« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »
I found a very interesting blog about naming:
http://www.namedevelopment.com/blog/
This led me to the most interesting article I've read about finding domain names called The Search for a Domain Name:
http://www.yafla.com/dforbes/2006/03/29.html#a302
I strongly suggest you check these two blogs out if you're interested in the topic of naming.
Technorati Tags: branding, marketing, positioning
Please send ideas for topics and questions that you'd like me to cover here. I need to know what you want to know.
I can't say I'm qualified to do them all, but like my mother used to say, “You don't get if you don't ask.”
I could also use about 5,000 links in my quest to be in the top ten of Technorati!
Thanks!
Guy
“The purpose of competition is not to beat someone down, but to bring out the best in every player.” Walter Wheeler
One of the signs of boom--or at least a boomlet--is that companies start wanting to drive their competition crazy. This occurs when “survival” is no longer an issue and optimization or maximization can become a corporate goal. However, the desire to do things to the competition can lead a company astray--or drive it to even greater heights.
Companies go astray when defeating the competition becomes more important than taking care of customers. When companies become obsessed with the pursuit of excellence, by contrast, they often reach new levels of greatness. Here's how to avoid the former and achieve the latter.
1. Know thyself. Before you can drive your competition crazy, you have to understand what your company stands for. Otherwise, you'll only succeed in driving yourself crazy. For example, Apple stands for cool technology. It will never represent a CIO's safe bet, an “enterprise software company,” or service and support. If it decided it wanted to drive Microsoft crazy by sucking up to CIOs, it would drive itself crazy--that is, if it didn't perish trying.
2. Know thy customer. The second step is to truly understand what your customer wants from you--and, for that matter, what it doesn't want from you. One thing that your customer seldom wants to do is to help you drive your competition crazy. That's in your head, not your customer's. One more thing: a good company listens to what a customer says it wants. A great company anticipates what a customer needs--even before she knows she wants it.
3. Know thy enemy. The third step is to truly understand your competition. You cannot drive your competition crazy unless you understand their strengths and weaknesses. You should become your competition's customer by buying their products and services. I never truly understood what it was like to be a customer of Microsoft until I bought a Sony Vaio and used Windows. Sure, I had read many comparisons and competitive analyses, but they were nothing compared to hands-on usage.
4. Focus on the customer. Here's what most people find surprising: the best way to drive your competition crazy is not to do anything to it. Rather, the best way is for you to succeed because your success, more than any action, will drive your competition crazy. And the way you become successful is not by figuring out what you can do to the competition but for the customer.
You succeed at doing things for the customer by using the knowledge that you've gained in the first three steps: understanding what you do, what your customer wants and needs, and what your competition doesn't do. At the intersection of these three factors lies the holy grail of driving your competition crazy. For most companies, the key to driving the competition crazy is out-innovating, out-servicing, or out-pricing it.
5. Turn customers into evangelists. There are few things that drive a competitor more crazy than an unpaid, thunderlizard group of customers who become evangelists for a company. I covered this topic in detail in The Art of Evangelism, but the gist is this: create a great product or service, put it out there (“let a hundred flowers blossom”), see who falls in love with it, open up your arms to them (they will come running to you), and then take care of them. It's that simple.
6. Make good by doing good. Doing good has its own, very sufficient rewards, but sometimes you can make good and do good at the same time. For example, if you own a chain of hardware stores, you can help rebuild a community after a natural disaster. You're bound to get a lot of publicity and create bonds with the community--this will drive your competition crazy. And you'll be doing something good!
7. Turn the competition into allies. One way to get rid of your competition is to drive it out of business. I suppose this might be attractive to you, but a better way is to turn your competition into allies. My favorite author of children's books is Tomie DePaola. My favorite DePaola book is The Knight and the Dragon. This is the story of a knight and a dragon who train to slay each other. They are smashingly unsuccessful at doing battle and eventually decide to go into business together. Using the dragon's firebreathing ability and the knight's salesmanship, they create the K & D Bar-B-Q. For example, if a Home Depot opens up next to your hardware store, let it sell the gas barbecues, and you refill people's propane tanks.
8. Play with their minds. If you're doing all this positive, good stuff, then it's okay to have some fun with your competition--that is, to intentionally play with their minds. Here are some examples to inspire you:
If you like this topic, let me know, and I'll try to write a posting about how to avoid being driven crazy.
