My entrepreneurial scorecard
Flickr: ghewgill
Lists of entrepreneurial qualities abound on the web. Heck, I even ran a couple surveys when I first started this blog. After a couple years of working with entrepreneurs and start-ups, I’ve come to the conclusion that while entrepreneurs in aggregate do exhibit many similar personal qualities, the success of their start-up is a different issue altogether and tied to a much more subtle and extensive set of factors.
That observation combined with my natural orientation to practical, real-world information, and I’ve personally grown very tired of talking about entrepreneurial qualities. I’ve met plenty of passionate, committed, tireless, social, driven, etc., etc., etc. entrepreneurs whose start-up didn’t succeed. I’ve also met a handful of very successful entrepreneurs. While it is true that they exhibit quite a lot of the qualities generally subscribed to entrepreneurs, I personally think that success requires much broader support than simply the personal qualities of the entrepreneur. (Not to mention that any tight cohort most likely exhibits similar qualities. That’s why they are a cohort. Let’s not confuse shared experience with success. While most squirrels in my neighborhood are brown, simply being a brown animal doesn’t make you a squirrel.)
So my personal “scorecard” for initial evaluation or entrepreneurs includes both personal factors and opportunity factors. I typically look at four factors in each category. What follows is a quick overview of my though process in an initial meeting with an entrepreneur.
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Personal Recap: Apr 2010
Movies
Yes, I have things to talk about on my running progress last month, but before you think I’m one dimensional, let’s talk about another one of my personal passions: movies.
I like all kinds of movies from special effects “guy movies” to emotional “chick flicks”, and everything in between. The movies that I end up loving though, the ones that go on my all time favorite list, have to bring something special. Last month I reconnected with one of those special movies Fantastic Mr. Fox.
I first saw this movie while visiting my sister in Chicago a year or so ago. While she didn’t care for it, I thought it was magical. Shopping at Target last month, I saw it for sale on an endcap and bought it. I’m not one of those movie collectors, in fact this is the first movie I’ve ever bought I think. I’ve since watched it a handful of times and am just as entranced by it as I was the first time.
The movie is based on a children’s book of the same name, and there is certainly a playful element to it, but real-world adult issues are dealt with throughout the movie. It could well be the theme movie of this blog, as I think one of the core themes is that of staying true to yourself, yet doing so responsibly within the world. One scene any of us over 30 or so can relate to, sums up this balance in very real terms. After Mr. Fox has created a situation requiring his entire family to go on the run (after breaking a promise to his wife), his wife confronts him on the issue. When Mr. Fox points out that “we are, after all, wild animals”, his wife replies by saying “yes, but you are also a husband and a father”. Conflict is not avoided in this movie, but neither is it wallowed in. Mr. Fox is, after all, Fantastic and the movie ends happily although with more than just a touch of “the consequences of your actions”.
I’ve seen a small handful of movies throughout my life I considered magical in their own right. Magic means different things to different people, but if you are a movie lover at all, I think you’ll enjoy Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Fitness
As you know from a couple months ago, inspired by that darn book I’m in the process of transforming from a short distance runner to a long distance runner. My goals are to run a 15 mile race/run by the end of this year, and a 30 mile race/run by the end of 2011.
April running
My April highlight was the trail race I had registered for. I’ve never been much of a race runner, preferring instead to do my own things, at my own speed, on my own trails. Then I came across an announcement that Xterra, was kicking off an Ohio trail racing series. That sounded like fun so I registered for the first race – Vulture’s Knob, listed as a 15K (around 9.5 miles) on a mountain bike track in Wooster. That distance was right at the limit of the longest I was running at the time so I knew it would be a challenge and I was really looking forward to it.
The race ended up being a lot of fun with the only downside being some rain falling for the first few miles. It was a challenging course with several decent hills. What I like most about trail running though is the scenery and this course didn’t disappoint – for the most part it was through wooded areas and it was gorgeous. I finished with a time of 1:43 for a pace just under 11 minutes a mile (#48). This put me squarely middle of the pack for all racers. While I wasn’t happy with the 11 minute pace (I was shooting for around 10), I was quite happy finishing middle of the pack. With around 100 racers of all ages present, and only a couple months training at the longer distances, I was quite satisfied with my finish position.
