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A few weeks back I watched the opening episode of Shark Tank. It’s a show where aspiring entrepreneurs get to pitch their business concepts to VC’s like FUBU founder and CEO Daymond John and real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran There were some really solid presentations but one moment in particular stood out to me.

A struggling entrepreneur was pitching the idea of media hubs at doctors offices. While sitting in the waiting room patrons would be able to get online, watch t.v., and read e-magazines. The product would be supported by ads. The sharks (investors) didn’t think it was a good idea because it was expensive to install and most people could access all of this information on their cell phones anyway. Sensing his chance is slipping away the entrepreneur begins to break down (literally tearing up) and confesses that he’s put everything into this idea over the last few years. He’s mortgaged his home, emptied his kids college funds, and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The investors let out a collective gasp and then start to lecture him basically saying, “What the heck do you think you’re doing? This is lunacy. You need to stop immediately. Nothing is worth you’re kids college fund.”

What struck me was that none of them admired him for the risk he was taking. They didn’t congratulate him on his courage or give him platitudes about his big break being just around the next corner. They told him to quit and focus on his family for awhile.

Most rah rah business books always promote a never give up mentality. Apparently, when the chips are down is when you’re supposed to go all in! I agree that most people give up far too easily but there comes a time when it’s okay to say “I’m out.” Then cut your losses and move on.

We need to learn the art of quitting well.

Photo Credit: mattgrimm

Should you create a product that you love or one you believe other people will love?

On the one hand you have those who feel that whatever you create should be your passion. It should spring from within and be something you believe in even if your close friends or family laugh and call you crazy. They say some of the greatest innovations in the world have come from folks who’s products no one loved or thought would work at first glance. I think Gary Vaynerchuk of winelibrary.tv would fall into this camp.

On the other hand you have those who say business isn’t about you, it’s about the customers. Starting businesses around your passion is selfish and shortsighted. The key is to get a pulse on the market, larger culture, the masses and ask what it’s looking for? Then create a product that taps into their felt need. Sure it may not be your favorite thing in the world but at least it will be profitable. I think Michael Gerber author of the E-Myth would fall into this camp.

Of course the paradox of business is that it should be both. Novelist Frederick Buekner wrote that vocation is “where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” If you were forced to choose one over the other I would go with passion every time. Yet, to be wildly financially successful it will take both working in tandem.

Photo Credit: Arenamontanus

Most web copy sucks. We’re so afraid of offending or turning someone away that we play it safe and write copy that sounds like other ‘professional’ websites. This means we rarely offend but also rarely engage. Here’s a quote from a random small business website.

“As a leading distributor of IT solutions in more than 30 countries, Technology Solutions improves how technology products and services are defined and delivered to businesses worldwide. From our place at the center of the channel, we enable solution providers to grow faster with less investment by helping them understand customers’ unique business requirements and industry-specific needs.”

I hate this for two reasons. First, it tells me absolutely nothing about the company. I want to march right up to the committee that wrote this and ask, “What the heck are you talking about? I have no idea what you just said.” Second, the tone of the copy is so cold it feels almost robotic. My guess is this is a really great company that cares about it’s customers and has some super unique aspects to it. However, you would never guess that from the paragraph above.

A little known side effect of copy like this is that it makes people want to kick themselves in the face. Before you sit down to write or update the copy on your website don’t ask the question, “What does the copy on our competitor’s website say?” Trust me it’s terrible. Instead ask, “How do our favorite customers describe us?” It’s my hunch that they might use words like personal, engaging, creative, and maybe even, fun. Make sure your copy reflects that.

Photo Credit: tourist_on_earth

If you consider yourself an idea junky; if the future interests your more than the past or present; if you’re into technology, entertainment, and design; then friend you need to check out TED.com. Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.

In the talk below Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, shares why everyone loves classical music… they just don’t know it yet. He also shares a few gems on leadership and true success. A charming and inspiring talk.

Photo Credit: World Economic Forum

In his book The War of Art author Steven Pressfield describes the well known adversary of anyone who’s attempted to accomplish something significant, Resistance. That old devil that wants us to do anything but what we should be doing, our work. We organize sock drawers, shuffle papers, fiddle around on some random website, all the while kidding ourselves that we’re accomplishing something, but the truth is we’re giving into resistance, and we know it.

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Lot’s of people think they’re paid for the number of hours they’re ‘on the clock’ each day. These folks are always bragging about their long hours as though this legitimizes the value they’re bringing to the company.

Don’t be fooled by them. At the end of the day none of us are paid for the hours we work. We’re paid for what we produce. Period. We need less people bragging about what how long it took them to do something and more bragging about what they actually accomplished.

*Note: A pretty cool concept I heard about recently was the R.O.W.E. method (Results Only Work Environment) for running your business. I think it sounds like a much needed paradigm shift for organizations everywhere.

Photo Credit: Leo Reynolds

Most things worth doing take longer than we wish, but rarely as long as our worst fears tell us they will.

