Tag Archives: Entrepreneurship

Endurance Runners Are Like Entrepreneurs

In writing for Inc magazine, Patricia Fletcher draws a comparison between entrepreneurs and marathon runners. In addition to being a little crazy, she says both have a plan to follow that prepares them for success. The performance for which you are judged is predictable from the “practice” that leads up to it. Here are Fletcher’s observations about the right mindset both need–

Get comfortable being uncomfortable for long periods of time.  Believe it or not, this will become a badge of honor.  Most of your work as an entrepreneur requires you to try new approaches, to push yourself beyond your limits. This means that you will fail a lot. You will struggle for funding–a lot. You will lose customers and opportunities–a lot. It’s all part of the training process. Your response to rejection is as good a determinant of your entrepreneurial ability as your response to success.

Adopt a resilient mindset. You are going to have some tough days; days when you question your own sanity and want throw in the towel.  Much like a marathon, the entrepreneurial experience is long, twisting, and filled with ups and downs. Every successful entrepreneur and marathoner I have talked with believes mindset is either your biggest asset or your biggest barrier. The pros handle it by maintaining an objective mindset that looks at setbacks as opportunities for improvement.

Embrace others like you. Working in a vacuum is not going to help you finish the race. Runners find running partners or join running clubs. They get faster because they push each other. They become stronger because they share tips for nutrition and avoiding injury. You can do the same thing. 

Connect with other entrepreneurs. Get together to practice your pitches, test your demos, and talk about go-to-market strategies. Working together will give you practice and insights while creating the relationships that will push you forward.

Don’t over-train. In my first few years as a runner and professional, I over-trained, thinking it would make me stronger and better, and prove that I belonged. Instead, I burned out. You will not succeed if you have 10 No. 1 priorities. Identify your top three goals. Don’t do anything that won’t make a big impact on your progress toward those three.

At conferences, I have heard several speakers tell up-and-coming women entrepreneurs and executives that they should say yes to any high-profile opportunities. I disagree. Go after new opportunities only if they’ll help you achieve one of your three big goals.

Measure. A good plan incorporates key performance indicators to track your progress. It also helps lessen risk by proactively addressing problems. What measurements will tell you that you are making progress?  How often should you track your progress?  What are your biggest obstacles?  Which do you need to address and which can be ignored? 

As someone who has been a distance runner for over 30 years, I can relate to each of these. When I was competing, I had a mental edginess honed from the daily effort I put into psyche and development of my skills. As an entrepreneur, I have  been more successful when I have brought my “A” game to what I do. How about you?

 

INtrapreneurship On the Rise (at Big Companies)

 

Yes–we’ve previously written blog posts on the bureaucracy and lack of innovation in many big businesses. However, there are many big companies that “get it” when it comes to innovation–not just 3M, Apple and Coca Cola. Internal entrepreneurship programs in “sleeper” companies are intriguing. Dan Schwabel of Millenial Branding brought up the famous Skunk Works program of Lockheed Martin that produced the U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird plane designs from an intrapreneurial program internally back in the day.

Schwabel writes, “companies are starting new entrepreneurship initiatives because they need fuel for innovation, desire top talent and need to sustain a competitive advantage. Smart companies are catering to entrepreneurs, allowing workers to pitch their ideas, and even funding them. They are holding entrepreneurship contests, investing in startups and bringing on entrepreneurs in residence (EIR). In the war for talent and innovation, companies have to think entrepreneurially in order to survive and thrive:

Intrapreneurship is on the rise

Companies have embraced intrapreneurship to drive innovation, stay ahead of the competition and as a recruiting tool.  This trend has been driven in large part by Generation-Y, a generation of entrepreneurs that want to reinvent the business world as we know it.  Google is a great example of a company that understands this. If you work there, you are in a startup culture within a major corporation. 

Corporate entrepreneurship contests

Companies are using .. contests to engage their own workforce and as external recruiting and branding tools. Ernst & Young, for instance, has “The Innovation Challenge,” which is an internal competition where employees come up with new service offerings for their clients. PwC, another major consulting company, runs the “PwC PowerPitch”, which is an innovation contest where the winning team receives the sum of $100,000 to implement their idea. Amazon Web Services has the “Start-Up Challenge,” which is a competition for start-ups that use its Web, e-commerce and cloud-computing technology to build their infrastructures and businesses. 

