employees Archives - Page 8 of 10

Access vs ownership

Posted on February 2, 2008 by Steve Sammartino

We often have a default thinking that we must ‘own’ something to benefit from it. Particularly when it comes to assets. The truth is more like this…

we only need access, not ownership.

We don’t need to own a Boeing 747 to fly to Sydney, New York or London. We just need a seat on it – access to it. A lot of the time it doesn’t make any sense at all to own something.

It’s just as silly to think we need to have (own) all the technical skills our startup or business requires. And here’s an example which will makes us all very excited.

Yes Skype. The founders of Skype, Zennstrom and Friis, are not programmers. They outsourced all their technical requirements to a team of coders in Estonia. They wanted fresh eyes on the project. None of the coders had telecommunications experience either. They just told them what they wanted and made it happen.

No need to discuss what happened next.

Over reactions

Posted on January 31, 2008 by Steve Sammartino

Over reactions are omnipresent in humans. The best example is the sharemarket. It is rarely priced at ‘fair value’. The sharemarket sentiment is either overly optimistic or overly pessimistic.

it seems that managers tend to over react

it seems that employees tend to over react

it seems that VC’s tend to over react

it seems that suppliers tend to over react

it seems that customers tend to over react

The funny things is that over reactions never solve the problem, and often compound them.

Isn’t it refreshing when one of the above has a balanced and considered response to the inevitable issues which pop up in any start up business.

Be refreshing.

Understanding

Posted on January 17, 2008 by Steve Sammartino

Some things aren’t worth understanding.

Just knowing it works is enough.

Presentation Props

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Steve Sammartino

Ever the showman, Steve Jobs showed us how it’s done – again.

He didin’t need large flat screens

He didn’t need to buy the rights to a Beatles or Rolling Stones song

He didn’t need a montage of extreme sports

With the launch of the new Macbook Air. Jobs did something so simple, yet so powerfull

His prop: the humble manila evenlope.

At the Macworld conference in San Francisco jobs wondered on stage unwound the string on a standard manila envelope and slid from it the new ultra thin MacBook Air. The crowed oohed and aahed in disbelief, some even laughing incredulously.

It could have been any of us. The prop probably cost less than $1.00. This is great news for start ups because we’re only limited to the effort we put into thinking about it.

So the next time we present something to a customer, VC or employee, let’s think like Jobs and make it memorable.

Just one customer

Posted on January 15, 2008 by Steve Sammartino

If we had just one customer how would we treat her?

If we had just one customer what would our business relationship be?

If we had just one customer at what lengths would we help her?

If we had just one customer we’d hope she told others good things about us.

If we had 1 million customers it would be different. We’d be too busy to do any of that stuff. We’d have projects and financials and meetings and someone answering our phone and daily issues to resolve….right?

As far as she is concerned, we only have one customer.

So it must be true, we only have one customer. We ought treat her that way.

Fringe benefits

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Steve Sammartino

Today it is 42º Celsius / 107.6 Fahrenheit, where I am (Melbourne, Australia).

So I went surfing.

Start up blog author enjoying fringe benefits!

I got up early and worked until about 10am and then headed down the coast to cool off in the heat of the day. It was very refreshing. At times I was just chilling out and catching waves, at other times I was thinking about some current projects and business issues I’m facing.

The main point is I have the flexibility to plan my hours as I see fit. Something most employers talk about, but rarely institute. It’s a great fringe benefit for all entrepreneurs.

So when considering your corporate exit, or for those who already have, don’t forget to take advantage of the fringe benefits you’ve created.

The richness of life is far more important than getting rich.

Ideas are free

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Steve Sammartino

An excerpt from the blog of Seth Godin today. I had to post it:

“This isn’t about having a great idea (it almost never is). The great ideas are out there, for free, on your neighbourhood blog. Nope, this is about taking initiative and making things happen.”