A Childs Smile (Pure Love)

I took these pictures yesterday. Nothing comes close to the love of a child.

Kayla 

The Sport of Business (by Mark Cuban)

Although Mark Cuban is not my favorite personality, he has had quite a adventure when it comes to business. As I have been following his blog I have found that many of his business insights are very applicable.

Here is a recent blog of his.

"The Sport of Business.
I can’t go more than a week without shooting baskets. There is something about the feel of the ball coming off my hand, and the sound of the ball going through the net. It just feels good.
If I’m just standing in the gym, I can shoot pretty well. Playing in a game. Well it’s not quite what it used to be. I used to have a spin move that would work for me no matter who I was playing against or what level they were at. If I could get a pick and the defender went under, I didn’t have to think about it, I could hit the shot. These days, my mind knows what to do, but my body just laughs at me. Put me up against 20 year olds, and I won’t embarass myself but it’s only because I know how to set a pick and hit an open, a very wide open jumper, and spend the rest of the game getting out of the way.
I love to compete. I always have. Playing basketball was just something I had to do no matter how good I was and its something I will always do, no matter how old I get. It gives me a chance to blow off steam. It gives me a way to refocus.
But no matter how much I love to play the game or how involved and competitive I get during a Mavs game, it’s only a minor release. Real competition comes from the sport of business.
In sports, you know who your opponents are. You know when you are going to play a game. You know pretty much how long the game will last. It’s mentally and physically exhausting if you are at the top of the game, but it still pails at the effort required to be successful in business.
The sport of business isnt divided into games. It’s not defined by practices. It doesn’t have set rules that everyone plays by.
The sport of business is the ultimate competition. It’s 7x24x365xforever.
I love the sport of business. I love the competition. I love the fire of it. It’s the feeling of the clock winding down, the ball is in your hands, and if you hit the shot you win…all day, every day.
Relaxing is for the other guy. I may be sitting in front of the TV, but I’m not watching it unless I think there is something I can learn from it. I’m thinking about things I can use in my business and the TV is just there.
I could take the time to read a fiction book, but I don’t. I would rather read websites, newspapers, magazines, looking for ideas and concepts that I can use. I spend time in bookstores because 1 idea from a book or magazine can make me money.
I’m not going to go to dinner with you just to chat. I’m not going to give you a call to see how you are. Unless you want to talk business. Other guys play fantasy sports. I fire the synapses to get an edge.
That’s what success is all about. I’ts about the edge.
It’s not who you know. It’s not how much money you have. It’s very simple. It’s whether or not you have the edge and have the guts to use it.
The edge is getting so jazzed about what you do, you just spent 24 hours straight working on a project and you thought it was a couple hours.
The edge is knowing that you have to be the smartest guy in the room when you have your meeting and you are going to put in the effort to learn whatever you need to learn to get there.
The edge is knowing is knowing that when the 4 girlfriends you have had in the last couple years asked you which was more important, them or your business, you gave the right answer.
The edge is knowing that you can fail and learn from it, and just get back up and in the game.
The edge is knowing that people think your crazy, and they are right, but you don’t care what they think.
The edge is knowing how to blow off steam a couple times a week, just so you can refocus on business
The edge is knowing that you are getting to your goals and treating people right along the way because as good as you can be, you are so focused that you need regular people around you to balance you and help you.
The edge is being able to call out someone on a business issue because you know you have done your homework.
The edge is recognizing when you are wrong, and working harder to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
The edge is being able to drill down and identify issues and problems and solve them before anyone knows they are there.
The edge is knowing that while everyone else is talking about nonsense like the will to win, and how they know they can be successful, you are preparing yourself to compete so that you will be successful.
That’s what makes business such an amazing sport. Everyone plays it. Everyone talks about how good they are or will be at it. Just a small percentage are.
Every single day someone has an idea. Every day someone talks about some business they want to start. Every day someone is out there starting a business whose entire goal is to beat the hell out of yours. How cool is that.
Every day some stranger from any where in the world that you have never met is trying to come up with a way to put you out of business. To take everything you have worked your ass off for, and take it all away. If you are in a growing industry, there could be hundreds or thousands of strangers trying to figure out ways to put you out of business. How cool is that.
The ultimate competition. Would you like to play a game called Eat Your Lunch. We are going to face off. My ability to execute on an idea vs yours. My ability to subvert your business vs your ability to keep it going. My ability to create ways to remove any reason for your business to exist vs your ability to do the same to me. My ability to know what you are going to do, before you do it. Who gets there first? Best of all, this game doesn’t have a time limit. It’s forever. It never ends. It’s the ultimate competition.
It’s the sport of business. It’s not for everyone, but I love it.
I’m fortunate. I have done well enough financially that I don’t have to play 24x7x365. I can and have cut back to 18x7x365. Family first now.
But in those 18 hours, you can bet I’m competing, and loving it.
But that’s me. You have to figure out what works for you."