While I was able to finish, I probably wasn’t ready for a run of that distance under race conditions. For anyone who has run you know that race conditions take a lot more out of you than training. The race kicked my butt and it took a while to physically recover.
April lessons learned
My big April lesson learned was born out of that race – the importance of rest. After researching distance running training plans online, one thing I noticed they all have in common is a rest week. This isn’t a week where you do nothing, but a week where you let your body catch up to where you’ve pushed it. A typical training plan would be to increase your mileage 10%, run that for two weeks, then run your previous mileage for a week before upping your mileage again. Before Vulture’s Knob I had been all about push, push, push. After Vulture’s Knob I have a whole new appreciation for rest!
In April, I also learned I had slayed a Beast. When I started this journey I wondered if I had the passion to see it through. Time will tell, but I’ve already overcome several instances where I’ve got my running done even though I had lots of excuses at my disposal “do it tomorrow”. That leads me to this month’s time out…
April Time Out: Passion and Commitment
Almost any list of entrepreneurial qualities you see will list passion and commitment at the top of the list and I would agree. I know understand at a deeper level what’s so important about these two qualities, for me at least.
To be passionate about something is to feel the consuming nature of it – it’s all you can think of, it’s all you want to talk about, it fills your thoughts. Commitment brings an element of translating that passion into action. So put the two together and you take that “fire in your belly” and direct it, via your actions, into real world results. The most obvious outcome of this equation is that passion + commitment = goals. Without goals, committing to your passion really doesn’t mean anything.
My personal revelation though in April, and what has help me relate to (and in some cases evaluate) entrepreneurs, is what the combination of passion and commitment can make happen. What I found at least was, oddly, comfort. There have been times in my life that I was really passionate about something, and just never did anything about it. Other times I was committed to a goal, but ultimately didn’t follow through. With both passion and commitment involved in the process, I’ve found a comfort in knowing that I will do what I said I would do, without exceptions.
I have got my daily training in on the treadmill at 11 o’clock in the evening. I have rolled out of bed at 7 a.m. Sunday morning to get my long run in before spending a day with my parents. That’s commitment. Add in passion though, and what happens is that even if I didn’t get up early Sunday morning, I’m not stressing out all day wondering if I’ll have the commitment to run when I got home. I just know I will. I’ve seen this in some of the entrepreneurs I’ve worked with. A million things may be happening but they stay calm since they just know they will do what they need to do to accomplish their goals.
The real test, as we all know, is the test of time and keeping that passion and commitment at the levels required to reach your goals. I’d love to hear your comments on how to stay charged, how you recharge.
In closing
So that’s it for now; a pretty good month. I hope you all had a great April as well – what did you get accomplished? Leave me a comment and let me know what you’ve been up to. What’s your current personal goal(s) and what progress did you make last month?
Do what you say you’re going to do
I was excited to get home tonight and head out for the evening’s run for a number of reasons. First, after some morning showers, it turned out to be a gorgeous Spring day – sunshine and mid-50′s. Since Sunday is my long run day and Monday is my traditional day to recover, physically I’m usually in pretty good shape come Tuesday so I can do a tempo run and push myself. Lastly, since there was some construction by my normal weekday trail, I decided to run my favorite trail. It’s 3.2 miles long, so I set out to run it twice.
Physically, running can be a funny sport. Some days you feel terrible, then go out and have a great run. Other days you’re on top of the world, and fight just to keep going. Unfortunately tonight, the run quickly devolved into the second category. I greatly suspect my lunch (late and heavy on the pasta) was a prime culprit.
Good Cop, Bad Cop
It didn’t take long before I started thinking about only running one loop. It’s funny how it creeps up on you, isn’t it? Sure you’re struggling, but you came out with a goal regardless. Then out of the blue comes the first unbidden thought: “what would be so bad about just running one loop?” From there it’s like a good cop, bad cop scene where you literally argue with yourself; one side taking the position that there’s no shame in quitting if you don’t “have your stuff” (and you can always do extra in the coming days), the other side sticking to toughing it out and saving some self-esteem.
