Welcome! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I started this blog to build up my presence on the web. A positive side effect has been that I feel a sense of accountability to my audience for the things I write; especially when writing about personal goals. Hence, it’s become quite helpful in keeping me motivated, especially after my Week 10 2008 goal wakeup call post. Life is different when you have an audience, no matter how small.
Recently I started attending Jerry Mitchell and Bill Price’s 6-month Bootstrappers class on new venture creation. It’s the same class they teach in a local B-school. I decided that now was as good of a time as any to get a rounded education on the startup process and use it as an excuse to research some long-term business ideas. The side effect of this is I’m in a class with (and in some cases working in a group with) successful entrepreneurs. I see their work ethic, resourcefulness, and commitment and it challenges me to up my own game in areas where I need to grow. In effect, they’re my audience and my silent accountability.
If you don’t have one already, I encourage you to seek out a reference group. Find yourself a group of peers, both at your level and above, to pull you up. You’ll be surprised with the improvements you start making when you associate with the right people.
Measurement doesn’t [have to] equal complexity. Pick one thing [tied to sales/profit/growth] you can measure and do it diligently. They chose to measure how many people played the Cashflow Game as an indicator of how they were serving their customers.
Get started. “At first, the reporting was awkward and the numbers weren’t always accurate. But over the past year, the reporting has become much more precise.” -Robert Kiyosaki
A Tool You Can Use Today:
As if that article wasn’t timely enough, today Ben Bradley at the Bradley Wiltjer Marketing Group posted an article on measurement that includes his very simple marketing measurement tool. The post helped me bring clarity to our own measurement efforts, and I believe you will benefit as well. Read Ben’s post and learn:
Why measurement is not one-size-fits-all.
What things you should and should not measure.
A simple tool you can use to get started with your own measurements.
I’ve been around the FIRST LEGO League and the FIRST organization, and through my involvement with the open source 3D LEGO community, I’ve had the privilege to meet some talented youngsters who are very confident in their technical skills. I’m inspired every time I hear news about young engineers–while I don’t know much firsthand about OLPC, it’s clear they’re developing software for a good cause and building their experience and confidence at the same time.
. Thanks for visiting!