Do you Love your Customers?

Why are people so uncomfortable with certain words? I guess it is because words can hold so much emotion. I have seen the face of a wife or child as her husband or father becomes verbally abusive. I have seen the face of elation when certain phrases are uttered. As a matter of fact, as I was driving home for lunch I was listening to the soundtrack to the Phantom of the Opera and found my self so moved by the words that I was nearly to tears. How about the emotions aroused by Rush Limbaugh through his words?

Recently, as a company, we have been formulating a motto of sorts that we can all buy into. Many different phrases were suggested. Some were canned some were meaningless, some were riveting. Finally we decided on "Passionate about People" We felt like this best described the way we felt about our customers and how our product changed their lives.

A few days later I received an email from one of our team leaders stating that a few of the people who were not in attendance at the meeting were not comfortable with the word "Passionate." I thought this was a shame. Not only had this great phrase been vetoed by those who did not even show up at the meeting, but that we would lose a word that held a lot of emotion.

This morning I was thinking of another word that I feel holds much more emotion than "Passionate"... Love.

Love is so poorly defined in the English language. If I say I love my wife, then one thing is implied. If I say I love my mother, than other is implied, if I say I love one of my staff, than another (and sometimes a lawsuit.) But what about if I say I love my customers... Do I love my customer? As I thought about this some universal laws of love started popping into my head. First of all, if I love someone I am willing to make sacrifices of myself for them. That is true either its my family or someone across the world whom I have not met who is starving or has some other affliction. I am willing to sacrifice something either time, or money, or gain, or whatever I deem worthy of my love. Secondly, you do things for those you love which you would not do for other you don't. I may pull some strings for a person to get them a job if I love them, when a person I don't love, I wont even return the call.

In the next few days I am going to put together an article regarding "the challenge to love your customer" In this discovery I hope to learn a greater understanding of what role love can play into making me a better person. Also I will keep with the definition of the three part customer. 1. My Clients 2. My Co-Workers 3. Myself.

Is the guy in the glass my friend?

How is it that we pay thousands of dollars on books or seminars to tell us how pure our motivations are or how worthy the struggle for pelf is. Yet the greatest challenge we face is how we see ourselves at the end of the day. Or maybe we are so concerned with how life is treating us rather than how we are treating life. I came across a poem several years ago that I have stuck under the glass of my desk so it stares up at me as I am in my "struggle for pelf".

"The Guy in the Glass
by Dale Wimbrow, (c) 1934
When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgment upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass."

Why Google will rule the world

This was an awesome blog by Paul Allen today.


