Finally following my advice
What are you doing the next 6 weeks?
I can't believe I didn’t do this a long time ago. I always tell clients that they should start their business design by finding out what solutions are already out there, and sharing them. It's one of the best ways to understand what your potential customers are trying to do from their perspective, before you jump into developing your own solution or service.
It’s also a great way to start a conversation with them, as the first step to building a real relationship with them. It forces you to figure out what is already out there, and whether it works or not. Then and only then can you decide whether there really is a gap you can fill.
I help people figure out how to make a living doing what they love to do anyway, do well, and care about. I also help larger organisations to start and grow new ventures with the agility and personal engagement of startups.
That’s what I want to do with this newsletter: find and share tools that will help people to take their venture projects to the next level. Regardless of whether they are building a lifestyle business, saving the world, or chasing wealth, fame and world domination.
I don't want to go into a lot more detail about how it's going to work, because I want it to just evolve as I hear back from you as to what's working and what isn't.
But I will promise that:
I will focus on ideas that you can practically put into action
I will "digest" them instead of just passing links on, so there's some value added.
What will you get done in the next six weeks?
The people at Signal v. Noise have a track record for getting things done, even though they are geographically distributed and work virtually.
They manage innovation projects in six weeks cycles. As they explain it:
Six weeks… What if something’s so huge it’s going to take longer?
We believe there’s a great six week version of nearly everything. Occasionally some things fall outside this limit—deep R&D projects, brand new tech we’ve never used before, etc. But we’ve come to discover that nearly everything important can be done in six weeks or less. And done well.
There’s a lot more detail in the article. But just ask yourself, what is a six week version of something important you want to build? Define it, commit to getting it done in the next six weeks, and then start on the first step today.
Make Meaning
Identifying problems or “gaps” that can be turned into opportunities is one of the most neglected aspects of innovation. It is the foundation of designing any new venture.
Esko Kilpi has written an insightful post about the post-industrial economy that is primarily about the need to integrate our personal and work lives, and well worth reading for that reason alone.
However his insights also go to the heart of the entrepreneurial process. As Guy Kawasaki put it “make meaning.”
the inputs and outputs of knowledge work are problem definitions and exploration for solutions. Even more, there are no predetermined task sequences that, if executed, would guarantee success.
...Knowledge work is characterized by variety and exception rather than predictability and routine.
The new structures of work and new designs for value creation are about communities continuously organizing themselves around shared information, shared interests and shared practices.
Post-industrial business is about doing meaningful things with meaningful people in a meaningful way.
Quick Links
10 work skills for the postnormal era – Work Futures We don't see enough thoughtful articles about the skills needed for entrepreneurship. We will all increasingly become entrepreneurs--even if it's micro- or intra- preeners. The job is a declining business model. Stowe Boyd has done a good job of identifying the key skills we need to cultivate.
Milanote: The notes app for creative work. If you like using whiteboards, mind maps, Trello or Evernote, you should check this out–it’s a versatile and flexible combination of all of these (not a sponsored or affiliate link).
This is my first iteration.
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