Okay, anyone that knows me knows that I am obsessed with efficiency. If I have one beef with Web 2.0, its simply that no one has yet created a catch all dashboard from avid web 2.0-ers who are annoyed at keeping 15 tabs open at a time (hmmm... the entrepreneurship bone just buzzed).
The thing I love about Twitter, however, is that it seems to be the most efficient social networking site I use. Quick content, plucky, to the point! love it. As Shakespeare once wrote "since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief."
I am amazed that I am so interested in the actual short content of what my 'followers' are doing. The best part is, however, that people give off all these great tidbits of information, and because they don't really have enough space to be elaborate, it promotes exploration... I love to explore, and am naturally curious, so this is perfect!
So, on the Peter scale, I give Twitter a big two thumbs waaaaay up!
Cheers,
P
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
What makes people succeed where others fail in business?
So, ever wonder why some people get things done and others never seem to be able to get 'caught up'? Well, I have been thinking a lot about this recently and as such, inquiring with some of my more successful friends for tips, always searching for consistencies. I also looked closely at the things that we have done so far at Von to make this company so successful (last year we grow revenue by over 3500% making us one of the fastest growing companies in Alberta). Here is what I have come up with...
1) Break big things down into smaller parts: Successful people bite things off in little chunks. They don't focus on anything as a whole, but rather they have the ability to see it in its smaller parts. Chunking things down like this makes it much easier to build up a volume of 'successes' which ultimately leads to accomplishing the whole.
Personal Note: Wow, there are days when I look at the things we are trying to do and I am completely paralyzed by the immensity of the task ahead. The process of breaking things down in to smaller, manageable parts is critical in accomplishing the larger goal. Little successes keeps motivation up and puts me on a success cycle. This is encouraging! At Von, when we were growing Von eCommerce, we just kept looking at the next meeting, the next item, rather than looking at the immensity of the whole task. This allowed us to build a great organization. With VonKids, we focused on one new facility at a time. Before we knew it, the company was generating over 1m in revenue in just over a year with no outside investors involved. Now if I was to focus on the immensity of our business goals all the time, I would likely freak out and start running for the hills. But with its smaller parts getting accomplished day after day, the successful end result is inevitable.
2) Stubborn Consistency: High performers are fanatical about consistency. They understand that Rome was not built in a day, and therefore are happy to keep plugging away at whatever it is they are working on until inevitably they end up accomplishing their goals.
Personal Note: In the building of Von's various business units, I can say that talent is worthless. Our success, and the success of our ventures, is completely the result of consistent tracking toward our goals. Just continuing to march toward our goals, and being willing to forgo some of the short terms pleasures for a long term vision.
3) Practice, Practice, Practice: I recently read a book by Malcolm Gladwell called 'Outliers'. He is very empirical in how he investigates what successful people have in common. The one thing that stood out to me was the number 10,000. He found that top notch successful people all had put in at least 10,000hrs of practice before 'making it'... So much for the notion of the overnight success! This breaks down to approximately 3.5 years working 8 hr days.
Personal Note: Yes, if there is one thing I see again and again with budding entrepreneurs, its that they aren't ready to accept little initial reward for what seems like a lot of work. Whenever you start-up, there is a period where you will be working harder than ever before without actually seeing much reward. Most people will go back to what they know at this point, hence why only 2% of people really ever manage to do anything remarkable in their lives. One company I love is Amway... To be specific, World Wide Group (wwdb.com). Before you make any assumptions, I suggest you check them out. They have probably one of the best training systems for new entrepreneurs I have ever come across. They keep it pure and simple with 10 steps to success. I personally think that no matter what industry, these are very simple truths:
a) Be accountable to people
b) Move a product or service
c) Accept mentorship and coaching
d) Read books and learn about your business
e) Listen to biographies of people who have done what you are trying to do
f) Go to business functions and seminars
g) Use your own products over a competitors (duh!, I still get wigged out over how many new entrepreneurs can't seem to take this concept on board...)
h) Bring new DNA in to your organization regularly
i) Market your product or service with a professional looking web presence
j) Get connected with people in your industry via some kind of networking platform
Of these 10, 6 have to do with practice and learning... Considering World Wide Group is full of highly ethical and extremely successful business people, I am willing accept that practice makes perfect when in the pursuit of a lofty goal.
4) Forgive Yourself: Entrepreneurs are the worst for self guilt-trips... they are so busy that they often lament over the time they take away from family and friends. The best entrepreneurs are the ones to are willing to accept that they are working toward something much bigger and that in the pursuit of this dream, there may be casualties along the way. Guilt is an action stopper. Shedding it quickly is very important because in business, all that matters is action.