Companies are investing in startups

Companies are investing in startups instead of just acquiring them. The most recent example of this is Microsoft’s “Bing Fund”, which is a new angel fund and incubator program that seeks to partner with entrepreneurs that focus on the mobile and web experience spaces. Last month, Dell announced the “Dell Innovators Credit Fund,” which provides entrepreneurs up to $100 million in financial and scalable technology resources. American Express announced last year that they would invest $100 million in digital commerce startups that would help fuel their digital transformation. 

Entrepreneurs in Residence

Both Google and Dell have recruited EIR’s to stay ahead of the curve and to advise them on startups. Stacy Brown-Philpot has been an entrepreneur in residence at Google Ventures since May. While Stacy never started her own business, she led operations for more than forty different products, including Google Search, Chrome and Google+.

More brands will start to bring on EIR’s in the future, especially in the technology industry, where acquisitions and investments are the norm. EIR programs are promising because they have knowledge on what startups are worth investing in, can oversee entrepreneurship programs, and can be used to attract new startups into corporate ecosystems.

Entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship programs drive business results

Industry experts believe that 30% of large companies now provide seed funds to finance intrapreneurial efforts. One of the most notable successes comes from 3M, who created the “Bootlegging Policy,” which is a program that allows employees to spend 15% of their time at work doing creative projects. In 1987, Art Fry took advantage of this program to create the ultra profitable “Post-it Notes” product.

Google, Facebook, & PwC have not only followed suit, but “upped the game! It’s interesting to mention a CPA firm in a sentence about corporate innovation alongside such stalwart consumer brands. Yet, it mid-sized and large businesses are to compete globally for talent, brand presence, and profits, more companies who may not be in innovative industries must learn how to spur intrapreneurship!

Jump Start Creativity For Growth

Matt May, who writes a blog for OPEN, recently described many businesses as having an entrepreneurial spirit that had gone “M.I.A.” He wrote of how established companies can become set in their ways, very resistant to change. It’s as though the status quo becomes hallowed and the perceived trouble of doing anything different keeps the organizations from innovation.

“As business begins to boom, the fight-to-survive instinct fades and the entrepreneurial spirit isn’t quite what it was when the company was a startup. Sometimes it’s completely M.I.A. More and more people seem to need more resources to get ideas implemented quickly. Eventually, the ability to flex, react and innovate is lost.

Addicted to Resources

But that’s not how the company began. Maybe it didn’t start in the proverbial basement or garage, but it certainly started with little of everything—money, space and labor. There was a goal, and a passion for reaching it. Those limits made the company more creative and resourceful than it is today. Today, the addiction to resources is blocking innovation.

The good news is that there’s a relatively simple (but not necessarily easy) fix. But before revealing it, it helps to physically experience what I’m referring to, because the complacency in question has a universal presence, no matter how creative or resourceful we think we are.

Greater Potential

Stand up, feet planted shoulder width apart, arms straight out at your sides, parallel to the floor, elbows locked. (Imagine Leonardo da Vinci’s sketch of the Vitruvian Man if you need a visual reference.)

Now, twist your torso all the way to right as far as you possibly can go. Look down your right arm and mentally mark your stopping point on the wall. Remember that mark.

Now, turn back around to face front. Now close your eyes and repeat the exercise, stopping when you think you’ve met your previous stopping point.

Now…go a little past it. Open your eyes.

Most people surpass their previous mark by a good margin, and are surprised when they do. The point is that we generally don’t know what our potential is until we put our capacity on trial. We don’t stretch the limits of what we are actually capable of. But every business needs to constantly stretch in positive ways to move the business forward, to remain relevant.

Embrace Limitations

The solution is to treat resource constraints the same way artists do. All artists work within the confines of their chosen mediums, and it’s the limits that spur their creativity. The canvas edge, the marble block, the eight musical notes—these are finite resources. It’s how we view and manage resource constraints that makes all the difference.

And that’s the key question: Are limited resources preventing innovation, or enabling it?

There’s only one right answer.