"7 Reasons Google Will Rule the World
Once again Google surprised the street with much higher than expected earnings. The stock price has jumped $20 today to more than $210 per share and the market cap is almost $58 billion.
I will not be surprised to see consistent positive earnings surprises coming from Google for many years.
I believe that Google is on track to being the most valuable company on the planet. I blogged last year my prediction that within 10-15 years Google will surpass Microsoft in market cap. Here are 7 reasons why it won't even take 10 years for this to happen:
Google Philosophy. Google has the right philosophy for our time--they want to change the world by helping everyone in the world have access to the information they need at any time. By giving us all access to extremely valuable data and tools, they are amassing the largest customer base in the world. After providing a service and attracting an audience, they figure out smart ways to monetize it. But that is not their first priority--changing the world is.
Efficiency of Advertising Model. Once they have eyeballs, the Google self-service model allows hundreds of thousands of businesses to manage their own accounts. New advertisers can set up an account and have traffic coming to a site in just a few minutes. Overture's staff of humans often takes days to approve a new campaign. Google pays almost nothing to get new customers and almost nothing to generate this revenue--the customers themselves do all the work. The profit margins here are breathtaking.
Good Partner. Google is unbelievably generous with partners--content sites who accept Google ads in exchange for a percentage of the revenue. Because Google is not evil, and they want all sites to accept their ads, they share most of the revenue with their content partners.
Employee Pet Projects. Long term, this is the #1 reason why Google will become the most valuable company in the world. I have read that every employee at Google is allowed (or maybe even required) to spend 20% of their time each week working on a pet project. Most companies operate from the top-down. Managers tell employees what to do. Executives make all the resource allocation decisions. But Google has embraced a philosophy which I think can revolutionize the business world--if other companies are smart enough to adopt it. While the most talented, creative, and entrepreneurial people leave companies like Microsoft in frustration in order to start their own enterprises, Google has created an environment where the most talented, creative, and entrepreneurial employees can play in their own sandbox, attract attention and support from top management, and have their pet projected funded within the company. I understand that Larry and Sergei keep a list of the top 100 pet projects in the company. Many of the existing services which Google offers (including Orkut and Google News) were developed by employees. I expect to see hundreds more innovating and exciting free services coming from Google in the coming years. I see more innovation here than from almost all the other top internet companies combined.
Speed of Decision Making at the Top. Once a pet project or an outside company catches the imagination of Google's founders, its maybe only a matter of days before they make a decision to invest in something or make an acquisition. Consider Google's acquisition of Blogger and Picasa. I don't think a dozen MBAs took weeks or months to build extensive financial models to justify the decision to get into blogging or free photo sharing. Google's founders' instincts are so good and they have the ability to make decisions so quickly--that the rest of the world--slow and beauracratized as most of it is--better watch out as Google makes big moves and does business at the speed of thought.
Cash Flow Funds Pet Projects and Acquisitions. Google's cash flow is so amazing that anything the founders want to do in terms of funding employee pet projects or making acquisition, they will be able to do. While Microsoft is distributing tens of billions of dollars to its shareholders through dividends (signalling the end of their ability to generate high returns from investing the cash internally), Google will be investing more and more in its world changing strategies--like scanning millions of books from the major research libraries in the world and offering free voice over IP (free telecommunications) to people around the world. No doubt they will become a leader in instant messaging; they will launch a browser to steal market share away from Internet Explorer; they will be prominent in blogging, online photo sharing, and in online communities. Eventually they may even offer an operating system or network computer with application functionality that will compete head on with Microsoft Windows and Office.
Open Source and Declining Hardware Costs. All the services Google rolls out are being launched on cheap hardware using open source software. The costs of providing services to the world are declining at an astonishing rate. And Google is there at the right time, investing like crazy. I heard a Berkeley professor in 1999 talk about how CPU, storage and bandwidth costs were approaching zero over time. I don't think most companies understand what this means. Google is on track to having a million or more cheap computers configured into one great network computer system that will store our personal data, host the knowledge of the world, and provide us with tools for communicating with each other. And the cost of deploying such a world-wide network is decreasing all the time. Which means profit margins at Google will be breath-taking for years to come and the street will continue to be surprised.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I've sold my Google stock and invested the profits in Infobase Ventures' own startup companies. Even if Google increases in value over the next few years and passes Microsoft in market, the return on equity for a good startup company should be much higher than the 5-6 fold returns that Google might provide, the way I see things.
The main risk I see in investing in our own startup companies is that the thousands of smart Google employees might beat us to the punch in executing on most of our good ideas. They seem to be everywhere these days; and I see their pace of innovation only accelerating. "

My thoughts on Apple

I have been very interested in watching the way Apple has released its new "Ipod Shuffle". I am totally convinced that apple will become more of the standard in the next few years. I write that of course on my Windows PC running the latest greatest software from Microsoft. Although with the release of the Apple Mini, I am getting closer to jumping off that brink and becoming a apple customer.

Here is the why-

1. I think that an Apple machine is technologically superior to any other. They are well put together machines, built to last. I am not totally versed in Apples history, so I don't know if that has always been the case. They seen to understand the level that most people are on when it comes to computers.

2. Versatility. If you talk to a graphic artists or movie person, hands down they use Apple. I always laugh when someone comes to make a presentation to me using Microsoft Publisher or some other product of that caliber. But like a mentioned before, these tools are there to be used if they are needed, not a necessary step to daily computer use. I have also seen that Apple has been able to capitalize on the needs of the graphic designing crowd. These people are powerful, they influence all our buying decisions and the way we live our lives. There are so many people out there with incredible talent. Apple brought the tools to those people.

3. Apple is on the rise. I heard once that Apple used to use the slogan "Proudly going out of business for twenty years" I thought this was hilarious. I remember when I was first entering the world of computers, I was so enamored by Microsoft and what they have done, that I wondered how Apple was still in business. Granted I still have great respect for Microsoft and Bill Gates, however I now see that Apple is not near as obsolete as I once thought. They are so far ahead in the media world. Moreover, Apple was recently named the worlds most notable computer force (knocking Google off from last year) by a worldwide survey of executives.