Technorati Tags: competition, entrepreneurship
Check out interviews with Steve Wozniak, Andy Hertzfeld, John Sculley, Steve Capps, Mike Boich, and me:
http://snipurl.com/oacg
To give credit, where credit is due, I saw this here:
http://www.tuaw.com/2006/03/26/podcasts-with-influential-apple-figures/
Most of the information that you can find about recruiting is for the employer, not the employee. (I'm as guilty as this as anyone: for example, The Art of Recruiting, I and II.)
Let's turn the tables, switch modes, and balance the scales by discussing what a hot candidate should ask a private, venture-backed startup before making the leap to “infinity and beyond” as Buzz Lightyear would say. Nota bene: there is a definite order in how to do this: First, get the job offer, then ask these questions!
1. How many outstanding shares of stock are there?
Most companies make offers of dazzlingly large amounts of stock options. After all, 100,000 shares sure sounds like a big number--especially if the company goes public at, say, $20/share and then googles on up to $400/share like you're being led to believe. That's $40,000,000--you could buy Larry Ellison's house with that kind of money!
The number of options that you're offered is a meaningless number unless you know the total number of outstanding shares of stock. With these two pieces of information, you can calculate the percentage of the company that your options represent--and that's what counts. For example, 100,000 shares of 1,000,000 total shares is a lot better than 250,000 shares of 10,000,000 total shares.
You could simply ask what percentage you're getting, but that's a little crass, and some people may misinterpret crassness for a lack of good judgment. :-) However, just because you know what percentage of the company you're getting, don't make yourself crazy with delusional thoughts of how much you're worth.
Here are some “Guyed”lines for a startup that has already raised its first round of venture capital of $1-3 million with no more than fifteen employees. Don't just latch onto the top end of the range because there are many variables to consider including salary, cash bonuses, geographic location, and most important of all, your perceived value.
(I know I'm going to regret providing these guidelines...those of you who read this blog in an RSS feed will be amused by how these numbers will change.) :-)
One more thing about these percentages: as the company becomes successful and grows--and perhaps raises more capital to fuel the growth--your percentages will go down. It's better to own a small percentage of a large company than a large percentage of a small company.
2. What is the monthly burn rate?
“Burn rate,” as commonly understood, is net cash flow. (In most cases, “net” isn't even necessary to mention because there are no revenues.) You want the answer to this question in terms of cash--not some bull-shitake, pro-forma paper-profits calculation unless you can pay for your rent with paper profits.
3. How much cash is in the bank?
This is a straightforward question. Now take this answer and divide it by the monthly burn rate. This will tell you how long before the company runs out of money. If the answer is less than six months, be cautious unless the company already has signed term sheets for the next round of financing. If it doesn't, assume it will take at least six months before another round of financing closes.
4. When will the company achieve positive cash flow?
You should ask this question because you'll probably be told that there are months and months of cash or that another round of financing is “looking good.” If the answer is years away, then you're signing up for more risk because venture capitalists aren't the most patient, loyal people. More risk is okay-it takes years to build a great company--but you should know what you're getting into.
5. When will the product ship?
This is just another way of asking about positive cash flow. Obviously, positive cash flow before shipping is improbable, but if the company is saying that positive cash flow will occur shortly after shipping, something is fishy, or the management is clueless. My advice is that you add six months to the “worst case” date that because nobody ever ships on time.
6. May I talk to any of the outside investors on the board of directors?
If the outside investors are as positive about the company as you're being told they are (and assuming you're truly a superstar applicant for a senior-level position), then the company should agree to this. If it doesn't, then either the investors are getting “tired,” or you're not that important. Indeed, if you are a superstar, you won't have to ask because the management will ask a big-name board member to call you.
7. May I talk to several beta sites?
This question is another reality check: the company is probably spinning a tale about how all the beta sites love the product. (In my career, every company has always told me that beta sites “love the product.”) If you're told you can't make contact, then either the company doesn't want to bother future customers (which is reasonable) or you're not important (which is possible). Of course, it could even be that the product sucks, so the company is afraid of you talking to beta sites. It would be nice to know if it's the last reason.
