During a planning session last night for our company Cenoplex- I learned of a great quote.
It is a spin off of “It’s always darkest before the dawn”, or the story- Three feet from Gold- in which the person stops short of his goal.
The quote is- “The impossible happens just on the other side, of where you stop!”
In an attempt to expand my online universe, I decided to upload a contact file into Facebook and use the friend finder. After MANY unsuccessful attempt to just “upload” the file, I was finally successful.
A quick tip for anyone trying-
1- your file has to be a CSV
2- it can only contain the email field
3- it can’t be over 5,000 records.
This last point was painfully relevant as my database contains about 9,500 names.
After finally getting that figured out, the upload was complete.
The next step….selecting the “friends” I wanted to invite.
Unfortunately, here comes the vagrancies of a social network. It is their job to GROW!!! Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. are on a mission to have more people.
Thus, while trying to judiciously select the friend to invite, facebook notified me of my great “success”.
What was that success? It has now sent out an invitation to EVERYONE in my contact list.
Not very clear or concise on how to invite friends. And I believe it is done intentionally and insidiously.
So, for anyone who received my invite, and either wishes to decline, or doesn’t remember meeting me- I apologize and understand.
I’m now staring at a screen for LinkedIn think- what to do next? I surely hope it is a more clear path to selection.
Are you hunting Elephants, or are you hunting Deer?
In light of the world of Political Correctness, I hope the following doesn’t offend anyone.
If anyone has built a company, or tried to sell a product or service, you will relate to what is about to follow.
Some products or services are best built for large companies, however not everyone is cut out to sell to large organizations.
In other situations, even though the product may qualify for elephant status, the deer look like an easier target.
Well, at some point one must decide- Are you hunting Elephants or Deer?
If you are going after elephants, then heed the words of a famous bushman (ok, I’m not sure who said this, if he is famous, or I just made it up)
“He who hunts elephants, does not stop in the jungle, to throw stones at birds!”
That means- stay focused.
The reason I point this out is that in the world of hunters, there are VERY few who can go after big game.
If you are in the processes of taking a product to market, or you already have one that is out, the determination becomes, what is the “sales cycle”?
Often for larger ticket items, or big projects, or services sold to Fortune 1000 companies, the sales cycle can be 12 to 15 months, or more.
It is easy to look for smaller game to hunt. The $50 Million dollar company that is “interested”. The $200 Million dollar company that “qualifies”.
In many instances, the sales cycle for the smaller company may be just as long as for the bigger one.
At the end of the day, is it worth it to hunt the smaller company? Will the profitability be sustainable? Will the service and support outweigh the revenue? Will you spend just as much time and effort for a smaller pay off at the end of the day?
Yes, indeed it is easier to think you can walk into the woods and find a deer.
However, it takes real skill to walk into the jungle and bag an elephant.
If you think you have the product and the skill- decide?
Do you spend your time in the jungles with the big game, or in the fields with the small?
Considering there are over 600,000 registered hunters with a deer license, and probably less than 500 that may hunt the big game, if you have the skill, go for the……
Again, the above was meant for an analogy and wasn’t meant to offend anyone.
Ady is part of Sea Shepherd (www.SeaShepherd.org), which was founded by Paul Watson (co-founder of Greenpeace), and his boat was sunk by a Japaneses Whaler.
There are some great videos up on Youtube.
Here is one with my interview, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Sb8M2Zi1A
Here is one to many video with the actual ramming- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Sb8M2Zi1A
To be a Billion dollar company, you must first think like one, and act like one, long before you are one.
I would like to relate a story- though not a true one- that is a metaphor for what is about to be written.
There was a woman working in a plant for $10 and hour when the owner approached her and asked a series of questions:
“Would you work overtime, for $30 an hour”, he asked?
“Of Course”, she replied.
“Would you work on Saturdays, and Sundays if needed, or stay late without being asked, or work on Holidays, if the case warranted it”?
“For $30 an hour”, “You bet!” She exclaimed.
Then, the boss asked, “would you do all of that, for $10 an hour”?
“No way”, was her quipped reply.
“Well, then you will never make $30 an hour”
Without going into further detail, the moral of the story is:
You must first “See” yourself as a $30 an hour employee, before anyone else will see you as having that value.
Now, back to business.
All too often, companies look to shortcut their way to success. They will do the smallest amount, put out an inferior product, rush to market, or not look to expand into new areas.
The question is: If you were a Billion dollar company, how would you make the decision?
In the area of growth, planning, acquisitions, alliances, and even Board members- the decisions of a Multi-Billion dollar company will probably be much different than your own.
How can you expect to grow and become the titan of industry, if you don’t first act like one.
This goes for ANY size company.
If you are just starting out- is your paperwork, funding documents, corporate papers, and structures set up for true growth? Or are they haphazardly put together because you were cutting corners?
If you are a growing company- are you alliance and sales documents top notch? Are the companies and executives you surrounded yourself with helping you for growth? Is your team one that can take you to the next level, or drag you down? Are you “hiring up!”, or are the people you surround yourself with too much like yourself?
What about having financial fortitude and strong managers? Or are you surrounded with a bunch of “yes” men, who will just agree with you?
As you continue to grow, are you looking at creative ways for funding? Are you looking at strategic acquisitions and growth strategies?
What- you don’t have the funding for that? Again, would a Billion dollar company due everything with cash? Does your stock have value? Are there other values you have you can bring to the table?
