Category Archives: Instincts in Business Decisions

This Entrepreneur’s Life – The Irony of Uncertainty

In the process of producing an event around the topic of uncertainty, we tried something totally new and it’s only with perspective that I’ve realized the irony.

The Challenge: After meeting Jonathan Fields, author of Career Renegade and Uncertainty – Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance I wanted to bring him home to Big O to speak. Navigating uncertainty is more important than ever and I found his wisdom illuminating. Since he lives in Manhattan we decided to wait until he was already here so we could time it to one of our meetings.

The Solution: Since I don’t like waiting I began noodling another solution and in the process we built a relationship.

Then it hit me – why not invite him to do a virtual Keynote LIVE, a Skype call-in that was broadcast on a large screen? Add a Tweet Chat to that and invite an even a larger audience? It would be almost like he was there.

I ran it by Jonathan and he said yes.

I ran it by the Ranch and they said yes.

Had I done either? No.

Did I know someone who did this stuff? Yes.

Did I know what was going to happen or if the audience would even like it? No.

But if it worked..the world would open up. Thinkers of relevance from all over the world could now beam into Big Ooga and share their knowledge.

The upside was thrilling. The down side not so risky. If the night was a bomb, there would be other nights.

Did it even occur to any of us to rehearse prior to that night? No.

We all just saw it in our minds eye.

And then reality hit.

It was an hour and a half before show time and we had decided this was the perfect time for the run through. Mark Carter was producing the Tweet Chat and I figured the Skype call was a no brainer. As far as I was concerned everything was in order. You flip the switch, it goes on.

“Lennie, what’s your Skype address?” Mark asked.

“I don’t know.” I answered.

“Um, what were you thinking about the call?” he said.

“That we’d work it through the Ranch.”

“Did you bring your lap top?” he said.

“You mean my net book?”

“Tim McDonald is on his way in with a laptop. No problem. I got this covered.” (To himself so I could hear. “And you’d think I would have asked her this in advance.”)

That Mark is being considered to produce the next TED, puts this into perspective.

A flurry of activity: screens, cords, hook-ups, computers, Tim McDonald arrives, Avery arrives, Ranch tech on deck, people testing, texting, speakers are brought in, solutions are flying.

“Mark,” I said, “Jonathan’s waiting for the run through.”

“Let him know we’re almost there.”

THERE was 15 minutes to zero hour. But Jonathan was cool because he IS the Uncertainty guy.

And then..just as we’d all seen it in our heads, it worked.

The Virtual Keynote and Tweet Chat took flight. People loved it, asked for more like it and stayed in their seats discussing, exploring, contributing and responding to each other. We were traveling together in a beam of new thinking and it upped everyone’s game.

Here are some pearls of wisdom to help you move through your own Uncertainty and use it to fuel your brilliance.

1. Know that we are all moving through uncertainty and that the brain is wired to run from it. If the natural response is to avoid it, you can elect another default setting with conscious choice.

2. Up your concentration. Work with a 90/30 rule and you’ll get more done with more focus. Spend 90 minutes at your desk with complete focus and break for 30 minutes so your brain can recover. If you can’t do 90 or 30, adjust to 60 and 15, or any increments that you can handle as long as you disengage. By training your brain you’ll be able to up your times of real concentration, creativity and flow. When you are in flow, you are literally in uncertainty and it feels wonderful and exciting. The more you experience the wonder the more you are going to immerse in it.

3. Turn off distractions. Research proves that multitasking will diminish your capabilities and you will get less done more poorly.

4. Remember: Anything worth doing requires uncertainty, but you must decide and act in the face of it.

5. And this one is for Carol Roth, evaluate your risk. You may not know what will happen but if the upside is glorious and the downside is a speed bump. Leap! Trying something new makes you new and contributes something new to the world.

postscript: We’re doing this again with Steve Farber so get your copy of Radical Leap or Radical Leap Re-energized. Radical Leap is among the 100 best business books of all time. And then we’ll discuss it with him.

This Entrepreneur’s Life – The Elevator Story

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Entrepreneurs are puzzle-solvers. We take what’s visible and invisible and ponder, plan and experiment. Sometimes the plans work out fabulously..other times, not so much. Here’s a classic example of one of them.

