Steve Wozniak is an engineer who sits in the middle of the personal computer story.

The way I heard it, Wozniak was the last person who created a whole computer – pulled the hardware together, wrote the software, built the Apple.

I was reminded of Woz today by this post from Guy Kawasaki, who also spent time at Apple. Wozniak is an engineer but the parting thoughts are good for anyone starting or building a business. Now I realise I’m quoting a quote but, according to Kawasaki:

“The book ends with Woz’s thoughts on being a great engineer:

• Don’t waiver
• See things in gray-scale
• Work alone
• Trust your instincts”

Starting and building a business is a test of will. The problem has never been a lack of ideas. Any organisation that’s been around for more than five minutes is presented with more opportunities than it will ever have the resources to chase down. The difficulty is in choosing what not to do, which rocks to put down, when to say no.

The antidote to too many opportunities is to know what you’re up to:

• Get it clear and firm in your head; then don’t waiver.
• Understand the truth at the heart of the thing, what’s really going on; see things in gray-scale.
• On your way to market, only work with people who care as much about the success of your thing as you do; work alone with that team, there’s plenty of time for interested parties after you’ve nailed it.
• By definition, you’re doing something that no-one has done before. No-one knows whether to zig or zag, it’s your decision; trust your instincts.

Neatly filed under Focus,Leading on April 8, 2009

It’s easy to believe that the competition is made up of other companies or people who want the same thing that you do; to land the new client, to get share of market, or wallet, or mind. It’s compelling to think that they are out to beat you.

But sometimes it’s not them, it’s you.

In The Art of War (which you can find here), sixth century B.C. military strategist Sun Tzu says,

“Know your opponent, know yourself and know the terrain: one hundred challenges without danger.”

Competition is everything that stands in the way of success.

Yep, your competitors are certainly out there, working hard to get over the line before you.

Absolutely, it’s critical to understand, plan and organise for the terrain where you operate.

Spend time looking out the window, yes, but don’t forget to look in the mirror too.

A few months ago I stood on the start line of my marathon training for Boston 2009. I’ve done plenty or marathons before so I know how to run, how to train and how to race. Two months into my program and my training came crashing down. I haven’t run since.

I was focused on the finish line, motivated to train, clear about my plan. I was disciplined.

So focused, motivated, clear and disciplined in fact that I completely forgot to know myself, to listen to my body. I pushed through the pain and limped into an overuse injury that stopped me running for the last two months. I withdrew from Boston this morning.

What attitudes are in your way? What long-held assumptions are tripping you up? What issues are you ignoring or tiptoeing around every day? What must you change, what should not be allowed to wait? Listen and do.

Neatly filed under Focus,Managing on April 2, 2009

We’ve been incubating a fantasy in my house for the past few months.

Ice cream entrepreneurs

Let’s open an ice cream shoe; somewhere in Brighton, in a few years time.

My kids are 11 and 13 so, along with their friends, represent an obvious supply of willing labour – but not yet. For now it’s fun to play with the idea, and it means we have an excuse to put in lots of very important research, testing flavours and never walking by. Best job I ever had!

It may be a fantasy but it highlights some of the man traps that often catch entrepreneurs.

• Don Quixote – an impossible dream?
• You have an idea, but innovation happens in the market – is there a need, will anybody care?
• Ok, so they care, are they prepared to pay for it?
• Does anyone know what you’re up to?
• How do we get there and where is there anyway?
• What was I supposed to be doing again?

Going down the list, it’s entirely possible that we’re tilting at windmills – it’ll never happen and it’s just a good excuse to experiment with outlandish flavours. Lot’s of people waste a lot of time and money dreaming about starting their own thing – very few get out of the drive. Assuming that’s not us, that we’ll get off our collective arse, what about the the other risks?

Is there a market? Another idea my daughter has is elbow rests – something that would swing out from under the table so she could rest her elbows without someone telling her giving her a hard time. It may be a good idea but I imagine the market is limited to one eleven year old, I could be wrong. The simple answer here is to ask. Ask your market. Do they want it?

Yes? Ok. Do they want it so much that they’re prepared to take money out of their pocket and put it into yours? Sadly, just asking this question may not give a reliable result. Sometimes you have to try it out for real. Test sell.

Get past that stage and it’s time to make the product. In order to sell it you have to tell people about it which is why ice cream vans play that jangly music. It’s no good sitting around waiting for the ‘phone to ring, marketing is the thing.

It’s around this time that the day-to-day can make you lose sight of where you’re going. The problems might be in product development, too many sales, too few sales, too many specials. None of which should be a problem for our little shop – but guaranteed they’ll be an endless stream of daily demands that blur the horizon. Keep to the plan.

The final risk is the worst. We set out to make the best ice cream in the world so how come we now spend 87% of our time sorting out muffins, coffee, biscuits, sandwiches, cheese and those little pots of marmalade made by your best friend’s aunt? Stay focused.

There’s a lot more to running a successful business – these are the biggest risks that I see from my side of the table. Assuming we can steer our way through, what will our little shop be like? Best inspiration so far is Amy’s in Austin, Texas (which you can find here).

Now that’s ice cream!

Neatly filed under Focus on March 26, 2009