Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Mon, Dec 24, 2007 @ 03:05 PM
Well, there is no place like home for the holidays. In addition to celebrating Christmas with family and friends and eating more good food than should ever be allowed, for me, this week is also good for doing some really important things related to the business:
1) Recharge
In recent years it seems like everyone is going a mile-a-minute all the time. This week marks one of the last bastions of relaxation. This week, give yourself permission to relax. Stop worrying about everything and just do whatever helps you to recharge.
2) Reflect
How was this past year for you? What are you most proud of about the business? What did you do well? What do you need to improve?
3) Declutter
You may have a messy inbox, a messy work area, or if your like me...a messy mind. Use this week to clear the mess and "eliminate the noise". This will help you to focus your mental energy on what needs to be done.
4) Wish
Wish lists are not only for kids. Think about what your wish list for your business is:
-What one thing would you like to buy for the business?
-What do you wish you did not have to do anymore?
-What are the attributes of that next "perfect" hire?
-What aspirational person or business would you like to become a customer?
Recharge, Reflect, Declutter and Wish...and also eat, drink and be merry.
Happy holidays!
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Wed, Dec 12, 2007 @ 03:04 PM
The advice I give to the hard-working and passionate entrepreneurs that I work with is this:
Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF OF THE GAS!
Running a successful startup is about achieving scale. And without the sale, there is no scale. There is a tendency among early stage companies to sprint and then relax. Whether after a big win, achieving a milestone or closing on funding, it is a natural inclination to sit down and take it all in. Resist this temptation.
Top line growth is the single greatest insulator against failure in a startup environment. It lowers burn, increases enterprise value and allows you to add more passionate people to deliver on the promise of the business.
So as the new year is almost upon us, get your ducks in a row now. Delegate the tasks that are on your plate that bog you down, suck your energy and really do not add all that much value. You know what they are and do not need me to tell you. Then before New Year's Day define an aggressive (reach) revenue goal for Q1 and also for the full year. Now, drive the company towards that goal.
Good things will happen I promise.
Posted by Jonathan Iannacone on Mon, Dec 03, 2007 @ 03:03 PM
One of the habits we have determined is a strong predictor of success is focus. A compliment to focus is simplicity. Take an objective look at your business, is it simple or complex? Are your processes and work-flows bloated with extra steps? How successful are your training programs and new employee orientations?
Until you simplify your business you will have limited success focusing you and your company on its strengths.
Here is a daily routine of someone that I admire and who I think really has simplicity down to a science.
1. He woke up and read the morning newspaper. Something he does everyday.
2. He got into car and drove himself to work and arrived shortly before 9am.
3. On this day he received only 13 phone calls, including one wrong number.
4. He does not carry a cell phone nor have a computer on his desk.
5. There were no urgent meetings today. Instead he found time in the day to work on new song lyrics for a birthday party for a friend, and to demonstrate a newspaper-throwing technique he learned while delivering papers as a boy.
6. Although he is an accomplished businessman, his company is run very efficiently. The headquarters is staffed by just 17 employees and has no public-relations, human-relations, investor-relations or legal departments. He writes only one letter each year to the managers in his company, giving them goals for the year.
7. He leaves the office between 5 and 6pm.
8. He returns to the same small house that he bought after he got married 50 years ago and says it has everything he needs in that house.
9. He spends his evenings and weekends doing his favorite hobbies: playing bridge and watching his college football team.
Do you know who it is?...
It's Warren Buffett (sources WSJ 11/12/05 article, CNBC "The Billionaire Next Door).
The 2nd richest man in the U.S. who heads Berkshire Hathaway, a company with the 7th largest market cap, has managed to keep his business (and life) this simple.
If he can do it, can we really have any viable excuses?
Listen to Thoreau, or look at your iPod....Simple is better.