8. How much of a “liquidation preference” do the investors have before common shareholders get anything?
Suppose the company has raised $25 million and the liquidation preference is only $25 million (it could be multiples of $25 million depending on how the investors negotiated the terms of investment). This means that the investors get their $25 million back before the employees get anything. If the company is acquired for $25 million or less, then the employees get nothing. If there's a massive liquidation preference, your options may never be worth anything.
9. Are there any intellectual property issues or lawsuits pending?
This is a housekeeping question. To put it mildly, it'd be nice to know that the company's intellectual property is free and clear, and that there aren't any lawsuits that could tank the company. If you don't ask, don't expect the company to volunteer such information during the recruitment process.
Finally, a word of caution: the management may interpret these questions as evidence of a lack of “believing” or a failure to understand “the big picture.” (It merits repeating: Get the job offer first and then ask these questions.) On the other hand, you might impress the management with your knowledge of how startups and finance really works. Welcome to the complex and contradictory world of startups...
Technorati Tags: entrepreneurship, evangelism, guy kawasaki, recruiting
I made the Technorati 100 today. Thanks, everyone, for your linking, comments, and evangelism! I only need 5,000 more sites to link to be in the top ten! (This is a picture of David Sifry, Technorati's CEO, giving me a tshirt to commemorate breaking into the top 100.)
Guy
I recently read a book called What Would Jackie Do?--An Inspired Guide to Distinctive Living. The co-authors are Shelly Branch of the Wall Street Journal and Sue Callaway, the former vice president and general manager of Jaguar Cars U.S. The book explains what Jackie Onassis “would do” in various situations.
I enjoyed the book because it provides insight into showing class--and showing class is something that's lacking in the blogosphere. Many of the book's lessons can be applied to business--even blogging! Just so you know what Jackie O. thought of sucking up, here's a quote:
Suck Up When There's Payoff Potential. Swallow hard and do what it takes to secure what you want--but only if the payoff is tangible and sizable. Recruited in 1983 to help Michael Jackson--yes, the King of Pop--write his first book, Moonwalk, Jackie traveled to see him in California. After they cut the six-figure deal, the Elegant One allowed the gloved One to escort her to Disneyland. Pirates of the Caribbean must have been painful for her to endure, but we can surmise what wafted through Jackie's mind at the time: The celebrity book would be a huge commercial hit (it reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list) and score her points as a rainmaking editor. (it did.)
My favorite section of the book is this discussion of noblesse oblige:
Noblesse Oblige for Beginners: How to Be a Goodwill Ambassador to Strangers, Colleagues, Malcontents
Jackie preferred hailing taxis to get about in New York City. And in those yellow chariots, she would sometimes lean forward and do what so few ever bother to do: ask how the driver’s day was going. In one case, she beseeched the cabbie to quit his shift in order to get home safely in soggy weather. What good is it, after all, to be a cut above if you don’t let your own splendid qualities trickle down to others?
Coddle bit players. It’s terribly wicked not to give props to all of the people who make your path smoother in life. These include the doorman, the mailman—and if you’re so lucky—the cook and pilot. In Jackie’s case, the list also extended to all sorts of minor politicos. Go beyond tips and nods. As a campaign wife, Jackie was able to recall the names, unprompted, of umpteen mayors and convention delegates. And in the White House, she stunned her new staff by properly addressing members upon their first face-to-face meeting.
Don’t (publicly) criticize your enemies or opponents. Leave such base behavior to modern-day politicians and reality show contestants. Particularly resist the temptation to bad-mouth people by e-mail: There’s nothing worse than electronic slurs, which can be endlessly forwarded. Though surrounded by enemies (political) and jealous types (frumpy women), Jackie refused to get nasty. During the 1960 campaign, she declined to take potshots at Hubert Humphrey. And two decades later, when Nancy Reagan got swamped with negative publicity, Jackie waxed empathetic, going so far as to call her to offer advice on handling the press.
Tap higher powers to help the helpless. After you’ve maxed out your immediate resources, look to your left and right, above and below to harness those six degrees of separation between you and the solution to the problem at hand. Don’t be too proud to ask an influential friend to step in on behalf of someone you know—even if the two have never met. That’s what connections are really for.
