Now, generate 100 ideas
When I was in drawing class in college, my professor asked us to make 100 drawings. “Why would we want to make throwaway drawings?” we asked. The answer he gave stuck with me: “because you don’t know which ones are…
The next product wave will be invisible
This might seem strange, but in my experience some of the best products I depend on are invisible. What do I mean by invisible? I mean that I give then access to information and they provide value with no work…
The magic in products is knowing what to leave in
Reading Mark Suster’s excellent post on product design left me with this thought – what if more products were literally designed by the customer? As a thought experiment, leave aside any skepticism you have about the customer making bad choices…
Make your idea simpler.
When you write out an idea it’s tempting to include everything. First, the part of the idea that was nifty; then the part of the idea that explained what you meant; and finally the words that convey the essence of…
Make your commute into “go time”
This essay is a contribution to the Startup Edition essay project. See other essays here. At 7:30 every morning, where are you? Are you in traffic, or just getting into your car? The bus, the train, or the carpool can be…
If you love customers, set them free
This mailbox does not accept replies Do not respond to this mailbox. It is unmonitored. Fill out this form to unsubscribe. Press 4 to speak with an operator. No one is here to take your call at the moment. Do…
We do startups because we can’t not do startups.
This essay is written in collaboration with Startup Edition – find this week’s essays here. The startup life seems glamorous from afar, and sometimes from up close. There are rebels, pirates, and ninjas here. There are rags-to-riches stories and others who fall from…
Customers are Always Right (Until They’re Not)
This post is part of the Startup Edition writing collaborative. Read more about this here. When you get a request from a customer, one of the following quotes just might come to mind: “The customer is always right” –Marshall Field…
There is always more work to do.
This post is part of the Startup Edition series on Enterpreneurship What’s on your To-Do List? Right now you have something else to do. Later today you will also have something else to do. And tomorrow you will have the…