The issue, as we all know, is that history tells us that we don’t make up for it in the coming days. While we may struggle to get through the task we’ve set before ourselves from time to time and not complete it as quickly or as eloquently as we had hoped, the fact that we did complete it greatly helps balance out that minor disappointment.
So this back and forth in my mind went on for the better part of the first run, and I still didn’t know what I was going to do as I rounded the final turn and headed up the last hill toward the parking lot.
But I kept going
I’ll jump to the end of the story and tell you that I kept going and did my second loop. The satisfaction in doing what I said I was going to do absolutely made up for the crappy, sub-par run. And you know what? The second loop was far better than the first. Sometimes if you just stick with it long enough, things work themselves out.
So what trick did I employ to talk myself into running the second loop? What incentive did I use? What logical argument won out over the bad cop? Actually, I don’t really feel like I did anything, it all kind of took care of itself. What I can tell you is that it was really the opposite of all those questions I just asked:
I simply stopped trying to talk myself out of it.
That’s right – as I rounded that last corner and headed up the hill toward the trailhead, without even thinking of it I just kind of stopped trying to convince myself that I shouldn’t continue. I let the goal of running two loops settle back into my subconscious, and my active mind just re-occupied with random thoughts of the trail and the day. After that everything took care of itself. As I came up on the trailhead, I just kept running without thinking and continued on to my second loop.
Sure, it’s not always that simple, but…
…then again, maybe it is. We spend so much time and effort trying to look for ways to do what we say we are going to do, that sometimes I think we end up spending more effort than if we would just keep running in the first place. Plus, we all know what it feels like when we don’t do what we say we’re going to. It feels pretty crappy, right? But following through and staying true to our goals feels pretty awesome right? So even though my run tonight didn’t satisfy my evening goal I stayed true to my long term goal and I did what I said I was going to do. On balance, I’ll take that any night.
Personal Recap: Mar 2010
Fitness
So most of March on a personal level was directed toward my running pursuits. As I prefaced last month, inspired by that darn book I’m in the process of transforming from a short distance runner to a long distance runner. My goals are to run a 15 mile race/run by the end of this year, and a 30 mile race/run by the end of 2011.
I’ve always been fairly focused on fitness and staying in shape, but this pursuit had me upping my weekly miles fairly significantly so I was anticipating facing some Beasts. Most notably I had figured I’d be facing off against fatigue and commitment. Also, at 50 years old (now 51), there was another Beast looming that I couldn’t control – age. While I don’t buy in to what I would call the excuse of age, and I think you can stay in great shape no matter how old you are, it’s hard to deny that changes are unavoidable as we get older. In particular to running longer and longer distances, I was concerned that maybe my knees and ankles would rebel.
So how’d it go?
Things went well in March and I’m happy to report that I averaged 25 miles/week during the month. It wasn’t always easy and based on the research I did throughout the month I raised my mileage way too much way too fast, but that’s kind of how I do everything.
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Why it’s hard
I just killed a Beast.
The particulars aren’t important, although it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t quick. But I can tell you I’m looking at a hot, steaming pile of freshly slain EXCUSE on my living room floor, and I moved one day closer to my personal goals.
Why it’s hard
It’s hard because it’s so much easier to come up with reasons not to do something versus reasons why you should:
- I’m tired
- I’ll do double tomorrow
- I don’t have enough time
- I’d rather do this other thing
- I have so many other things to do
- etc., etc.
Even more nefarious is the reasons not to do something always somehow seem to make more sense than the one or two reasons you should. “I’m really tired today and maybe getting sick” seems like a really good reason to not do your workout compared to “I know I should”.
So, how to make it easier?
Sorry, kids, I don’t have an answer for this one. If there was a secret, someone would be making millions off it, and if it was easy everyone would be doing it. But there isn’t, and it’s not. It’s a one day at a time affair; you against The Beast. All I can say is that when it comes right down to it, right now this second, you can either decide to DO what you’ve said/promised you will do, or you can decide to NOT do what you said/promised you will do. And making that decision, really, is pretty easy either way.
What’s the payoff for slaying the Beast?
Ah, that one I can tell you and it’s pretty sweet. You know that feeling when you decide not to do something you’ve promised yourself you would do? Feels pretty crappy, right? And it doesn’t feel any better tomorrow. Well the feeling you get when you slay that Beast, and you follow through on your promise, and you do what you promised yourself you would do, is a thousand times better.