In 1980 Jackie summoned medical philanthropist Mary Lasker to help an impoverished sick boy, the son of a manicurist, gain access to proper treatment. As a follow-up to the favor, Jackie wrote her friend Mary a heartfelt note: “Now they don’t feel that they are just a cipher because they are poor,” she scrawled on her Doubleday stationery. “Whatever happens, they know that someone with a noble heart made it possible for them to get the best care they could.”
Turn the other silken cheek. Sometimes you must show people what you are made of by staying elevated when you’d least like to—say, when someone zips into your primo parking space, or snatches the last pair of Loro Piana gloves on sale at Bergdorf’s. Like Jackie, you’d do well to let mild acts of ugliness pass without much fuss.
Traveling with Thomas Hoving, then-director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jackie was stunned—and frightened—by the French paparazzi who swarmed her at a low-key Left Bank restaurant. An infuriated Hoving returned to their hotel, the Plaza Athenee, and demanded that the doorman who disclosed their whereabouts be fired. Informing Jackie of the fait accompli, Hoving recalls, “She got mad at me.” She said: “You suffered a man’s livelihood because of that?”
Mute the call of mammon. The classiest cash is also the quietest. So if you’re fortunate enough to have an endless supply of crisp bills, just don’t crumple them under the noses of those with less. This doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of fine things. Certainly our lady did not. But wealth does require you to be somewhat stealth about what you’ve got.
Don’t gab on about money, either—yours, your parents’, your boyfriend’s—or your over-the-top plans for it. When Jackie received a $26 million settlement from Aristotle Onassis’s estate, society types needled the widow about how she intended to spend the windfall. “You don’t talk about things like that,” was her stunned reply.
To be a cut above, don’t cut. Even if your social status or connections somehow permit it, resist any temptation to leapfrog over more common folks. This means no line-jumping at Disney World, no flashing that Burberry plaid to snare the next cab. In New York, Jackie waited in crowds like everybody else—or avoided them altogether—rather than nudge her way to the front of movie-house and museum queues.
(Excerpted from What Would Jackie Do? An Inspired Guide to Distinctive Living, by Shelly Branch and Sue Callaway. Gotham Books, 2006.)
Ten Questions “With” Jackie Onassis
I posed ten questions to Shelly and Sue. They are the questions that I would have loved to ask Jackie if she were still alive--and if I could get to her!
1. What would be her favorite web sites?
Jackie would love grazing all the free content available on the Internet. Especially the kind that would spare her the need to buy a magazine or newspaper subscription (she was famous for economizing, after all). She'd probably have a login at NYtimes.com for that reason (although the print version, perhaps on Sundays, would still be a brunch-time treat). Other favorite sites would include Abebooks.com and Alibris.com to find out-of-print and hard-to-find book titles (her favorite collectible) and Style.com, where she could check out the runway action from Paris, Milan and New York fashion shows. She'd also take in the literary/media scene at Slate.com and Salon.com. Late-night, we think she'd check out gossip sites like the New York Post's Pagesix.com (she voraciously read all that was written about her and marked up the margins). Where would she be least likely to go? Any site that has a zillion-screen registration process--what fabulous, busy woman has time for that?!
2. Would she have a blog?
Blogs would have fascinated the editor/reporter/curator in Jackie, but she would never have one herself. After all, bloggers need to bare an awful lot of themselves to be authentic--something that just wouldn't work for the privacy-obsessed icon. That said, she'd probably get a kick advising her friends about their blogs—and she'd warn them that any links are really just that--a direct association to the blogger. So choose carefully.
3. Would she have her own web site?
Given that she was the primary architect of the “Camelot” theme for the Kennedy White House, she'd probably love the opportunity the web provides to present herself exactly how she'd like the world to see her. Right the wrongs, show only the best images, craft the storyline as only she, the editor, would see fit. But not under her own name--she'd have someone else post and maintain it, just as she had someone else take credit for her only “authorized” biography, which she all but wrote.
4. Would she ever hit “reply all” in response to messages beamed out to dozens of people?
Never. A model correspondent, Jackie would set the standard for email dos and don'ts--and this would be an example of the latter. Most times, we don't know half the folks on those lists, so why rudely clog their mailboxes? Even with email, we suspect Jackie would be very discreet, and also quite personal, with individual, carefully crafted responses. However, Jackie--who collected contacts well before she needed them--would probably note and keep the email address of anyone likely to yield future benefits/favors.
