The Art of the New

eQuotes: #6 in a Series

George Gendron — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:13:02 +0000

“Often we’re investing in two guys and a dog . And it’s the dog who has the most business savvy.”

–early-stage venture investor, on what it’s like working with lots of portfolio companies started by engineers.

Will the Real Bill Gates Please Stand Up

George Gendron — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:04:36 +0000

Last week Bill Gates gave the commencement address at Harvard University. If you’ve ever heard Gates do any public speaking you know he’s no Steve Jobs (think of the nerd in those Apple television commercials and you’ll get the idea.) The day of the commencement I had the great misfortune to have to attempt to get to a board meeting in Cambridge. This is a bit like trying to get take-out from your favorite Szechuan joint on Melrose the night of the Academy Awards. Sitting in traffic near Harvard Square, surrounded by movers and shakers, I happened to tune in to WHRB, Harvard University’s radio station, which was broadcasting the ceremonies. I figured I’d listen to Gates’ intro, and then go back to my iPod.

I have to confess I was surprised. Hell, I was stunned. Gates’ speech was absolutely wonderful–funny, self-deprecating, and one of the most eloquent calls-to-action I’ve heard for young people to become engaged now in addressing global and apparently intractable problems. Let me know if you find this as inspiring as I have.
You can read the transcript of Gates’ remarks here:

www.gatesfoundation.org/MediaCenter/Speeches/Co-ChairSpeeches/BillgSpeeches/BGSpeechHarvard-070607.htm

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Ten Ways of Looking at Leadership

George Gendron — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:36:18 +0000

Alan Khazei is the co-founder of City Year, one of the country’s most influential community-service organizations, and the inspiration for President Clinton’s Americorps. Alan is also widely regarded as one of the most important young leaders in the country. When Alan visited my class just before the end of the semester, one of the students asked him if he could sum up his leadership experiences in the form of advice for the class. Like some other high-profile leaders we know (see “How to Create a Monster(.com),” Jan 14 posting), Alan had his top 10 list for would-be leaders ready:

1. Find a partner, then build a team. Nobody changes the world by himself

2. “Every battle is won or lost before it is fought,” wrote Sun Tzu [in “The Art of War”]. Preparation is everything. Figure out where you want to be and then work backwards

3. Identify your core values and principles and stick to them. Be flexible about everything else, but not those

4. Become an expert in your field and learn from others

5. Remember that there is a significant gap between ideas and implementation

6. Set achievable goals at the beginning, and then achieve or exceed them

7. Leverage opportunity, no matter how small it might appear at first

8. Commit totally to your project. If you’re committed, then people will get behind you. If you commit to something and stay on that path, guardian angels will show up

9. Anybody can do this if you have a passion for something. Entrepreneurship is funny–it’s one of those things you don’t always know you want to be. Often you get there by following your bliss and doing what makes you happy

10. Don’t be afraid to take risks

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eQuotes: #5 in a Series

George Gendron — Thu, 31 May 2007 13:26:52 +0000

“Entrepreneurial management is simple, but not easy. What you have to do and how you do it are incredibly simple. But are you willing to do it? Now that’s another matter.”

–From a conversation with Peter Drucker and George Gendron

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The Well Balanced Team: Me, Myself, and I

George Gendron — Wed, 16 May 2007 13:24:55 +0000

Teams. Just say the word anywhere in business these days and we all nod our heads solemnly. There’s no “I” in the word team. You know the mantra. And don’t get me wrong: we believe it. Or at least we think we do. But for all that’s been written and preached about the subject, there’s still one thorny problem that’s rarely discussed. We like to be surrounded by people like ourselves. This is particularly true for those of us who pride ourselves on being conceptualizers, idea generators.

We pay lip service to the idea that a well balanced team requires people who are terrific at execution. at getting things done, but if we’re honest with ourselves we still place a huge premium on traditional creativity–the ability to come up with good ideas, and lots of them.