And, as an added bonus, it may be tomorrow, it may be next week or next month, but the next time The Beast thinks about sniffing around your rodeo, I can guarantee you it will think twice.
Good hunting, my friends…
Welcoming “The Beast”
In my first review post, I wrote on a central theme of the book, the “secret to their success”, which is bringing a sense of joy to your life. This sense of joy is what the author largely credits to the Tarahumara Indian’s ability to run 100 miles or more, all with a smile on their face.
With this post, I’d like to focus on a short segment in the book that I found particularly inspiring. It’s about The Beasts the ultra-distance runners in the book encounter and how they respond to them. While the stories in the book are told by these runners, they nonetheless have just as much relevance for all of us. Even as most of these runners do what they do because they love it, a point that really stuck out for me is that when they race, they are challenging themselves by not only attempting something most rational people would think verges on the insane, but doing it while pitted against some of the best in the world that do the same thing. It dawned on me while reading the book that this is an apt metaphor for our own most aggressive, visionary and challenging goals, whether business or personal. Some use the term BHAG to stand for Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Those goals that will truly stretch us, where there is a good chance if not high probability of failure, and which (unfortunately) we are usually up against some world-class naysayers.
So, whether you’re running 135 miles through 130F heat, or tackling your own personal or professional BHAG, eventually you’ll bump up against The Beast.
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Personal Recap: Feb 2010
Those of you that have read my blog for a while remember a recurring feature I had called the DCO Reader. In each of the Readers I tried to share some interesting posts from around the web on all the topics I find interesting. It started as weekly, then monthly, then got kind of sporadic, then just disappeared. I’ve actually just removed all the Readers from the blog too. While most of what I included was interesting, it always felt like a shortcut to adding content on the site and I really wasn’t doing anything you all could do with an Internet connection and a well crafted search.
My recent post on rethinking and refocusing on how I wanted to approach this blog has reinvigorated me. I also appreciate the wisdom of fellow blogger John Ettorre when he speaks to the tapping into the “authentic you” when writing. I totally agree with John when he says writing from the authentic you is important because:
Nothing else is very interesting, and readers pick up on when you’re not being yourself.
Personally, I’ve definitely felt more passion lately when it comes to writing. Writing from your heart and your passions has so many benefits, not the least of which is joy. So with this post I thought I’d start a more personal series, sort of a monthly recap on what I’m up to with respect to my personal passions and what I learned throughout the month. I’ll be posting these recaps over the weekend, so feel free to ignore them if you’re just not that interested in what I’m up to. Really – you won’t hurt my feelings. I’ll be sticking to the “Personal Recap:” text in the title so it should be pretty easy to filter them out of your E-Mail if you want (at least in Outlook; I haven’t figured out filtering yet for Mail on Mac – anyone?)
I’m going to keep it short with this kickoff post (especially since we’re already a week into March), with a lead-in for what is sure to be an interesting recap for March.
Combining my ever-present need to be inspired/challenged by crazy goals with the book Born to Run that I just finished (and am writing about), I’ve set upon the goal of transforming myself from a short to middle distance runner into a long distance runner. I’ll talk a bit more about this next month, but I’ve set myself two goals:
- Run 15 miles in one outing by the end of 2010
- Run a 30 mile race (or outing) by the end of 2011
Since we’re already one week into March I’ll cheat a bit and tell you things have been going well, but I can say it is a completely different feeling running longer and more consistently than my normal 3 miles, 3 or 4 times a week.
I’ve also just received the book Fascinate by Sally Hogshead, and if I get it finished in March, I’ll be sharing some thoughts on it.
That’s it for now – should be an interesting update for March. Talk to you then.
Plenty of lessons in here for all of us…
Following is a “farewell” op-ed letter from Evan Bayh, courtesy of the New York Times. Now before any of you cry foul, accuse me of political leftism, or rightism, or being too centric, please read the letter below in the context of two of this blog’s goals: positive leadership and personal excellence. The lengthy discourses on filibusters and campaign finances aside, I find lots of suggestions and lessons in this letter for all of us.