5. What would she make of Ariana Huffington's blog?
Jackie would surely be tempted to check out the Greek-born pundit. Ariana's political shift would probably intrigue the Democrat in Jackie (who also switched her party affiliation when she hooked up with a certain Senator). She'd find plenty of liberal logic spouted by good friends such as Deepak Chopra and enough audacious commentary to make her miss her Maison Blanche days. Another bonus: the leading-men types, such as George Clooney, who post there. Ever the intellectual, she'd be equally fascinated by the controversy surrounding who actually wrote his blog and what constitutes a blog.
6. Which computer would she use?
A Mac. As a book editor, Jackie would no doubt be shackled at work to a soulless PC--the industry standard. At home, however, she'd prefer a Mac--for both aesthetic and practical reasons. Appreciating the PowerBook as a fashion statement/accessory, she'd tuck one in a tote bag, and help herself to open wireless connections while in a cafe or Central Park (she'd likely get a kick out of imagining the headline: Jackie O hitches ride on Yoko Ono's account!) At home, a sleek desk model (and her own, password-protected wireless account) would give her new ways to organize/display/share an endless photo collection
7. Which iPod would she own?
Jackie would have a hard time resisting the iPod shuffle--even though she wasn't much of a gadget girl. She loved to mix up things in her life, never holding to the same routine day in, day out. As an avid jogger, she'd likely appreciate the shuffle as much for its size as for its random mode.
8. Would she send plain-text or HTML email?
She'd definitely send messages in HTML--she might even send her own caricatures and illustrations as a signature to very close friends. A lifelong artiste, she would simply adore the visual possibilities. She might even scan her own famous scrawl and turn it into a personal font.
9. Would she rather get an Amazon or iTunes gift certificate?
One can never have enough books--especially Jackie, who inhaled titles with astonishing speed. So she'd definitely prefer the Amazon gift certificate for herself. But as a gift giver, she'd likely think it incredibly cool to give away digital music, especially to her many nieces, nephews and godchildren: Jackie was always several waves ahead of the cultural current and she would pride herself on being hip, cool, and avant garde.
10. What would she think of her kids using social networking sites like FaceBook and MySpace?
Jackie would likely find such all-about-me-me-me sites rather sad--and perhaps a tad dangerous, given recent concerns that they may encourage stalkers (a problem she herself dealt with in the post-White House years). They promote the idea of putting everything out there about yourself, a concept that the restrained Jackie would find gauche. She prized her relationships with friends, whom she chose very carefully for their loyalty, smarts, wits--qualities very tough to discern in an online forum. She probably would surf such sites, however, to satisfy her voyeuristic side (she kept a telescope in her Fifth Avenue apartment).
One of my recommendations for innovators is that they eat information like a bird eats food. (If you had the metabolic rate of a hummingbird, you would ingest approximately 155,000 calories per day.) This means reading voraciously--and not just HTML for Bozos and Encryption for Lovers--but books like this one that are seemingly unrelated to “business.”
Plus, I guarantee that reading this book, or giving it as a gift, will impress women. :-)
Technorati Tags: entrepreneurship, guy kawasaki
I received an email from Craig James that contained superb insights into the art of recruiting. With Craig's permission, I provide it below. As the chief technology officer of eMolecules, Craig is responsible for the design and development of the www.chmoogle.com chemistry search engine. Craig worked with chemistry, chemists and chemical databases his entire career, including management of a low-cost (<$50K) mass spectrometer project while at HP Scientific Instruments (now Agilent) and as director of core engineering for Accelrys. He can be reached at cjames@moonviewscientific.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had the pleasure of being on the recruiting team at Hewlett Packard that had the highest success rate in the company, measured by the retention rate and the eventual performance of the people we hired. Our team leader taught me something that you don't mention at all in your chapter on recruiting.
Interviewing is a highly-specialized skill, and some people are MUCH better at it than others. Identify the good interviewers, the ones who seem to have a second sense, and intuition, about others. Make a team of these people, and have them do ALL of your interviewing.
In your book, you discuss what you're trying to learn, but not HOW to go about learning it. That's the real art of recruiting. We treated the interview like any other project. There was a team leader, and each person specialized in a particular task. Every interview followed the same “project plan.”
1. Host. This person's job is to greet the candidate, welcome them, give a tour of the facility (if appropriate), explain the interview process and the other people the candidate will be meeting, and answer initial questions. 20-30 minutes.
