A friend of mine gave a folded up article his uncle had sent him. The article was from a Georgia Tech alumni magazine. The author, Amol Joshi, co-founder of BayPackets, Inc., shared this list with a gathering of students. I wanted to share it too, as well, I wanted to document the list so that I would not forget them. A good way to remember something is to think about how it applies to your life. Often relating things to our lives we build stronger links to them. Then we need to recall them, they are easier to find. So beneath each item, is my attempt to make it real for me.
10. Youth and inexperience are often an asset when starting a company.
I have a great anchor around my neck. It keeps me from exploding with optimism and holds me back. It is called cynicism. To make truly impossible things become reality, I know that I have to throw off this anchor and make unbridled optimism my mantra. Although I can’t turn back the clock and regain my youth and inexperience, I can do two things. First, I can keep my mind and perspective locked on staying and thinking youthfully. Second, I can surround myself whenever possible with youthful and inexperienced dreamers. One great reward from working on SNAP these last 18 months has been working with some of the great students from the Inter American University.
9. Education is the only investment guaranteed never to decrease in value.
What an understatement! However, a perspective I would add, especially in these globalized and rapidly advancing times, is that education is an investment we all must make throughout our lives. There is no end to education. I think it keeps our brains young, which I just read from Kathy Sierra’s Creating Passionate Users blog. I agree completely.
8. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, be afraid of not making them quickly enough.
This is straight out of Tom Peter’s Re-Imagine. Tom’s rant is that the faster we make our mistakes, the faster we will succeed. Amen. I think the corollary to this is that we all have illusions of greatness. Our mistake, is that we believe that we can achieve greatness on the first try. There is no short cut to greatness. Usually what is required is countless iterations. We try something. We determine if it is moving us towards our goal. If it is not we try something else and repeat the process. Oh yes, it is a process. Most paths to success are just that. And the faster we can complete each iteration of the process, refine it, and improve it; the faster we will achieve our success.
7. Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.
Leadership by example has long been one of my principles. When we show that we are just as willing as anyone to do whatever is necessary to achieve our goals, then I believe that it empowers everyone to achieve their own goals.
6. Be a team player.
Time to eat more crow. I think this is another area that I could stand to improve. I still tend to forget that almost all paths to success will involve other people (team members, partners, competitors, suppliers, customers). I believe that success is directly tied to the quality of the relationships created with other people. One way to improve relationships is to focus our perspective on other people. When we are thinking of our customers, our partners, or our team members first, success will surely follow.
5. Your most important team is your family and friends.
Your family and friends are just an extension of the very same sentiment. Which brings up a very pertinent and important message. Choose very wisely when you choose a spouse. They will become your family. Your nearest, most influential, and powerful family member. Choose well. Take your time. If your like me and and are going to try to change the world, then having a supportive spouse could make all the difference in the world.
4. Sales and marketing is not the “dark side of the force.”
Remember, it’s all about business. We spend the greatest part of our lives working. And work is almost always about business. If we don’t understand how businesses work, then we are unable to understand our role. If we don’t understand our role. Then we are just wasting everyones time. One of the key activities of any business is sales and marketing. Over the last few years I have really become excited about learning more about both of these areas. I encourage everyone to learn more about them as well. Anyway, I now know that management and the route to become a senior executive is the dark side.
3. Learn how to raise money.
This is most definitely an area I want to get much better at. Many of my dreams will involve this so I guess I better get turned down. The sooner I get past the denials, the faster I’ll get to the approvals.
2. Build your personal brand.
Yet another key Peter-ism. I’ve been working on this for quite a while. In fact, x-cito.com is the manifestation of creating Kevin Inc.
1. Dream big.
One of the greatest gifts I ever got from my Father was his encouragement. I could do anything I set my mind to. For me, it is one of the key ideals that drives me. My life is proof that this ideal is beautifully perfect. However, I have also learned that there is more to that ideal. That’s the short version. The longer version goes something like this: “You can do anything you set your mind to. As long as you are willing to creating a plan on how to obtain your goal. And you are willing to accept the consequences and sacrifices necessary to execute your plan.” The Jenius pointed out to me that it could also be if you are willing to invest what is required in the execution of your plan. The former being the cynic’s view and the latter the optimists view. Guess which I now use?
