notes-business-summary

NOTE: I DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BUSINESS. This is mostly a secondhand summary of OTHER PEOPLE'S ADVICE WHICH I HAVE READ.

dont micromanage and trust ur ppl

mtngs r often a waste of time

in mtngs, have a time limit and agenda when possible. agenda helps control time, and also allows optional invitees to decide not to attend, which is good b/c small mtngs are better.

most meetings should end with concrete action items, assigned to specific individuals with specific followup or due dates

serial status report meetings are a waste of time

company should have a simple, clear vision. this vision must be inspirational for members, achievable, and profitable.

company should have inspiring values/goal

watch out for outside investors

contact with reality (the reason to: launch early; measure things)

write down ur expectations and assumptions, so that you can check expectations, and so that you don't forget which assumptions are being made

very important to have the right ppl

actions speak louder than words (ppl get behind success, not talk)

don't waste ppl's time

looks matter b/c ppl are making an investment in you when they work with you or when they use your product. you have to assure them that you are going to be around for the next N years, not just the next six months (personal observation: evolutionarily, i guess it's like the evolution of conspicuous consumption-y sexual advertising)

deciding what not to do is (almost?) as important as deciding what to do

network

people are likely to rise (or fall) to your expectations of them

work hard

work smart

startup specific

bias towards action

market fit is most important

launch early (but not buggy)

get used to hearing No

cash is king

beware of outside funding


additions:

heuristics

more than one path to success; eco niches

opposed heuristics

use the Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis but beware the false sense of certainty it conveys (note: Abstract-Negative-Concrete)

perfect is the enemy of the good vs. quality over quantity --worse is better; -- quality as a motivating factor

a stitch in time saves nine vs. be ontime and responsive

network more vs. prioritize

conceptual library useful for startups

rules of thumb

list of tasks

list of resources

note: ppl are NOT resources! ppl are ecological/game-theoretic "players"

list of analyses

generic classification system algebras/metaphors

wu xing (see other document)

tarot:

time management


never outsource a core competency

hire for strength (not weakness)

meetings should have a purpose

don't make more ppl attend a meeting than you have to. in order to not attend, ppl may need to know the agenda and to be assured that they will get a summary of what happened afterwards


everyone already knew this but me but: meetings beget meetings

w/r/t relationships, momentum is important