2. Technical #1. This person's job is to grill, HARD, on technical topics. This is the toughest interview of the day, and is designed to find out if the candidate is technically competent. Problems, often real-life that the team is currently facing, are presented and the interviewee must show competence in answering. The candidate must answer basic questions about his field, for example an electrical engineer must be able to solve circuit problems, find flaws in a circuit diagram, etc. This interview usually leaves the candidate rather rattled. 1 hour.
3. Project Manager. The hiring manager gives a non-technical interview, but with focus on the specific job: Does the candidate seem suited? Is the candidate interested? The candidate can ask questions about the project, etc. 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Lunch. Project manager, plus one project team member. Informal, chit-chat, ask about candidate's background, school, etc.
5. Human Resources. HR presents company benefits, etc., asks for references, answers candidates questions about the company, and so on. 30 minutes.
6. Technical Interview #2. Like Technical #1, but usually less intense. Delve more into candidate's specific accomplishments, ask about candidate's best achievements and most dismal failures. Ask the candidate to describe one project in detail, and “deep dive” into the candidate's explanation. This puts the candidate on his own territory, where he should shine. 1 hour.
7. Host (reprise). Follow up questions, explain what's next, thank the candidate. 15-20 minutes.
We also arranged interviews so that for one job opening, all candidates would be interviewed in as short a time span as possible (usually in a single week). That gave us a good comparison of each candidate to the others, and also allowed us to give the candidates our final decision in a short time.
At the end of the interview day, there was a required team meeting. The leader would go around one time, each team member would give his/her findings and opinion. Then a discussion. It was remarkable how a concensus would almost always emerge -- I can't remember a time when it wasn't obvious whether to offer the job or not. Almost universally, if one interviewer said “no”, that was it.
It's critical that you keep the same members on your interview team. They get better and better at it, they get to know each other, and their shared experience gives them perspective, a set of common reference points for discussions. If one of your team isn't good at it, get rid of him and find someone else that has the intuition needed to be on your team. And just because you're the boss doesn't mean YOU should be on the interview team!
A curious thing about our interviews: We were VERY hard on the candidates (particularly the Tech interviews), but instead of resenting it, the candidates uniformly were impressed and wanted to work for us. They knew that if they joined, they'd be joining a top-notch R&D group.
I have been a candidate on interviews where it seemed like my interviewers didn't even know each other, their questions overlapped, they missed entire areas of stuff they should have asked me and so on. I turned down their offers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A friend who worked at O'Hare International Airport told me this story. He once watched a passenger absolutely scream at an airline ticket agent. The ticket agent, however, remained completely calm. After the tirade was over, my friend asked her how she could remain so calm, and she said, “That's easy. He's going to Paris, but his bags are going to Sydney.”
One of the great misconceptions of selling, pitching, and partnering--basically, any time you want to get someone to do something for you--is that you should suck up to the people with the big titles and “A list” designation. Sometimes you do--as you've already read in this blog, but the ability to suck up to the folks who don't have big titles but make the world run is more useful.
1. Understand the dynamic. Like it or not, here's how the world works: if you want something, you should be nice to the person (let's call him “Biff”) who can grant you that something. It doesn't matter whether you are more powerful, more famous, richer, better looking, or better educated. Biff has the power, so deal with it. Returning to the ticket agent episode, it makes no sense to piss off the one person who can help you. In this sense, there is no such thing as “sucking down.” You're always sucking up when you want something.
2. Understand their needs. You should try being a ticket agent, flight attendant, secretary, receptionist, waiter, or customer service rep for a day. Then you'd learn that they're not getting paid a lot of money to put up with your crap, and they're dealing with their own sets of issues: perhaps a broken-down car, an unhappy spouse, a sick child at home, and maybe even a bozo boss. These people want to do a good job, make a living, and be happy, just as you do. The key word here is empathy. If you can empathize with them, you'll be much more successful dealing with them.
3. Be important. If you want to be treated as an important customer then be an important customer. That is, fly the same airline, eat at the same restaurant, and play hockey at the same rink. If you spread your business around, then don't be surprised if you get jacked around. I only eat at three restaurants in all of Silicon Valley: Gombei, Juban, and Buck's. I can get in anytime I want at these three restaurants--but only these three restaurants. I fly on United seventy five to 100 times a year. It takes great care of me. I fly Air Canada once a year. It puts me in a coach-class, center seat between two screaming babies. That's life.
