work for teams either.
What makes business so liberating and exhilarating [and, these days, so nerve-
racking and so unsettling] is that the business environment keeps changing.
The idea is for the team leader to be at the service of the group.
Great teams operate without their members knowing what's going to happen to
them in the future.
Great design *REPEAT* is an icon of the time, an expression of sincerity & authenticity.
We aren't liked by everybody...We take seriously our role in this country as an
institution of democracy.
Experts come up with a plan and then rapidly assess whether it will work. They
move fast because they do less.
Who in hell ever did anything great by getting it right the first time? When you're
trying to create products for the future, you're going to make mistakes.
"I had a boss at Citibank who used to say, 'I never want to be the first. I just
want to be the best.' And I agree with that." - Wanda Rapaczynksi
Company builders: The test of a great organization is not "what products do you
make?" it's "What do you stand for?"
Humans show the same pattern of learning that mice do. According to
my data, they paused briefly and looked around them and then they moved
in a new direction.
Don't wait for a distant revolution -- reinvent everyday life here and now.
It's not just about coming up with a good strategy. You also have to be a teacher
and a motivator. You have to build support one person at a time.
There's a big difference between people who have a shared purpose and people
who merely have something in common.
When people walk in the door, they want to know:
1.) what do you expect out of me?
2.) what's in this deal for me?
3.) what do I have to do to get ahead?
4.) where do I go to get justice if I'm not treated appropriately.
Ultimately, intuition is all about perception. The formal rules of decision-making
are almost incidental.
I saw a lot of really smart people working at Morgan Stanley who did not fare so
well because they weren't personable.
The best reason to go into business? Because you feel strongly that you can
change things.
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that getting results is all there is to
the job.
Until you really think you're capable of doing something it won't happen.
We expect that an increasing percentage of consumers will want to order online
directly from the factory, getting exactly what they want on the desired
date. If we can't do that we can't add value compared to pure dotcoms.
You can't compromise on the people you use. We need people who are confident,
believe in what they do, and can stand and face the wind when it blows hard.
Let's stop kicking the carcasses of the fallen dotcoms. They're the heroes for the
front lines on whose boldness and naiveté we will one day feed our children.
The new culture of criticism is hurting you and your company.
Cash is king. Who has more cash than any other company in the world?
Tough times build character.
When a new senior executive comes into a company, the instinctive thing to do is
to find out what's wrong and fix it. That doesn't actually work very well.
Figure out what you yourself and others around you are doing to thwart the goal
you're committed to.
You can do ANYTHING but not EVERYTHING.
It's not just the demands of work that are infiltrating our personal lives; the
language and mentality of work also affects life at home.
It is better to be first with less than to be the last with more.
Success on the web isn't just about "time to Market", it's also about "Time to
Learning".
To me, STRESS IS JUST ANOTHER BAD DRUG I DON'T WANT TO DO.
One of the greatest sources of stress is not being able to complete anything.
When people don't take time out, they stop being productive.
You have to make taking care of yourself a priority.
You need to make sure that what's important to you is part of your everyday life.
One of the amazing things about getting away is that it helps me understand
what is important and what's not.
Time is finite resource, and we all place infinite demands on it.
The best way to keep charged up is to do what's been nagging at you.
If the blues teach us anything, it's that despair is not the only alternative to
adversity.
Being clear about our mission gives us the freedom to change. We're not
capricious, but we're free to be unpredictable.
What's striking is how little it takes to make people happy. What's also striking is
how hard that is to automate.
The absolute key is to maintain your self-respect and dignity. Without that, you
are lost. And you're sending a message to other people that you're lost.
There are only two ways to act. Make bold moves, knowing that some will work
and some won't. Or make no moves, which guarantees that you'll be an
also-ran.
Tougher times demand smarter thinking.
It might sound terribly old-fashioned, but if you show people respect, you get
respect in return.
Our intellectual lives and our public spaces are being taken over by marketing.
It's important for any healthy culture to have public space -- a place
where people are treated as citizens instead of as consumers.
If you work 20 hours a day, your product will be crap.
In 2001 'hackers' cost business $45 billion. That was just a warm up.
Sometimes it takes a step backward to remind you of what's required to move
ahead.
I suppose that if you're a total inexperienced dilettante blundering around in the
bush without paying attention, you just might miss a big animal
directly in front of you.
Learning is not about events. It's not about concepts. It's not even about a way
of thinking. Learning is a capability.
The first rule of the program is this: throw everybody into the deep end. No team
member is assigned to a project within his/her division.
Get a huge corkboard and tack on the ads your competitors publish. Remind your-
selves what your company is NOT about.