Personal Note: Oh my gosh... as the parents of two incredible girls, my wife and I are always feeling the guilt of all the 15 hr days we put in building the Von-pire. Having said that, we are really good at patting each other on the back and saying thanks for the sacrifice. The key to why we can keep doing it is because we are building our dreams, not someone else's (as we used to do in our jobs). We also get the children involved in the 'dream'. My hope is that they see our effort, and understand that anything is possible when you are willing to work hard and work smart... My dream is to pass on a life where decisions are made because they are right, not because they are affordable... The kicker to all this is that we both know that the difference between children who will resent our busy schedules and children who will thank us for making the effort day in and day out is only one little thing... SUCCESS.
5) Say No: Trimming the fat out of a schedule is something that my highly successful friends all do. They are not fanatical sports fans, they do not watch loads of movies or TV, they stay up late and get up early doing things that build their dreams... They are NOT ruled by their emotions which therefore allows them to cut out a large portion of the 'feel good' things and extraneous activities that are not directly resulting in an activity that gets them closer to their goals. The reason they can do this is because they know it is only temporary. When they get to where they are heading, they will have a lot of time on their hands to do all the things they once neglected themselves.
Personal Note: When we first got started, I never really found it hard to give up most of my leisure time activities save one, TV. This is one thing I have to consistently fight myself on. I like movies and I like vegging (damn lazy bone!). What helps me a lot is simply staying busy with things that need to get done! I also set deadlines a lot to keep me on track, which in turn forces me to leave TV alone. Another strategy that has worked is simply taking one day a week where I allow myself to chill! I wish I could throw my TV in the garbage, but I think the kiddies would have a fit!
There are a lot of things that go in to building the good habits that will ultimately lead an entrepreneur to the promised land. But really, I think it breaks down to two things... Vision and a dream. If these things are really big in your life, then you will do whatever it takes to get you where you want to go!
Cheers,
P
1) Break big things down into smaller parts: Successful people bite things off in little chunks. They don't focus on anything as a whole, but rather they have the ability to see it in its smaller parts. Chunking things down like this makes it much easier to build up a volume of 'successes' which ultimately leads to accomplishing the whole.
Personal Note: Wow, there are days when I look at the things we are trying to do and I am completely paralyzed by the immensity of the task ahead. The process of breaking things down in to smaller, manageable parts is critical in accomplishing the larger goal. Little successes keeps motivation up and puts me on a success cycle. This is encouraging! At Von, when we were growing Von eCommerce, we just kept looking at the next meeting, the next item, rather than looking at the immensity of the whole task. This allowed us to build a great organization. With VonKids, we focused on one new facility at a time. Before we knew it, the company was generating over 1m in revenue in just over a year with no outside investors involved. Now if I was to focus on the immensity of our business goals all the time, I would likely freak out and start running for the hills. But with its smaller parts getting accomplished day after day, the successful end result is inevitable.
2) Stubborn Consistency: High performers are fanatical about consistency. They understand that Rome was not built in a day, and therefore are happy to keep plugging away at whatever it is they are working on until inevitably they end up accomplishing their goals.
Personal Note: In the building of Von's various business units, I can say that talent is worthless. Our success, and the success of our ventures, is completely the result of consistent tracking toward our goals. Just continuing to march toward our goals, and being willing to forgo some of the short terms pleasures for a long term vision.
3) Practice, Practice, Practice: I recently read a book by Malcolm Gladwell called 'Outliers'. He is very empirical in how he investigates what successful people have in common. The one thing that stood out to me was the number 10,000. He found that top notch successful people all had put in at least 10,000hrs of practice before 'making it'... So much for the notion of the overnight success! This breaks down to approximately 3.5 years working 8 hr days.
Personal Note: Yes, if there is one thing I see again and again with budding entrepreneurs, its that they aren't ready to accept little initial reward for what seems like a lot of work. Whenever you start-up, there is a period where you will be working harder than ever before without actually seeing much reward. Most people will go back to what they know at this point, hence why only 2% of people really ever manage to do anything remarkable in their lives. One company I love is Amway... To be specific, World Wide Group (wwdb.com). Before you make any assumptions, I suggest you check them out. They have probably one of the best training systems for new entrepreneurs I have ever come across. They keep it pure and simple with 10 steps to success. I personally think that no matter what industry, these are very simple truths:
a) Be accountable to people
b) Move a product or service
c) Accept mentorship and coaching
d) Read books and learn about your business
e) Listen to biographies of people who have done what you are trying to do
f) Go to business functions and seminars
g) Use your own products over a competitors (duh!, I still get wigged out over how many new entrepreneurs can't seem to take this concept on board...)
h) Bring new DNA in to your organization regularly
i) Market your product or service with a professional looking web presence
j) Get connected with people in your industry via some kind of networking platform
Of these 10, 6 have to do with practice and learning... Considering World Wide Group is full of highly ethical and extremely successful business people, I am willing accept that practice makes perfect when in the pursuit of a lofty goal.
