October 2nd was Gandhi's birthday - the Gandhi, the Mahatma, not the thousands with the same name. It's a holiday in India, and with globalization and flat-earthing one has to pay attention to when people work or don't. It got me thinking though. Gandhi's the icon for the ages when it comes to non-violence, but he's also expounded his philosophy on a wide variety of subjects. Is there a Gandhian way to entrepreneurship?
This doesn't aim to be a scholarly treatise on the subject and I didn't research Gandhi's life story or teachings. I know the highlights of course, and also know Gandhi was a big proponent of 'cottage industries' - the stuff that the rural poor can do on their own to make a living, with minimal capital investment. The spinning wheel was his icon - he would have got a kick out of the fact that organic, hand-spun and hand-woven clothing is a luxury item now. If Gandhi were around now he'd have plenty of burning causes to keep him busy and it's most unlikely he'd be off starting a company, but he'd probably have some good words for the clean energy and sustainability efforts, or anything that fights hunger and poverty.
So, no, Gandhi is not likely to be a startup guy, but is there anything in his philosophy that an entrepreneur may find worthwhile? Let's start with the first of the two most-popular Gandhian quotes (a mixed blessing when they're on mugs and New Age rocks): Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony. Nice one to live by - most of the time. For example, if you customer satisfaction is your #1 goal, sure, go ahead and paste it on a poster - but having your team solicit and pay attention to user feedback will build value and morale (knowing your work is in alignment with company goals is pretty satisfying). But few entrepreneurs are in the position to call all the shots in a startup - there are too many constraints, too much to be proven and too many players and stakeholders. There will be times when you may not want to say what you think and you should definitely not act on it. You may just want to slam down your laptop and scream "what a %&*! moronic idea" at your investor who asks you to make a 180 degree shift in your business model just when there's an uptick. This is why you're thankful the weekend stress management class you took 6 months ago kicks in and you're mentally chanting "he gave us $2 million, he gave us $2 million" while you deflect with "hmm, interesting idea, we'll go run the numbers on it, but let me show you our latest release". It definitely is not the time to say what you think, even if you deleted the %&*! expletives. This Gandhism is great for the big things, like principles, but most entrepreneurs would be happy to just be able to hold on to discretion and a semblance of calmness in the daily challenges of startup life.
Another over-used but undoubtedly cool quote is: Be the change you want to see in the world. This is not just a variation on the previous theme. It's a call to lead by example. If integrity is on your list of company values, be careful who you accept funding from. If you've always believed that companies could be run better, here's your chance - take time to make it happen, don't let it get lost in the startup chaos. If you're concerned about global warming, be serious about telecommuting options and don't keep putting it off for 'when we're bigger'. If 'doing good' is important, do it, and support your employees when they want to do it. I believe this is a Gandhism an entrepreneur could hold on to (got the inspirational mug?).
Channeling the inner entrepreneur who views life as a startup. Musings about people, their spirit, the startup ethos and the entrepreneurial attitude, with an emphasis on education and social ventures. The 'how-to'? Not so much. But definitely the why, the what and the whatever.
Entrepreneurial Blogs
Wow! Someone not only reads all the entrepreneurial blogs out there, but they've ranked and posted a list of '100 Daily Must-Reads for Entrepreneurs'. I didn't know that this blog is on the list until someone googling me found it. I'm hugely thrilled. I started this blog as a way to capture my thoughts on the human aspect of entrepreneurship and share with whoever might find it useful - and have done very little to market it. So I'm not only amazed that it was found, but that it was found worthy of a 'must-read'. It's awesome that it reinforces the 'connect' part of why I do anything - including writing this blog.
The blogs listed are definitely worth looking into - there's something for everyone, especially if you're looking for 'how-to' ideas. There's never a better time to be an entrepreneur - the Internet's awash with mentors, guides, seers and sages and ignorance is no longer a plausible excuse.
By the way, I was corresponding with a Stanford student who's currently traveling in China, and he mentioned that this blog is blocked there. I'm guessing there was some kind of mistake, because honestly, unless you're suspicious of entrepreneurship in general, there's absolutely nothing objectionable in this blog - it's the online equivalent of vanilla custard, served just slightly chilled. A bizarre little side note - wonder if it adds some edgy cachet?
Lastly, this blog is not an easy thing to write, not just because I'm very busy and my mindshare is otherwise spoken for, but because it's sometimes hard to pick which of the dozen ideas deserves a post. So dear reader, you're here because you're interested in entrepreneurship of some sort or the other - most likely, you'll be blogging about your venture some day - so feel free to post a comment on what you'd like to read about. This is the one thing you can do as an entrepreneur with absolutely no risk whatsoever.