4. Make them smile. A window occurs in the first thirty seconds of your interaction with Biff. In that brief time, if you can make him smile, you will differentiate yourself from 95% of the orifices that he deals with. Then you're much more likely to get an aisle seat, an appointment with the boss, an outside table, or step-by-step instructions to make Word print.
Simply beginning a conversation with, “How is your day going?” can break the ice. You know, and he knows, that you don't really care how his day is going, but at least you're civil enough to ask. That separates you from the pack of hyenas. Here are some opening lines that have worked for me. (Please provide more as comments because you can never have too many good ice breakers.)
• Restaurant maître'd: “Do you have reservations?” You answer: “I have no reservations whatsoever. I am absolutely certain that I want to eat here.”
• Airline ticket agent: “How can I help you?” You answer: “You could give me an upgrade to first class and ensure that my bag is the first one off the conveyor when I get there, but I'd be happy if you get me an aisle seat.”
• Secretary: “Will she know what you're calling about?” You answer: “Not unless she's clairvoyant and a masochist. But can I try to explain why you should grant me an audience with her?”
5. Don't try to buy your way in. Don't try to buy a person with flowers, candy, or an iTunes gift card. Realistically, the downside risk far exceeds the upside because you're likely to insult Biff by implying that he can be bought. Just be honest, be important, and have a legitimate rationale. That's a good enough case.
6. But do express your gratitude on the way out. I don't recommend trying to buy your way in, but once you are in, then it's appropriate to express your gratitude with gifts that are kind, but not extravagant. As my mother used to say, “Be nice to people on the way up because you're going to see them again on the way down.” You never know when you'll need help from Biff again.
7. Never complain. Let's say that you don't get what you want. Should you go over Biff's head and complain? This is seldom effective. Assuming that Biff is competent, he's not going to get fired because of your whining. Historically, pee is seldom more effective than honey. Persevere, and wear down Biff's defenses with humor, dedication, and empathy, but never go over his head.
8. Rack up the karmic points. I believe that there's a karmic scoreboard in the sky. It keeps track of how many points you've earned and how many you've used. Therefore, when you have the opportunity to help others, do so--and do so with glee. You'll build up points, and someday your kindness will be returned to you. However, understand that you need to accrue these points before you need them--you cannot go negative.
9. Accept what cannot be changed. Sometimes things are just not meant to be: there are no more aisle seats, all the outside tables are taken, and the boss doesn't want to talk to any sales reps. If that's the case, shut up, and go on with life. Don't flatter yourself and believe that the airline is out to get you by assigning all the aisle seats to others. Life is too short to get upset by things like this.
I wholeheartedly recommend that you try these practices because I always seem to get an aisle seat, almost always get upgraded, and my luggage never gets sent to Australia. And getting to the same destination as your bags in a lousy seat is a helluva lot better than getting to a different destination than your bags in a lousy seat--all because you pissed Biff off.
Written at: United Airlines flight #559, Chicago to San Jose, upgraded to first class on less than twenty-four hours notice.
The French version of The Art of the Start is now available from Diateino:
http://snipurl.com/frenchart
The translator is Marylène Delbourg-Delphis, someone who I've known for twenty years. She is the only person in the world who could faithfully translate my book because she knows me well and is bi-lingual--a niche sector indeed!
Jean-Louis Gassée, general partner of Allegis Capital, had this to say about the book. I hope it's good because I'm not sure what it says. :-)
“Je connais Guy depuis plus de 20 ans, chef Evangéliste chez Apple, PDG de la filiale US de ACI, fondateur de Garage.com, conférencier, auteur, père de famille heureux et philanthrope; Guy est un homme sérieusement joyeux, un entrepreneur et mentor d'une intelligence aiguë, doté d'une langue non moins acérée; Bien sûr, l'ultime conseil à un entrepreneur est de ne pas écouter les conseils, de n'en faire qu'à sa tête -- à condition toutefois de l'avoir bien pleine du contenu du livre de Guy.”
You can get the PDF of Marylène's foreword by clicking here: Download se_lancer_intro.pdf
Subscribe to RSS Feed