4) Forgive Yourself: Entrepreneurs are the worst for self guilt-trips... they are so busy that they often lament over the time they take away from family and friends. The best entrepreneurs are the ones to are willing to accept that they are working toward something much bigger and that in the pursuit of this dream, there may be casualties along the way. Guilt is an action stopper. Shedding it quickly is very important because in business, all that matters is action.
Personal Note: Oh my gosh... as the parents of two incredible girls, my wife and I are always feeling the guilt of all the 15 hr days we put in building the Von-pire. Having said that, we are really good at patting each other on the back and saying thanks for the sacrifice. The key to why we can keep doing it is because we are building our dreams, not someone else's (as we used to do in our jobs). We also get the children involved in the 'dream'. My hope is that they see our effort, and understand that anything is possible when you are willing to work hard and work smart... My dream is to pass on a life where decisions are made because they are right, not because they are affordable... The kicker to all this is that we both know that the difference between children who will resent our busy schedules and children who will thank us for making the effort day in and day out is only one little thing... SUCCESS.
5) Say No: Trimming the fat out of a schedule is something that my highly successful friends all do. They are not fanatical sports fans, they do not watch loads of movies or TV, they stay up late and get up early doing things that build their dreams... They are NOT ruled by their emotions which therefore allows them to cut out a large portion of the 'feel good' things and extraneous activities that are not directly resulting in an activity that gets them closer to their goals. The reason they can do this is because they know it is only temporary. When they get to where they are heading, they will have a lot of time on their hands to do all the things they once neglected themselves.
Personal Note: When we first got started, I never really found it hard to give up most of my leisure time activities save one, TV. This is one thing I have to consistently fight myself on. I like movies and I like vegging (damn lazy bone!). What helps me a lot is simply staying busy with things that need to get done! I also set deadlines a lot to keep me on track, which in turn forces me to leave TV alone. Another strategy that has worked is simply taking one day a week where I allow myself to chill! I wish I could throw my TV in the garbage, but I think the kiddies would have a fit!
There are a lot of things that go in to building the good habits that will ultimately lead an entrepreneur to the promised land. But really, I think it breaks down to two things... Vision and a dream. If these things are really big in your life, then you will do whatever it takes to get you where you want to go!
Cheers,
P
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Emperors New Clothes...
Okay, so the other day my parents in-law went to Banff to watch 'Montreal Danse' for a special Valentines day treat... When they arrived home, their faces told the full story. I think their words were "what the h-e-double hockeysticks was that!".
They described a theatre piece where the performers were telling pointless anecdotes to bouts of some bizarre physical Tourrettes Syndrome. The conclusion of the piece saw all the performers standing on some kind of rotating device completely nude. My gosh, I would be shocked if this wasn't something heavily funded by the Canadian tax payer!
Firstly, before I start my tirade, I would like say that as someone who has been on a stage many, many times as the performer, I compliment anyone for stepping on a stage and performing... It takes guts... Having said that, one thing I always took very seriously was my responsibility to actually entertain and offer some kind of value to them, my audience.
I get really annoyed when 'artists' (and I use the word loosely) put together performances that are more about personal therapy than they are about entertaining or offering some kind of comprehensible value to an audience. Often, I find performing and visual arts goers and critics prone to edify public expressions of absolute nonsense! Whenever I have the mis-fortune of sitting through one of these 'presentations' and listening to the analysis of the audience engaged in mental-flail to understand the deeper meaning of the piece, I am reminded of the story of the emperor's new clothes... I think you get where I am going with this...
I grew up around the arts, performed in various locations around the world, and the one thing I learned is that the arts should be pleasing and entertaining if people are paying good money to come and watch. Shakespeare earned his keep by putting up entertaining, clever work rather than self-indulgent drivel... I think artists should remember this point.
Of course, I accept the statement 'who appointed Peter Fuerbringer taste king of the world?' Well, like Simon Cowell, I am quite sure I am stating what the majority of the people in that theatre in Banff were thinking... How do I get my money back!
They described a theatre piece where the performers were telling pointless anecdotes to bouts of some bizarre physical Tourrettes Syndrome. The conclusion of the piece saw all the performers standing on some kind of rotating device completely nude. My gosh, I would be shocked if this wasn't something heavily funded by the Canadian tax payer!
Firstly, before I start my tirade, I would like say that as someone who has been on a stage many, many times as the performer, I compliment anyone for stepping on a stage and performing... It takes guts... Having said that, one thing I always took very seriously was my responsibility to actually entertain and offer some kind of value to them, my audience.