So what?
At one point in my career I worked for the U.S. division of a large, international consulting firm. I held a variety of positions, the last being account executive. This company wasn’t as rigid as some I’ve seen with enforcement of “officially sanctioned” sales presentations, but toward the end of my time there, they became more prevalent. The presentations themselves were actually well done with one exception. I always got a chuckle out of the “Key Differentiators” slide. They were things like:
- On-time delivery
- Project management expertise
- Local presence
- Senior staff
I remember thinking these sounded more like must-haves as opposed to key differentiators. The thing is if you’re going to start talking about key differentiators, aspects of your business that set you apart from your competitors, they really should be different.
So was born the seeds of my “so what” question. I’ve since turned the question into a facilitated process I run entrepreneurs and personal clients through. It can be helpful in a variety of ways, but I find it’s best suited to helping companies get to the bottom of what is really special about their company/product/service.
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The Secret to Success from Mexican Outback Runners
So what’s their secret?
Well, my take on it is a bit more involved than the writer is, but in a nutshell their secret appears to be something we all remember fondly, is well within our grasp, but we (wittingly, or unwittingly) choose to live without on a day to day basis.
Their secret is to combine their running with pure, childlike joy.
Yea, right, I hear you saying. For many of us, it wouldn’t matter how much you smile, you wouldn’t be able to run 10 miles, let alone 100. Let alone without resting. And there is where the book gets more complicated, but also where I think the message gets more relevant and more broadly applicable. In fact, I’m taking notes and hope to write a small series on the personal growth and excellence lessons I’m learning out of this book. For now, I’ll tell you the following story.
I AM a runner. I’ve had my ups and downs over the years, but I do enjoy the sport. Much like the Tarahumara, I generally shun sidewalks and roads and do almost all my running on trails. I tend to be a short to middle distance runner preferring outings between three to six miles. Luckily, I’m blessed to live in an area of Ohio loaded with nature trails in that range that are not only beautiful, but challenging to run. There’s nothing like flying down a hill, half running, half jumping, testing your legs (and the trail) with a do-or-die proposition: either I’ve still got the energy after four miles to jump these three steps and still stay running, or I slide headfirst down the rest of this hill and probably end up in emergency. (Yes – it helps to be a little crazy to be a trail runner. Or trail runners just are a little crazy, I’m not sure which).
But that’s the essence of the book – because I can guarantee you whenever I’m running down those stairs, jumping two or three at a time and challenging my body to keep me upright, I’ve got a huge smile on my face. And anything you’re doing, personally or professionally, that you do with a smile on your face, gets done better and feels better doing it.
I tested this theory out over the last week. I like to stay in shape over the winter so I run treadmill a lot in my basement. I’m sure many of you can sympathize with me when I say treadmill running is boring at best, a grind at worst. There is nothing joyful about running on a treadmill. Or is there? In anticipation of better weather, I have been slowly increasing my distance, which correspondingly was increasing my boredom and ability to stay focused. So the other day midway through a 5 mile run on the treadmill, I started imagining myself running outside, jumping from rock to rock on a hillside trail overlooking a beautiful vista. A half-smile came to my face which I let blossom into a full-blown one. Immediately, I could feel a change happening to my body. A slight energy increase, a lessening of fatigue, a greater connection with that “runner’s high”. Literally before I knew it, I had put in my last two miles or so.
I’m sure to many of you this sounds like new-age hocus pocus, and that’s fine. If you’re a runner, or if you just like interesting stories, the book is still a great read. Runners especially will appreciate all the information on how all the foot, shin and knee injuries that 80-90% of us experience every year, started occurring only after the introduction of the high-tech running shoe! I’ll be talking about the Tarahumara’s answer to that one too. The stories about some of the ultra long distance runners and races where the Tarahumara ran with them are simply a blast to read as a runner. You will really enjoy this book.
But for those of you committed to excellence, whether personal or professional (or both), try a simple experiment. The next time you’re doing something that is complete drudgery, remember a time it wasn’t drudgery or tie it in your mind to something else that makes you smile and brings a bit of joy to the activity. I’ll be interested in hearing your feedback, even though I already know what will happen…
Look forward to more on this book in future posts.
