Late night work:
Sometimes the best work is done beyond the hours of 8 to 5. Tonight four of us are pushing hard to reach a critical goal and we are having a great time. It feels good to work as a team with a single purpose it is what collaboration truly is. A new type of extreme programming, four people on one computer all pitching in. It is these type of experiences that bring people together and bonds are created.

These are the times in a young business that will be reflected upon with a sense of pride when the product serves its ultimate goal, success.

And, the pizza and beer are not so bad either.

Cheers,
Mike

Be a Monkey!

One of the best ways to build a business is to be a pain in the ass to the existing 500 pound gorilla. Is there a market that they are under serving? Are their clients unhappy with them but have no alternative? These are very good markets to exploit.

The infamous 500 pound gorilla has got what I like to call the "Three M's", Money, Market Share and Momentum. But many times these make that gorilla an easy target to a broke, agile, no business having monkey.

Momentum carries the gorilla forward down the same path. Any change in business strategy can mean a loss of their current customers. He has to plan, measure, and move with passionless thought. The monkey swings from idea to idea and has to stay way out in front since he is often showing the gorilla the path. The monkey is the innovator the gorilla the executioner.

The monkey is hungry and does not have much capital, he needs to find some early success or die. He is willing to listen to his customers and create a product that is truly reflective of their needs. The gorilla pours huge amounts of money into marketing to convince customers that his product will solve their problems and to maintain market share. The monkey is passionate the gorilla is introspective.

Market share can be a pain for the gorilla. He has worked very hard to get where he is very resistant to change. Change means risk and uncertainty, this is bad for the stock price. New products might not sell as good as the old ones and he may lose customers. The monkey has no market share to speak of. He can create niches of customers for whom he will deliver the world. He can create new and innovative products where there is no market. He can steal whole markets with a shift in paradigm. The monkey is creative, the gorilla is protective.

And keep in mind some day you will be the gorilla to some young monkey.

Cheers,
Mike

Knowing the right decision:

We often hear about leaders who have made big decisions correctly, even though their decision goes against conventional wisdom. Take Steve Jobs, of Apple, who in 2001 launched their first Apple store. Their thought was that for someone to truly give Apple a shot at being the computer of choice they would need sales people who really understood the product. They opened this store just as Gateway was closing their stores due to soft sales. Many analysts thought this was a poor decision. The rest is history, Apple operates more than 81 stores nationwide and their 2004 sales exceeded 1.5 billion.

Apple was already the hip computer. Following the lead of such stores as BCBG, Disney and Hollister, they turned their store into an experience. This electronic hip experience was backed up with a superior product and a amazing product development team. Steve knew this was the right decision at the right time.

Many times I have a hard time articulating the reasons behind a decisions, however, I know to the core of me that it is the right thing to do. I often will sit and think about the basis of the pending decision and allow my mind to bubble the reasons for the decision to the top. If I do not take the time to do this I feel the decision is more emotional than rational and I will err on the side of rational every day.

Cheers,
Mike

Great Things Happening:
We launched our new corporate site (I use the term corporate lightly)! You can visit it at www.mingle.com. It is still a work in process, but check it out.

We are currently featured on blogger.com as a "Blog of Interest". So for all you new readers, please forgive my poor grammar and spelling errors!

If you are interested in becoming an alpha member please create a profile by clicking here. Why do you want to be an alpha member? It's free and you will be on the cutting edge of the future!

Enough with the infomercial.

Cheers,
Mike