Friday nonsense: How to be happy in business plus assorted (but very useful) links
I’ll begin with Bud Caddell’s smart Venn diagram illustrating how to be happy in business:
…to which Caddell appends the following:
Over the years, I’ve found myself facing the following scenarios. (and I’ve added my two cents on how to move forward)
We can’t determine how to make enough money from the things we want to do, and do really well. I’m constantly surprised at what can be monetized. And on the web, there’s a market for almost anything. But this problem requires you to rapidly iterate your positioning and the type of clients you serve. Often, we’ll get transfixed on a single direction early on (because we’re desperate to solidify our business) and we’ll miss our chance to radically experiment with the market.
We’ve found things we want to do, and can be paid for, but we’re not the best game in town. Mediocrity is not a sustainable strategy. Being able to recognize your own weakness is a profound strength, and acting to improve what you do is key to any kind of long term growth and stability. Find the best talent and steal them. Learn how your competitors run their businesses, and copy what works.
We’ve come across things people want us to do, that we do well (or at least better than the competition) that we really don’t want to do. This is perhaps the most fatal trap for any business I’ve worked in. These are the sirens calling you to shipwreck. You’ll hemorrhage your best people, you’ll stop loving what you do, and you’ll lose the passion that built your business in the first place. Start saying ‘No.’
Finally, an assortment of random thoughts and links, in no particular order because it’s Friday and who really orders lists on a Friday?
- Looks like the Palm Pre won’t be available on Verizon within six months. I knew it sounded too good to be true.
- “Meet the Command Line” is about the best UNIX primer/screencast I’ve ever seen for those who have never used the UNIX command line before. (Thx Daring Fireball)
- Dave Eggers, one of my all time favorite authors, waxes visionary on the surprisingly bright future of print media.
- An illustration of free markets at work, this time in a labor-retaining flavor. (Thx Tyler Cowen)
- 37 Signals on how job applicants should forget the resume and start killing on the cover letter.
- Since it’s the weekend and I know you really don’t want to sweep the garage, I inflict upon you the nasty pox known as Crush the Castle. Have fun, and remember that your dirty garage isn’t my fault.
- The Big Picture has a fascinating photojournal about sulfur mining in Kawah Ijen. Then again, I’m the sort of geek who sits around and watches Discovery all night. Your mileage may vary.
- Larry Cheng discusses Jeff Bezos’s question during an MFG.com board meeting: “How can we double down?
Really, truly finally, I leave you with two videos that squarely insult the intersection of human capability and Newtonian physics. Happy Friday.
Inspired Bicycles — Danny MacAskill
Damien Walters, freerunning showreel, 2009
