Surfing a Wave of Razorblades
A friend of mine recently broke his neck surfing. He caught a wave, rode it the distance, and essentially forgot to stop. The thrill captivated, carried and ultimately ejected him headfirst into the sand like a javelin. I still imagine the inertia of his body folding around his ears as he goes limp in the […]
An Email to Executive Referral
Today, I was referred to a potential small business buyer and manager. He has some cash but is looking for an equity partner… maybe. While I’m grateful for the referral, I also sniffed out a few problems. Being the nice guy that I am, I wanted to save the individual from some serious bruises from […]
The No-Risk Entrepreneur
Today a friend came into our office to seek some free advice. His question: how do I start a business with no cash? After a long winded series of questions and answers, I should have just said, “you can’t.” Mikel said that pretty quickly. Perhaps I’m a slow study. Maybe I like a good challenge? […]
Expectations versus Exposure
Earlier today I was reflecting on the distinction between expectations and exposure. Most of us naturally assume normal distributions. We look at a few data points, plot the minimum, maximum and compute a rough average in our head. We then draw a virtual bell curve in our mind. This works for things like human life […]
Digital Rivers
Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” supposes that economies will develop most fruitfully near navigable waterways. This is because no method of transportation is cheaper. Raw commodities will be manufactured into processed goods and both raw and finished goods, in excess supply, can be shipped inexpensively to other regions cost effectively. This will support growth of […]
Embracing Limitations
I would like you to create something. Go. Wait… What? That’s not enough? Well, you have everything. Go! “I cannot,” you say, “I need more information.” Life can be a shapeless blue ocean inviting you to do something. This can be terrifying. Instead of remaining frozen, or going immediately to someone else’s prescription, a […]
Making money, profit, and impact
A friend and I have been emailing the last few days about the non-profit organizational structure of MatchBOX Coworking Studio. He’s thinking about doing something to impact entrepreneurial communities. It won’t be directly part of his main business but will build off of his success there and could lead indirectly to even more opportunities in […]
Game Makers, Paradigm Shifters & Disruptors
This morning, I was sipping my coffee and enjoying a book entitled Paradigms by Joel Arthur Barker. On the cover is a gentleman who I assume to be the author. He is wearing a suit and looks like the picture was taken in 1992. If the old adage is “you shouldn’t judge a book by […]
Walk a Day in My Shoes – Berger
Inspired by Daryl’s post, which was inspired by Franklin: 5 Wake early & read Family 6 Email/Slack Triage and Task list organize. Shower Family 7 Breakfast and catchup with family Commute 8 Coffee meeting – community / mentor focused 9 Project work 10 11 12 Business Lunch Meeting 1 Email/Slack Triage 2 Calls 3 4 […]
Brand Promise Wheel
The brands or sectors listed in our brand wheel are purists. We believe the most enduring brands are split complementary. They start with a split base and spice it up with an opposite accent, tactically exploited. The next best and most common successful brands are […]