4. Apple knows Marketing. Frankly, I am a critic when it comes to marketing. I hate nothing worse than a bad marketing campaign. I have never felt this way with Apple. Their marketing excites me, makes me go to their website, makes me want their product. Is that not the essence of marketing.

Go to their website for more information. www.apple.com

Value of a goal

Being that I am from Utah, and doing business in Utah, I have watched with interest the Franklin Covey company. They have certainly had a rough couple of years. Many have rumored that they would file bankruptcy this year. Which would be a shame. Sometimes I think a company just takes a few wrong turns. As I have read the FC message boards often people are criticle of the business and its decisions. I would venture to say that many of those people would have taken the same road. One of the most notable bad decisions (at least in my book) was its early rejection to hand held pda's. I think the company both feared this new technology and its possible ramifications to their product, but also were convinced that this would be a short lived phase. This was a grave decision. All though I have not done all the homework on this, I belive that they had first shot from Palm to take their product worldwide, and FC walk away from it.

I have never recieved any formal training from the FC group, some think its God's gift to business, others think its drivel. However, I think they core goals of this company are good ones, and I think the management, though maybe a bit misguided, has the customer in mind. I think FC is a little greedy right now. You can only do that for so long before it bits you in the backside (and that goes for any business.) I wonder in retrospect if Steven Covey would have made the decision to merge with Hyrum Smith.

I do think that it is very valuable that Franklin Covey has been able to stay to its core values (or habits.) This is admirable. But apparently not profitable.

Angel Investors

In doing some research yesterday I found the following link. www.utahangels.com Very interesting group who has funded some great projects.

Customer Service

Here is a blog by Paul Allen regarding customer service and my response.


"Customers Help Define Business Model
I am fascinated by IT Conversations. This is an audio service using podcasting to deliver up to 140 megabytes of audio "conversations" daily with IT experts. The founder has a very useful service and apparently a large number of users.
Now he is asking for his customers to help him find a business model that will keep the service alive.
Using a Wiki, he posts his ideas about his business model (part advertising, part subscription or micropayment) and then asks for feedback. What he gets is hundreds (or at least dozens) of ideas freely contributed by his users--some of them avid users.
I love the idea of providing a free service which is widely adopted and then engaging your interested users in helping you create a sustainable business model. In this case, this approach is being taken by a highly technical company founder who has technical users (they've already embraced podcasting) and is capable of setting up a Wiki for feedback. Some of us can't set up a Wiki, but we can easily create a Yahoo Group or Google Group and email our best customers so that they can talk to each other and to us about what they want most.
At MyFamily.com a private web site was created for hundreds of our top site administrators. One of our engineers visited the site every day. I visited it often. We received hundreds of excellent suggestions from our best customers, and in one case, one administrator created a spreadsheet of the top 100 enhancements they wanted on MyFamily.com. The value we received from our best customers was incredible. They loved our engineer because he truly cared about their opinions. He personally fixed problems they found and coded enhancements directly from their suggestions, without going through any product management layers. I loved this Rapid Development approach that brought the engineers and customers together onto the same team.
I think most companies don't really care about their customers very much, don't ask them questions, don't engage them in discussions, and don't create opportunities for them to discuss among themselves what should be done next.
Does you company have a way to continually be engaged with your customers? Do you personally? If so, tell me about it. If not, why not?"

___________________________________________________________________

My Response.

"As a major player in the homebuilding boom in the west, we have had to re-evaluate our position on customer service. Being that our market is limited to those who are 55 years or better, we are compelled to focus on what our specific market will respond to. I have found the following things helpful in our quest for 100% customer service and satisfaction.

- Focus Groups - I am a huge fan of these. If run correctly, they can have a huge impact on what my marketing plan will or will not include for the next year.

- Surveys - I am grateful the automobile industry has had a huge re-focus on surveys the last few years. Again, if properly administered, a survey can net powerful, unadulterated results for a company.

- Ask Questions - I have found that so often that retail companies seem to be afraid of their customers. I think this is ridicules. If you are afraid of what your customers are going to say about you and your business, then you either need to change your product or get out of business. I don't think your business ego can get in the way of serving your customers.

Let me offer a practical example. As I mentioned before we have a specific market of those who are 55 or better. The trend in the homebuilding industry is to focus on the internet for the bulk of marketing. However, often I hear that those in my market are not "computer literate" or that they are going to be turned off by not focusing on traditional marketing. However, after several focus groups and a gaggle of surveys we discovered that those in my market are not only hip to technology, but often value a company based on it. Rarely did we find someone who did not want information via the internet. So my challenge as marketing director was to develop a website that was attractive to the eyes of those 55+ rather than my 27 year old eyes. Again, enter the focus group. I feel confident now that we have a site that is not only functional but is also attractive to our market. At the end of the day, it will equal sales on the board.