Yes, you have to act like a big company, long before you are a big company, to become a big company.
I am constantly confounded by the way Government runs and handles programs. While this is not a partisan attack of one administration or another, it is certainly an attach of the current one creating the process.
The current housing market is a “prime” (pun intended) example of just such.
The process of rewriting or reworking a mortgage for a home owner is onerous, confusing, and shrouded in mystery.
I can attest to that, as I have tried in vain to get some resemblance of help on my house in Chicago. The company I have currently- American Home Mortgage, is in receivership.
That means not only can they not attempt a modification, they have- according to the Obama scorecard- helped exactly ZERO homeowners.
Yes, there is indeed a problem.
The following article does a good job of outlining the issues and challenges.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35062033/ns/business-mortgage_mess//
Take a look at the following paragraph for the steps in sequence. I especially like the use of the word “simple” in the first sentence. If it were so simple, why is nothing getting done?
“Saving a home from foreclosure can be as simple as rewriting a costly, high-rate subprime loan to prevailing mortgage market rates. If that doesn’t bring the payment to within roughly 31 percent of a homeowners’ monthly income, HAMP guidelines require mortgage servicers to follow a step-by-step process to cut mortgage payments further. First, they can write down the interest rate to as low as 2 percent and then stretch the term of the loan to 40 years. If that doesn’t work, lenders can cut the amount of principal owed.”
My suggestion is to turn the entire program UPSIDE DOWN!
That doesn’t mean throw it out, it means start from the bottom.
If the government would “force” the mortgage companies to rewrite all the current mortgages at “current” market value, you would be able to take a fresh approach.
For instance- if a house was worth $900,000, and is now only worth $600,000- take the write down and create a new mortgage at that amount, and into a fixed interest vehicle
The lender could then look at the new payment amount and quickly determine if the current homeowner could afford the property.
Under the current program, the loan is modified at the current amount owed- which in the end, really gives little incentive to paying on a property.
The Government’s solution? Let’s give the lender $4K in a bounty to try to rework a loan? Funny?
What a disaster.
Why not find a why to really help the homeowner in a way that makes sense for them.
Is that going to happen? No, it seems the Governments next big solution to this problem is……..to give more disclosure of the guidlines…that in and of themselves aren’t working.
Ahhhh, you have to love big Government.
So, I’m about to start an new Pet Project. It’s going to be in the environmental space.
It should completely rock, but we’ll see.
However, in the course of research, I ran across something I found interesting. I searched of the “top 10 green companies”. One company appears on several of the lists, and to me it doesn’t make any sense.
That company is- Starbucks. http://tinyurl.com/y8lzj7k
Why do I find that odd? Because I tend to see the most simple solution to a complex problem.
For Starbucks? It always amazed me that they didn’t have a recycle bin for their trash? To see glass bottles, plastic cups, etc. simply thrown away with normal trash…..well.
Perhaps there is a good reason?
But, I would think Starbucks could set a good example- and a SIMPLE one- if they just encouraged the millions of people a day who frequent their locations- to recycle.
So, I had a chance to sit down with Ady Gil and talk a little bit about his boat and what happened. If you’re not aware, the vessel Ady Gil was cut in half by a Japanese “research” whaling ship. I say “research” as it’s amazing what the Japanese do to get away with whale hunting- which is illegal.
The current claim is they are researching the affect of harpoon grenades on Whale blubber. Of course, the only way to study that is to shoot the whale, kill it, and then bring it on board for “research”.
The reality show Whale Wars has been highlighting this. If you want to see the videos of the actual ship being rammed, go to www.seashepherd.org, www.Ady.com, or YouTube “Ady Gil”.
The videos are really amazing. If you want to donate to their cause for getting another ship, that is available as well.
I’ve posted the interview with Ady on Facebook.
Ok, nothing like jumping straight in with controversy. If you’re not aware, there is a special election coming up for the Senate seat of the late Ted Kennedy.
Interesting if you are tracking such items. If Scott Brown the Republican wins, it will dramatically change the balance of power in the Senate, and perhaps the course of history for the United States.
My friend Dennis Hayes (created the Modem- “Hayes Compatible”- if you’ve heard of that). He sent a note out imploring people to follow and get out to vote.
I’ve copied his note below. Regardless of your political affiliation, this is something indeed worth tracking.
From Dennis Hayes-
“Dear Friends,
Please forward this message to all of your friends that live in Massachusetts.
I don’t care whether you are a Democrat, Independent or Republican, I hope you will go and take everyone you know to vote next week for Scott Brown so there is a chance to stop the Train Wreck in Congress with the socialists in control of the government and reset the health care reform so we can solve the problems and get something that will actually work. I can only hope that you and the people in Massachusetts are as angry and frustrated with the crap being rushed through Congress, without transparency or bipartisan input, that is not solving any of the problems that it is supposed to and spending trillions more that the government cannot afford. I believe we need Health insurance reform but everything about the current bill in Congress is a travesty and wrong for all of us. Brown is refreshing as a person from Massachusetts; on health care, trials of terrorists and independent thinking I have to give him an A+. Good luck, we are counting on all of you to bring some real change and sanity back to Congress.
The rest of the country needs you to take action and be real Patriots.”
My first foray into the Green and Environmental space.
Should be interesting.
More to come.