There’s a problem with this way of thinking. It’s outdated, old fashioned–not creative. Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of the information age is the extent to which new ideas can be shared instantly and everywhere. If you’re like me, barely a week goes by in which, in some context or another, I find myself thinking there are too damned many new ideas out there. In fact, I’d argue that in many instances new ideas have become commodities. What is rare is the individual with the experience, drive, and comittment to take ideas and execute them well.

Now all this may sound very remedial. It’s not. It’s one thing to believe it in the abstract, and quite another to act on it. I took over my first magazine when I was 25. I confess that it took me a decade to truly appreciate the role of a world-class managing editor. I like to believe that my mgagazines were consistently good, even excellent, when it came to editorial quality, positioning in the marketplace, brand building. They were also a mess internally.

My organizations weren’t messes because they were mismanaged but because they really weren’t managed at all. When I hired, I hired for conceptual horsepower, even for jobs where I should have been looking for management skills. In other words, I was on the lookout for more me’s. (I’ve since learned that one me is about all most organziations can tolerate.)

Then in 1985 I hired a managing editor who was truly gifted at managing. From the start, she had this habit of making everyone accountable for deadlines, including me. She introduced systems, shared schedules and budgets with the entire staff. Meetings began and ended on time. I have to confess I didn’t like her much, or at least what she was doing to my magazine. And then the most unexpected thing started to occur. Writers, editors and designers–the most creative people on staff–started coming to me telling me how much more they enjoyed their work since the new managing editor had arrived. Not only that, but they went on to tell me that they felt they were able to to better work in this environment. In other words, the order introduced by our new managing editor didn’t stifle creativity, it enhanced it.

I don’t believe in epiphanies, but this was one for me. It forever changed how I thought about talent, about the importance of balance and diversity on every team. Don’t believe me? Ask that managing editor. She’s easy enough to find these days. She’s my wife.

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eQuotes: #4 in a Series

George Gendron — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:17:11 +0000

“You look at the poverty, the backwardness, the bureaucracy in China, and maybe you want to give up on it. But China is coming back, and to get in on that–hell, that’s an opportunity no Yankee trader can ignore.”

Henry Hwang, founder and CEO of Far East National Bank, told to an Inc Magazine reporter in 1986

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eQuotes: #3 in a Series

George Gendron — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:15:03 +0000

“If I was a manager, I could come in at nine and leave at five. But I’m not a manager, so I come in at five and leave at nine. We don’t manage by managing, but by being there all the time.”

–Chuck Sussman, founder and CEO of Pretty Neat Industries

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The Game of the Name

George Gendron — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:15:04 +0000

Companies agonize over names, some spending hundreds of thousands of dollars finding the right one. Perhaps there are times when the direct approach is the best. “Best Place Entrepreneurship Program” anyone?

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eQuotes: #2 in a Series

George Gendron — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 13:00:59 +0000

“The fact is, you can’t name a business anywhere that can’t be improved with some ingenuity and some technology.”

–Steven Brandt, Emeritus Lecturer, Stanford Business School

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The Art of (Intellectual) Self-defense

George Gendron — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:22:31 +0000

Every semester students in my class confront one of the fundamental paradoxes inherent in launching a new venture: the need to get into the market to conduct research while, at the same time, protecting one’s idea. One way to think about this is to explore all of the legal mechanisms available: trademarks, patents, copyright, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and non-competes. A familiarity with the advantages and limitations of these is essential, and I’ve often brought in experts to discuss the finer points of each.

The problem is that these are only as effective as your willingness and ability to enforce them. And that requires money–money which you either don’t have or, in the overwhelming majority of cases, you should be spending on building your venture not litigating.

In the end, the most realistic protection comes from limiting contact to people and institutions that have developed a reputation for trustworthiness and character. No one would think to meet with a prospective customer, vendor, or investor without doing business research beforehand. I’d extend that research to include “character references” as well. Think about it this way: who would you rather conduct business with: an individual who’s spent decades building a reputation for honesty, or a sleazebag who’s willing to sign your NDA?

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