I know the solutions that I have offered are simple, but I just don’t believe that customer service and satisfaction needs to be a complex matter.

Anyway, I hope that helps-"

The Christmas Spirit?

Is life getting harder and harder? Is poverty more common? Do we live in harder times? Last year I was struck by how many people around me were in some sort of financial difficulty. But this year the stories have been many and heart breaking. Frankly, hard times are hard times, everyone goes through them, but when kids (especially little kids) are involved my heart just aches.

Although I think there are some things on the flip side that need to be considered. One of which is the stories that I hear are nothing compared to the horror that is going on elsewhere in the world. My fat self-indulged American mind cannot comprehend the misery and lifestyle these people are going through. Starvation, War, Rape and so many other atrocities. The stories I hear of the people in my hometown who are struggling are not even close in comparison to the reality these people and kids face everyday.

Additionally, one of my favorite quotes which is taken from 7 habits for highly effective people goes "The Lord words from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." (Ezra Taft Benson) I cannot count the many stories I have heard of people who had nothing as a child or lived a terrible existence growing up were able to perserver by either taking themselves out of the slums or with the help of God having those slums taken out of them. Walter Wattles, a forgotten financial compass of the early 1900's speaks of not dwelling on the hardships of others, because what you dwell on, you soon own, and what you own you are.

So yeah, I'll happily give the change in my pocket to help... But does it help?

Interesting blog by Paul Allen (Utah's Paul Allen)

Infobase Ventures Mentoring Services
Yesterday I met with another passionate entrepreneur trying to get her business off the ground. With more than 500 daily readers of my blog, and with my other writing and speaking opportunities, I am getting more requests for mentoring from entrepreneurs than I can handle.
So I'm raising the bar.
One of my friends raised the bar by charging a high monthly retainer if someone really wants his help. That way, he gets paid for his time, and the entrepreneur really listens to his advice--because it's not free.
I don't want to charge for my services (yet), because I hate taking money from entrepreneurs who don't have any, so here's how I'm going to raise the bar:
Before I take time to meet with you in person or on the phone to discuss your business idea, here is what I require:
You must be using LinkedIn.com and have at least 10 connections and 2 endorsements. That way there is a good chance that I will know someone who knows you. It will be easier for us to gain mutual trust this way.
If you have a management team or key employees, each of them must be on LinkedIn.com with at least 5 connections.
You must have an advisory board of 3 or more successful business people (preferrably 6-10) who believe in you and are willing to meet with you monthly or bi-monthly to dispense advice and help you with your challenges.
If your company is at revenue stage, you must be using Quickbooks Online Edition so that I can review your financials with you as needed. This costs only $19.95 per month and gives 3 users access to your data. I need to see the real picture and not just hear about the big ideas.
I need to see a simple cap table (showing the ownership of your company, including options and warrants)
You must know your company's SIC code and have a list of any publicly traded competitors that you might have. I want you to be familiar with SEC reports and gaining competitive intelligence. Too often entrepreneurs have an idea, think they are the only one doing it, and they are unaware that there are large well-funded competitiors doing the same thing. This doesn't mean you can't succeed by being faster and smarter than the larger company (in business, often large=slow), but I don't want you to be unaware of your competition.
If you do have publicly traded competitors, you must have a My Yahoo portfolio listing all their stock symbols, so you can stay current with their news and financial status.
For your privately held competitors, I need to know the Alexa rankings of their web sites and how many employees they have. (The best way to get this info is to download the Alexa toolbar.)
You must have set up Google Alerts so that whenever any of your competitors are in the news, you will hear about it and know what they are all up to. I want to see a complete list of your Google Alerts keywords.
Finally: don't dare ask me for advice or help if you haven't read Guy Kawasaki's Art of the Start. I think it's the best book ever written on startups. I expect you to have marked up every passage that struck you as important, and I expect you to have followed his formula for startups, including the MAT approach, the 10/20/30 rule for Powerpoints, and the bottoms-up business model and forecast.
I don't need to read a business plan, but if you have a 1-2 page executive summary that's okay, but certainly not required.
Okay, I got that off my chest. I really, really, really like helping energetic entrepreneurs, young or old, that are willing to learn constantly, and will not give up until their dream comes true. But before you ask me for personal time, please take these 10 steps, and then let's talk.