Riding up the elevator to the management office of the John Hancock Center, they had agreed to meet with me over an idea I had for a holiday party for their building. It was to be a full-on experience.

The idea was born out of a need to promote my first book.

Parties with Panache (don’t laugh and definitely don’t read it) was about to be published and the best way I could think of to bring it to market was to host a party with panache.

This was a time in my career before I was a writer or a marketer.

As the wheels of imagination turned, I thought of hosting an elevator party in the John Hancock Center during evening rush hour with a cart of appetizers, chilled Champagne, a waiter, a strolling violinist and singers.

When the ordinary elevator doors swung open people would be surprised, served and serenaded. Those who caught the magic elevator would be treated to the biggest party in the smallest space. It would spark delight and ignite good cheer.

We’d keep the appetizer cart on wheels and race it from bank to bank so no one could catch us, even if they tried. I’d buy a new dress, a formal gown. It’s just what exhausted professionals needed at the end of their busy day.

I outlined every detail of the party logistics down to my choice for caterer and when I finished with the presentation the management was silent…

“We have a problem with this.”

Of course you have a problem with this! I’m crazy! But at the time I made this up it seemed reasonable.

“We’d like to use our own caterer.”

“Oh!” I said.

“And we’d like to extend it to the lobby where there is more music, food, drinks and a table to sell your books so that everyone in the building can participate.”

“Terrific.” I said, ” I love your ideas. I’d be happy to make all the arrangements.”

And that’s when they hit me with the Big One.

“We’ve been looking for a new idea for our holiday party and this one fits the bill… which is on us.”

To recap, I made up a party that had never been executed with a pitch to strangers who did not know me, to debut a book they’d never read, in a suit that was just SLIGHTLY out of character, with a background career as a Mom.

And not only did they say yes, but they paid for it.

It was a fabulous party and went off just as I’d imagined. People had a blast.

So if you are reading this and you have an idea, I implore you to take it out for a run. It may be crazy or it just might be brilliant.

Isn’t better to say to yourself, “I can’t believe I just did that!” instead of ” I could have been a contender”?

Go forth and be the puzzle-solving entrepreneur you were meant to be! If you don’t invent it, it may never happen.

The world needs your genius just like it needed the elevator party.

And the funny thing is, 20 years later, one of the singers found Big Ooga online not knowing it was me..and joined.

Success & The Questions You Ask Yourself

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I have lots of conversations with entrepreneurs and realize the way we frame questions to ourselves determines the direction we’re heading in.

If, for example, you are asking yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen? Can I possibly end up in a double-wide?” This is the wrong direction.

It’s not IF you will succeed that should be running ramped through your brain. It’s HOW you will succeed. What do you need to do differently? Whose perspective can add clarity? How can you replicate what you’re doing right?

Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. If you focus on the solution – you are in the right direction. If you focus on the problem it’s either going to get bigger, scarier or more prevalent.

That which we focus on grows bigger. That which we take our attention away from fades. ( I’m paraphrasing here).

So your energy has to be directed toward driving you forward because if it’s driving you backwards, getting back up to zero from a negative space is exhausting.

On the flip side – seeking the answer is/can be thrilling.

Giving something a chance..just testing an idea is a private beta. You don’t have to lock it in, announce it, throw big dollars at it. You just have to envision if it is possible.

Like trying on a pair of shoes. You try them on, you take them off. If you like them and they work – you commit. If you don’t, you haven’t wasted your time, you’ve spent it on discovery.

Discovery is way more fun and lucrative than inaction. I’m not suggesting you give every hair-brained idea a try. But what happened to “No question is a stupid question” when you were little?

When I’m building, I’m looking at the whole and the pieces of the puzzle. What next piece makes sense?

Then I take those pieces to someone who thinks in a linear, strategic, sane fashion and say, “I can see that these fit together. Can you? In what order? Can we make them happen now? OR do we put these in the someday file?”

You are not alone in this brave new entrepreneurial world. Look at Greece, America…Netflix… We are all searching to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Smart, big, small, young, old, experienced, novice..all searching, working, striving to meet the next step.