The blogs listed are definitely worth looking into - there's something for everyone, especially if you're looking for 'how-to' ideas. There's never a better time to be an entrepreneur - the Internet's awash with mentors, guides, seers and sages and ignorance is no longer a plausible excuse.
By the way, I was corresponding with a Stanford student who's currently traveling in China, and he mentioned that this blog is blocked there. I'm guessing there was some kind of mistake, because honestly, unless you're suspicious of entrepreneurship in general, there's absolutely nothing objectionable in this blog - it's the online equivalent of vanilla custard, served just slightly chilled. A bizarre little side note - wonder if it adds some edgy cachet?
Lastly, this blog is not an easy thing to write, not just because I'm very busy and my mindshare is otherwise spoken for, but because it's sometimes hard to pick which of the dozen ideas deserves a post. So dear reader, you're here because you're interested in entrepreneurship of some sort or the other - most likely, you'll be blogging about your venture some day - so feel free to post a comment on what you'd like to read about. This is the one thing you can do as an entrepreneur with absolutely no risk whatsoever.
A surfeit of opinions
Everyone has an opinion. On everything. But that's kind of what you're betting on when you go out gathering 'input', asking for 'feedback', 'guidance' or 'advice' from the 3 Fs (in this case, family, friends and their friends - subbing for the 'fools' that traditionally play the third F). You're hoping that taking your idea or pitch to them will give you access to their knowledge, experience, smarts and plain good sense so you can vet it for free.
And you find you get a lot of opinions. You may be asked to 'wag the long tail' or 'take a page out of Facebook'. S/he may direct you to add more detail to your pitch, change your pricing model, go for more or less money, seek out VCs or pray for angels. Of course, seeking opinions is not just for startup entrepreneurs. A student could be asking for help on essay for college apps, an exec considering a career change, a book idea, whatever. And they're all just as likely to receive opinions that cover the gamut from minor tweaks to major re-dos.
So, now you have all these opinions, what do you do with them? Which ones do you take to heart? There are a few things that you can do to help handle this over-abundance of input.
And you find you get a lot of opinions. You may be asked to 'wag the long tail' or 'take a page out of Facebook'. S/he may direct you to add more detail to your pitch, change your pricing model, go for more or less money, seek out VCs or pray for angels. Of course, seeking opinions is not just for startup entrepreneurs. A student could be asking for help on essay for college apps, an exec considering a career change, a book idea, whatever. And they're all just as likely to receive opinions that cover the gamut from minor tweaks to major re-dos.
So, now you have all these opinions, what do you do with them? Which ones do you take to heart? There are a few things that you can do to help handle this over-abundance of input.
- Listen. Obviously whoever you share your plans and ideas with is someone who you think will have something worthwhile to say. So, once you're done showing the presentation, explaining your idea, sharing your essay or novel outline, stop talking and start listening. Ask questions to get the ball rolling if you have to (have they seen anything like this before?) but make sure you get what you want - their unfiltered opinion.
- Give them credit. If your advisors suggest stuff you've already thought of, it is OK to keep that to yourself and show your appreciation. Having them involved in your idea is a good thing.
- Do explain. If there appears to be some misunderstanding about your offering, that in itself is good feedback - it shows that you need to refine it so there's no chance of confusion. To repeat, if you choose to ask someone for advice, you obviously think they're smart enough to get it, and if they didn't, it implies that something got lost in the presentation.
- Do not defend. If your advisor thinks your market strategy is nothing more than a shot at lucid dreaming, ask him why. If you have some more information to share that may change his thinking, go ahead and share it. Otherwise, there is little benefit to arguing a point. Assuming he understands what your proposing correctly, maybe he has a valid point. You're better off with a 'Good point. I'll think about it'.
- Keep notes. I'm personally inclined to look at people when I talk to them and when they talk to me, so I keep key points in my head during the meeting, but I do write them down later. These are helpful even months later, because a lot of the feedback is often predictions for the future.
- Assess before you act. One person may ask for another slide describing your technology while another thinks you have too many already. Sometimes feedback may be on something more strategic - your funding sources for example. Before you jump to changing your PowerPoint after each meeting, think about who said it and why and how it fits in with your vision. Don't make changes that don't sit well with you.
- Keep an open mind. We all get defensive, protective and just plain huffy if someone doesn't see our idea as great as think it is. Entirely understandable. But there's something to be said for seeking some level of detachment and assessing the input dispassionately. The people who're giving you the input are not dimwits (see a pattern here?), so taking their feedback seriously and thinking through it can't help but improve your idea. If nothing else, it will help you strengthen your story as you'll know how to respond to naysayers.
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