We’d all like to lose some weight wouldn’t we, but the problem is it takes longer than we want it too. We want to workout twice and lose twenty pounds, so we start the diet or workout routine, get discouraged a week into it and tell ourselves “This is going to take forever, it’s probably going to take 5 years for me to lose this weight.” The reality is that it will probably take you between 3-6 months.

Perhaps you’ve been thinking about starting a cool business or non-profit. Deep down you’re hoping that within 6 months you’re organization will be rocking it like Charity Water or Apple, you can almost taste success. However, deep in your psyche you’re also aware of your worst fear, your fear is that you start the organization and 20 years from now you’ve helped roughly two people.

Most thing in life aren’t as easy as we want them to be but that doesn’t make them impossible. Reality tends to be somewhere in-between our fairy tale and our worst nightmare.

Photo Credit: Hsin Ho.

Whether we admit it or not we all love a good story don’t we? Plot and intrigue simply get us going as a species. It’s almost as though by hearing others tell stories it helps us process our own, and for that reason alone we love them: we can’t stop hearing them and we can’t stop telling them. This is why the companies we love to buy from, the companies with huge followings and passionate fan bases, are doing so much more than selling widget ‘X’ at a fair price. They’re telling us a story that we resonate with, something with plot and sizzle. Remember those L.L. Bean Catalogs you used to thumb through as a kid? Those were telling millions of people a story they wanted to hear. A story about walks in crisp winter snow with the family or fireside chats with our significant other, all made possible by high quality fleece and Egyptian cotton.

I’ve never been to Teavana but apparently they’re doing a wonderful job of telling their story. How do I know? A close friend of mine recently showed up at the office with a brand new tea set in his hands and a fantastic tale on his lips. He’s a hard core coffee drinker but before I knew it he was spinning tales of ancient chinese tea secrets, the benefits of steeping in cast iron pots, and the fact that the freshness of loose leaf tea’s can be examined with the naked eye. He was absolutely raving and couldn’t wait to try out some of his new teas. Three days later I’m at my brothers house when out of nowhere he says, “You’ll never believe what I bought today!” Before I can blink he’s telling me the same story and letting me hold the beautifully designed cast iron pot, cups, and saucers. The enchantment was all around us, I found myself dreaming of sipping tea with the Dali Lama and other people full of wisdom and vitality.

Any company can make up a story as part of some marketing intiative but they’re quickly found out as frauds (especially with the rise of the internet where information travels faster than lightening). The best companies absolutely believe and embody their stories. They feel it down to their toes. For them marketing isn’t something that’s slapped on at the end and design isn’t an after-thought. Everything about the business is done intentionally, each piece a chapter in their grand narrative. Moleskine, The North Face, TOMS Shoes, and 37 Signals all have a story to tell and they’re doing a heck-of-a-job of telling it.

How about you? What story is your company telling?

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Two great books on this topic are Design by Tom Peters and All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin.

Photo Credit: vociferous.

Lots of people have dreams: launching a killer product that takes the world by storm, working from the comfort of your own home, making $1,000,000, creating an organization that changes thousands of lives, or even the simple dream of doing something you love each day. Dreams inspire and motivate us. However, dreams in and of themselves don’t change anyone or anything. It’s the implementation of those dreams that really matters.

Many dream of having 20,000 twitter followers but only a handful post interesting links, create good content, and engage conversation like crazy so that one day they can.

Lots of folks dream of creating a million dollar company but very few are willing to become a person that has the capacity to run one.

Plenty of people dream of having a blog read by thousands each day however only a handful get up each morning and write a post.

Anyone can dream of starting a non-profit but only a minuscule number ever fill out the paper work to get the process started.

The good news for you is that you’re not most people, which gives you a massive head start. if you’re willing to get up a little earlier, stay up a wee bit later, if you’re willing to pour blood, sweat, and tears into your dreams, then someday they’ll be your reality.

A true dreamer isn’t someone who has them, it’s someone who respects them enough to take action.

Photo Credit: h.koppdelaney

I love great design. It does something to me that I can’t explain. It takes a normal product and makes it extraordinary, it takes the mundane and turns it into something that makes me stand up and clap, at least on the inside.

Recently I was walking through the grocery store when something caught my eye. It was a bottle of soap, but not just any bottle of hand soap my friends, it was the most gorgeous bottle of soap I’d ever laid eyes on. “Oh wow!” I exclaimed to my wife, “Maggie, look at this bottle of soap! Have you ever seen anything so elegant? Now this is great design, whoever created this was on a mission.” Check it out, I think you’ll agree.

I purchased this soap and I will continue to purchase it. Yes, it’s a bit more expensive than your average bar of Dial but I’m willing to pay a premium for something that makes me smile, makes me stare, something that gives me goose bumps.

In a world where thousands of average products are rolled out daily, design can be the thing that separates you from the pack.

Photo Credit: Quinnanya