A team that doesn’t thrive on the challenge of limitations is a sure sign that big company sickness is lurking. It signals an inherent fear of failure in your company. And that spells danger for innovation, because most real innovation springs from failure and conflict. The bigger and more successful a company gets, the less they have tolerance for both. So they mismanage a valuable source of new thinking by adding a buffer zone: higher budgets, more layers and lower expectations.

Unfortunately, success usually isn’t what breeds the kind of thinking that produces the extraordinary results needed to add value and keep competitors at bay. In fact, success can often generate a defensive posture that discourages the very behavior that created it. It can absolutely stifle innovation.

Innovation—which is the specific tool of the entrepreneur—demands exploiting limits, not ignoring or lamenting them!”

Being able to create much out of little is a sign of innovation. When your company loses the will to break the mold, it’s a sign that you are becoming less competitive. Find ways to re-energize the creativity and risk-taking of your employees.

 

Get Your Creative Mojo Here

Creativity is essential for innovation–be that in the form of entrepreneurship or “intrapreneurship.” The ability to look at what everyone else sees and form a different conclusion requires a unique paradigm. Sometimes, it can be hard to know how to shift one’s paradigm if it is too similar to those in your environment.

@Nadiagoodman wrote for Entrepreneur recently an article entitled “How to Train Your Creative Mind.” An excerpt follows below:

As Louis Pasteur once famously said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” To be an innovative entrepreneur, you want to foster creativity in your daily life so that your mind is ready when opportunity arises.

“Creative ideas often come from unusual combinations,” explains Steven Smith, professor of cognitive psychology at Texas A&M University. “The best solution is not going to be the thing everyone thinks of. It’s going to be something unusual.”

These unusual combinations, called “remote associations,” are related ideas that may seem unrelated at first glance. They are the essence of creative thinking. To cultivate creativity, you want to increase your chances of stumbling on an unexpected link. 

Years ago, I was on a quest to understand why some people seemed to be creative and others were not. Additionally, I searched for tools to help inspire creativity. My favorite read on the subject–then and now–is Roger Von Oech’s classic work, A Whack on the Side of the Head: How to Unlock Your Mind for Innovation.

In the book, Von Oech lists 10 “mental locks” that have to be overcome in order to spur creativity. He offers tips to unlock one’s mind–

1. “The Right Answer” –
Tip #1: A good way to be more creative is to look for the second right answer. There are many ways to pursue this answer, but the important thing is to do it.
Tip #2: The answer you get depends on the questions you ask. Play with your wording to get different answers. One technique is to solicit plural answers. Another is asking questions that whack people’s thinking.

2. “That’s not logical!” –
Tip #1: For more and better ideas, I prescribe a good dose of soft thinking in the germinal phase, and a hearty helping of hard thinking in the practical phase.

3. “Follow the Rules” –
Tip #1: Play the revolutionary and challenge the rules – especially the ones you use to govern your day-today activities.
Tip #2: Remember that playing the revolutionary also has its dangers. Looking back on the decision, sometimes it goes too far.
Tip#3 : Have rule -inspecting and rule-discarding sessions within your organization. You may even find some  motivational side benefits in this activity – finding and eliminating outmoded rules can be a lot of fun.

4. “Be Practical” –
Tip #1: Each of you has an “artist” and a “judge” within you. The open-minded attitude of the artist typifies the kind of thinking you use in the germinal phase when you are generating ideas. The evaluative outlook of the judge represents the kind of thinking you use in the practical phase when preparing ideas for execution.
Tip #2: Be a magician. Ask “what if” questions and use the provocative answers you find as stepping-stones to new ideas.
Tip #3: Cultivate your imagination. Set aside time everyday to ask yourself what-if questions. Although the likelihood that any given “what-if” question will lead to a practical idea is not high, the more often you practice this activity the more productive you’ll become.

5. “Avoid Ambiguity” –
Tip #1: Take advantage of the ambiguity on earth. Look at something and think about what else it might be.
Tip #2: Try to use humour to put you or your group in a creative state of mind.

6. “To Err is Wrong” –
Tip#1: If you make an error, use it as a stepping-stone to some new idea you might not have otherwise discovered.
Tip #2: Strengthen your “risk muscle”. Everyone has one, but you have to exercise it or else it will atrophy. Make it appoint to take at least one risk every twenty-four hours.
Tip #3: Remember these two benefits of failure: First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn’t work. And second, the failure gives you an opportunity to try a new approach.