Bootstrap-financing your operation: Go without salaries; Finance the company
with mortgages. Take on credit card debt.
Having a storehouse of money helped us decide who we wanted our investors to
be, rather than jumping at the first firm that offered us money.
Brand matters. Being a great brand means keeping our promises to our customers.
There is an artist within every person and everybody has the capacity to find the
creative genius in within.
People of my parents' generation worked hard for their money by giving value to
others. It's only by following their model that the dotcom generation will
survive.
Organizing an office can be tougher than deciding who will sit where at a wedding.
Internet exuberance has confused a generation of entrepreneurs, who miss the
point with their unadulterated drive. I know, because I was one.
It's educational malpractice to tell children that they can't learn. But that's what
our schools do every day to poor children.
The Internet can help us get out in front of some of the issues that we have
struggled with: Education, poverty, health, and disenfranchisement.
Of all the great historical revolutions, I prefer the Internet Age -- because it's a
revolution of the mind.
Dissenters: The new world of business isn't just about creativity and productivity.
It is also about ideology -- a shared set of ideas that define the kind of work
that people want to do. But even the most widely held ideas deserve
scrutiny from aggressive, intelligent, and passionate critics.
The new economy is part of a larger context in which we are redefining what
it means to be human.
We need to foster new conversations across many boundaries, because out of these
conversations will emerge new ideas & new ways of structuring communities.
Another obvious but often overlooked truth about B2B e-commerce: people cannot
buy what they cannot find.
It used to be that whoever bought the biggest case of booze at Christmas would
get the account the next year. No More.
Commerce isn't about buying stuff. It's about interacting with people in different ways.
We need a public-private partnership on a scale that we've never seen before
because so many of the skill sets and resources that we need right now
tend to reside in the private sector.
Start with what the customer needs.
Net companies don't need a million tire kickers. Just a few thousand regular users.
[Change Agents] If you want to make a difference, you have to help your colleagues
make change - in how they think, in how they behave, and in
how they work together.
[Social Entrepreneurs] How rewarding is it to move ahead if millions of others get
left behind? Can't we use the ideas that help companies grow to improve
our collective well-being?
The big question is, how does this technology become part of our everyday work?
Financial markets are not just wiring economies together and altering the
structures of companies. They're also changing entire political systems.
We are striving to understand that everything we do involves an
e-commerce opportunity.
The only way to way to be successful is to make sure you are successful. You
have to stay out on the fringes for that.
Done right and done well, learning does offer short-term wins. But overall,
learning is a marathon, not a sprint.
People walk in our front door, but if people are the same when they walk out, that
means that we've failed.
The new mantra of strategy and marketing: If you want to keep your customers'
attention, you've got to deliver a compelling experience.
How do you keep your best most crucial people happy when the inner culture of
a company is changing so radically that old ways of motivating, organizing,
and measuring success no longer work?
I feel that if I do one thing right, everything else falls into place: that is, getting
the right person on the right project.
As it grows, many people within the company will likely remain strangers to one
another - even tough people try to keep the memory and the spirit of the
village alive.
Live your life without ambition. But live as those who are ambitious.
Your preferences get you into trouble. If you believe that there is no difference
between going to the left & going to the right, you won't have any trouble.
You'll find the right way.
There are still a lot of leaders who think that their primary job is to control their
organization. Control and learning don't usually mix very well.
Learning time is not a respected part of the work environment. But you can't be
so busy that you allow yourself to get stupid.
Whatever I can imagine, I can accomplish. I am no longer a vassal in a faceless
bureaucracy. I am an activist, not a drone. I am a revolutionary.
A tempered radical "must not compromise on the vision, but must be flexible on
the approach. You have to broach ideas that go against the natural
instinct of the organization. But you have to do that in a palatable way."
- Dixie Garr, VP, Cisco.
When you look at most companies, it's clear that they're not in love with their
own brands.
Most brands are built on "er" words. Faster, bigger, better, cleaner.
We need to be sure that we're doing a good job with these early adopters. We
don't ever want them to feel that they have to go elsewhere to try out the
latest and greatest - Pam Reed, Wells Fargo
Highly tempered radicals are driven by a real impulse for personal authenticity.
They say, "I just want to save my soul. I don't want to sell out."
When something affects your own health, your political views and attitudes tend
to change.
There is no correlation at all between success and hours worked.
It's in the country's interest for poor folks to be smart.
In a startup, you want people who can survive without structure - or who can
invent structure as they go.
How can you build a pipeline of talent - the only thing that, over time, is going to
help you - if you put out a search only when you have a position to fill?
Your real talent must be the things you give others.
updated: July, 20th, 2008