I get really annoyed when 'artists' (and I use the word loosely) put together performances that are more about personal therapy than they are about entertaining or offering some kind of comprehensible value to an audience. Often, I find performing and visual arts goers and critics prone to edify public expressions of absolute nonsense! Whenever I have the mis-fortune of sitting through one of these 'presentations' and listening to the analysis of the audience engaged in mental-flail to understand the deeper meaning of the piece, I am reminded of the story of the emperor's new clothes... I think you get where I am going with this...
I grew up around the arts, performed in various locations around the world, and the one thing I learned is that the arts should be pleasing and entertaining if people are paying good money to come and watch. Shakespeare earned his keep by putting up entertaining, clever work rather than self-indulgent drivel... I think artists should remember this point.
Of course, I accept the statement 'who appointed Peter Fuerbringer taste king of the world?' Well, like Simon Cowell, I am quite sure I am stating what the majority of the people in that theatre in Banff were thinking... How do I get my money back!
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Virtue of Discomfort...
I went to church this morning, and the pastor was not our usual guy. He was the usual youth pastor and seemed pretty nervous to be doing the big job. After apologizing profusely if his sermon left us with more questions that answers, he got to the point. Family was his topic of choice this day, and what's more, alternative families... A big topic to tackle to be sure.
He started off with this little musical piece (http://www.dennyburk.com/?p=2146) which although not completely tied in to his topic, definitely gave us a bit of a laugh.
I think that perhaps the nerves, etc... Helped our nervous androgogue to come up with a few really great thoughts. The main drive of his lesson focused on the idea of 'discomfort' and 'inconvenience'. Although his platform was related to welcoming the discomfort that we might feel when we are interacting with families that are different from our own, the key element was the notion of 'discomfort'.
As a seasoned entrepreneur and 'creative', the only time I have seen anything actually work is when I have made myself truly uncomfortable... Discomfort is a key change catalyst that we should not only welcome but seek out actively when pursuing personal, business, or relational growth. This notion has further complexity added to it by the sheer fact that generally discomfort goes hand in hand with inconvenience... Think about it...
So, if we are faced with personal disappointment, be it something as common place as missing our new years resolution or something as complex as a stagnant business or professional life, I think we should seriously investigate how much we welcome the 'uncomfortable'. Count it up, work it out, and see what the answer is you come up with.
Further, I would challenge anyone to simply take one week of putting themselves regularly in uncomfortable situations (not like farting at the dinner table uncomfortable) that are oriented toward a goal. In addition, accepting the innate inconvenience these times with bring with them. See how much you push toward growth in whatever direction. I think the results might surprise you.
P
He started off with this little musical piece (http://www.dennyburk.com/?p=2146) which although not completely tied in to his topic, definitely gave us a bit of a laugh.
I think that perhaps the nerves, etc... Helped our nervous androgogue to come up with a few really great thoughts. The main drive of his lesson focused on the idea of 'discomfort' and 'inconvenience'. Although his platform was related to welcoming the discomfort that we might feel when we are interacting with families that are different from our own, the key element was the notion of 'discomfort'.
As a seasoned entrepreneur and 'creative', the only time I have seen anything actually work is when I have made myself truly uncomfortable... Discomfort is a key change catalyst that we should not only welcome but seek out actively when pursuing personal, business, or relational growth. This notion has further complexity added to it by the sheer fact that generally discomfort goes hand in hand with inconvenience... Think about it...
So, if we are faced with personal disappointment, be it something as common place as missing our new years resolution or something as complex as a stagnant business or professional life, I think we should seriously investigate how much we welcome the 'uncomfortable'. Count it up, work it out, and see what the answer is you come up with.
Further, I would challenge anyone to simply take one week of putting themselves regularly in uncomfortable situations (not like farting at the dinner table uncomfortable) that are oriented toward a goal. In addition, accepting the innate inconvenience these times with bring with them. See how much you push toward growth in whatever direction. I think the results might surprise you.
P
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Welcome to the Von-iverse
The blog is dedicated to discussing organizational innovation, creative solution making, entrepreneurship, and basically anything else that has to do with our changing marketplace.
As we go, I will be posting key thoughts and analysis on topics related to these items. Posts will be relatively brief in order to keep things rolling and offer quick insight.
Connecting the dots will also be a mission of this blog. There are great resources out there and great people. Go forth and connect!
Cheers,
Peter
As we go, I will be posting key thoughts and analysis on topics related to these items. Posts will be relatively brief in order to keep things rolling and offer quick insight.
Connecting the dots will also be a mission of this blog. There are great resources out there and great people. Go forth and connect!
Cheers,
Peter
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