My here and your here are our creations. When we meet in the middle we’re collaborating.

When we’re collaborating we’re helping each other.

When we’re helping each other we’re in the right direction.

Don’t let the economy get you down. Keep building upward.. and while you’re at it maybe you want to come and listen to someone who has done just that.

If you’re up for getting inspired, and hearing the unvarnished truth from Nancy Sharp who has built a company from $Zippo to $25 million in revenue. Then join us and hear what questions she’s asked of herself or how she put the pieces of her own successful company together.

If you’d like to join us at the next Big Ooga meeting October 4th, here’s the link:

Building a Company From the Ground Up

I received an email apology from Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO of Netflix

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…yesterday along with the other gazillion people he wrote to.

The letter began Dear Lennie,

“I messed up. I owe you an explanation.”

Thank You Reed but you didn’t do anything to me. Even though I’m going to keep reading in hopes of finding a gift certificate in your letter.

“It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. “

Oh! So you’ve had an attitude problem.

And now, even though you’ve made us really happy in the past by changing the way we watch movies, you need us to love you again as you grow, except for the part about the big honking price increase we’re getting stuck with.

“That was certainly not our intent” (to make you mad) “and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.”

“For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn’t make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). “

“So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.” (so now we are channeling our inner Meg Whitman?)

Translation: Now that we’ve had a big honking backlash we need to make it right. Our customers have a point and we are listening.

Here’s a synopsis of the rest of the letter.

The company is splitting into two divisions because they are really two different businesses “Qwikster” for DVDs and Netflix for streaming. They operate differently, have different overhead and require different marketing. There is a bunch of benefits to both and they’ll just keep getting better.

Reed continues:
“For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.”

“I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.”

“Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.”

Respectfully yours,

-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix

My response:
Dear Reed,

Just want you to know I was only using streaming so we’re cool. But for those families and customers who are spending their hard earned money with you and paying more, I think offering them a month of free DVD service would have a far greater impact on demonstrating your sincerity and ethics beyond an email apology..which is a good start.

I understand it’s hard to grow a company and survive. And you really have made life a better place by offering me an endless buffet of movies.

But for people who are living close to the bone, where every dollar counts – they may have to sacrifice to continue with you or make a decision of what to cut in their budget so they can.

My suggestion to you is this – if you are asking people to give more to get the same, then you need to give them more as they adjust their budgets and thinking. Why not invest in your customers, while investing in your company?

If you can’t afford to send everyone a free month of DVDs you can afford to send them SOMETHING because it is your job to give more if you ask more.

As Warren Buffet said, “Price is what you ask, Value is what you get.”

Reed, it’s clear you’ve reached a crossroad in your company. If you are going to grow into the future with a soul, then demonstrate it with the extra mile.

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” Henry Ford.

But you can build a reputation on how you handle this next phase.

Good luck to you and I hope you guide the company back to the WOW you did when we started.

Best,

Lennie Rose, Chief Netflix Customer & Household Purchasing Agent

Bravery means letting it rip, letting it be or letting it go

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In his address to graduates of Stanford University, Steve Jobs said you can’t connect the dots of your life in the future. You can only know their meaning once they’ve played out.

There is no fast forward to see how things turn out. The only way to know if you’re going to fulfill your destiny is to go there. The only way to go there is to trust yourself.

So much of the entrepreneur journey is intuitive, decisions made on the spot, opportunity snapped from a conversation and strategic alliances formed on feelings.

I think back to the moments leading up to the Big Ooga trademark. I did the market research, asked everyone I knew, got feedback that was strongly negative, searched the net to find out no one in the universe wanted the name Big Ooga and had two friends tell me they loved it, one named Planet Pat.

But the thing was I knew… once the words strung together in my consciousness, it was the name of a company that needed to be born and even then it took two more years to act..because it didn’t make any sense. Except for a lone quiet voice within that kept saying, this is music.. this is insane but this is right. So I jumped. And no amount of planning and research foretold the future of that decision.

Bravery means letting it rip, letting it be or letting it go.

It means doing what you’ve got to do .. and only you know what that is. Like Steve Jobs, who knew he needed to drop out to become. Enjoy his commencement speech to the Standford Class of ’05.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

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