The Profit Prophet

While I try to talk about startups, strategy, and how to manage growth, every now and then I need to be reminded that there are some very critical things that we take as common sense, but unfortunately is not that common. Sometimes, when we start up a business, we get attached to a certain set of beliefs that as we grow and change, need to change with us. To drive home the point is a story below..about believing something too long...   The couple were 85 years old and had been married for 60 years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies. Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade. One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.   They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished...

“A blunder at the right moment is better than cleverness at the wrong time.”   --Carolyn Wells

While I was working in product marketing, I always heard people talking about “ time-to-market ,” and how important it was to get products to market as quickly as possible. Instinctively, this sounds good, but in reality what is important is “ timeliness to marke t.” What that means is that you need to get your product to the market just before the market starts to develop. I am reminded of a parable that was told to me by a great mentor while I was at Texas Instruments concerning timing. It was called Unfolding a Rose . A young student, whose wife had just bore him a baby girl, was walking with his wise Teacher in a garden, explaining his loss at understanding life, his daughter's purpose, and how was he, who knew nothing, expected to shape a new life. The old man simply plucked a rose bud from a large, very old vine. "Here, open this without tearing or damaging any petals." He tried as the Teacher had bid him; yet, but he could not unfold the rose wit...