7. “Play is Frivolous” –
Tip #1: The next time you have a problem – play with it.
Tip #2: If you don’t have a problem, take the time to play anyway. You may find some new ideas.
Tip #3: Make your work place a fun place to be.

8. “That’s not my area ” –
Tip #1: Develop the hunter’s attitude, the outlook that wherever you go, there are ideas waiting to be discovered.
Tip #2: Don’t get so busy that you lose the free time necessary for idea hunting. Schedule hunting time into your day and week. Little side excursions can lead to new hunting grounds.
Tip #3: Look for analogous situations. Often problems similar to yours have been solved in other areas.

9. “Don’t be Foolish” –
Tip #1: Occasionally, let your “stupid monitor” down, play the fool, and see what crazy ideas you can come up with.
Tip #2: Recognize when you or others are conforming or putting down the fool. Otherwise, you may be setting up a “groupthink” situation.
Tip #3: May the FARCE be with you.

10. “I’m not creative!” –
Tip #1: Whack yourself into trying new things and building on what you find – especially the small ideas. The creative person has the self –faith that these ideas will lead somewhere.

 

 

 

Be An Ultimo Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur Country is a UK magazine I enjoy reading for stories that are refreshingly different insights. The views “from across the pond” provide a perspective on entrepreneurship that is distinct from the usual fare in the United States. Instead of a fascination with high-tech start-ups and deal making, the editors choose to feature entrepreneurs from other industries. The stories that are shared bring to light principles that can be applied across many settings.

Identifying a gap in the market to provide a unique solution to a problem can be hard, but very rewarding.  Michelle Mone found that helping women get what they want has been a path to success for her company, MJM International. MJM has made her one of the top 3 female entrepreneurs in the UK. Mone shared key points of her entrepreneurial journey in the July issue of the magazine.

In October 1996, at a dinner dance, Michelle was wearing an uncomfortable bra and decided she would invent her own in its place that would be comfortable, cleavage enhancing and improved in appearance. MJM International was born, (and the Ultimo brand was launched.)

Not only (has) Ultimo (been) revolutionizing the lingerie industry, it (is) now taking on cosmetics, with every product going through several rounds of testing [‘Every product has to be the best, I don’t accept second best’ – Michelle] and perfecting before it reaches the high street. “We have new products launching all the time and we have 13 inventions in total. The gel filled bra that we invented 12 years ago as an alternative to plastic surgery was what made us, because Julia Roberts wore it in Erin Brokovich. Then we have the 24 hour bra that you can’t feel that you’re wearing, and now UTan. I think next year we will expand further with a full on cosmetics range”.

Key points in Mone’s life story included:

  1. Taking a job to support her family as a teen when her father became wheelchair bound,
  2. Tacking Richard Branson posters on her wall instead of teen idols,
  3. Hiring 11 other teens to help her with a newspaper delivery route,
  4. Distributing Avon books,
  5. Working as sales and marketing lead for Labatt’s in her early 20s, and
  6. Launching MJM soon thereafter.

After taking her severance pay and putting it to good use with MJM, she moved from idea to commercialization. Here’s how she described the transition to becoming a successful entrepreneur:

“You have to do your research and find out if you have a viable product. See if you can meet a manufacturer too, because there will be issues in terms of shipping and some factories are too large for a new product. Go smaller, work out the volume and do as much homework as possible.”

“You just have to be incredibly organised, but I’m not super woman and I do get things wrong.” Ultimo suffered an enormous setback in 2002 when a married couple, distributors for MJM, fled with £1.6million.

She exhibited tremendous tenacity in overcoming this obstacle. a divorce, and other setbacks. Kelly Dolan, who conducted the interview with Mone, saluted her “ability to leverage MJM’s press position through PR campaigns (comprised of)  celebrity endorsements and clever marketing” Dolan asked how young businesses can optimize PR, to which Mone responded, 

“If you can’t afford a PR company then remember that there is nobody more passionate about your business than you. Write a press release, send it out to everyone and hope for the best. Hire a PR company if you have the money, but you have to get across to whoever is representing you that real passion for the business.” 

Well put! Every entrepreneur–female or male, in fashion or services, regardless of challenges–will meet with greater success if able to convey passion for the target audience and its needs.