The predominance of ‘No’

 Leadership  No Responses »
Feb 072008
 

One of the great disservices many companies do to themselves is to encourage the existence of a layer of managers/executives whose primary source of credibility/respect is being the first to say ‘No’ to an idea.

There are generally lots of ramifications for people who say ‘Yes’ to an idea that subsequently flops. Yet there is almost never any ramifications for people who say ‘No’ to an idea that subsequently turns out to be valid (usually demonstrated by a competitor).

In short, most organisations make it easier (and safer) to say ‘No’ than ‘Yes’ – and that spells almost certain disaster.

Who are the nay-sayers in your organisation? How do you highlight this ‘responsibility gap’? How do you invert this management practice?

Microsoft’s Bid for Yahoo!

 Media, Strategy  1 Response »
Feb 032008
 

The numbers on this deal are very interesting. Like Microsoft’s acquisition of a minor stake in Facebook, most of the value created in the transaction is strategic – it has less to do with the present value of future cash flow, and more to do with making sure an asset does not fall into a competitor’s hands

There is a broad array of issues at play here:

- The No.2 + No.3 competitor joining to take on a dominant No.1 competitor

- The ‘land grab’ mentality of the current media market (a redux of the ‘eyeballs economy’ of the original dot.com bubble)

- Scale + scope economies

But leaving aside the economic + market factors, I am quite surprised no-one has noted the very (very) different cultures at the three companies.

Google is a ‘pure’ technology company – it is an engineering-led business.

Yahoo is (or was, until very recently) a media company – it is/was a media-led business.

Microsoft is a software company, with an increasing services-bent.

Viewed through this lens, it is clear why Google captured the outright lead. But a change is coming, as we all now take certain technologies for granted, which calls for a new breed of company. Yahoo! hasn’t been able to step in and fill that gap. Microsoft is certainly trying to, but it was a late convert.

Can Microsoft + Yahoo!, as a combined entity, pull it off? I think so, but it is going to require some very deft handling of cultural change. Now Bill Gates has ‘retired’, I wonder who has the wherewithal to pull it off?

Raising Money 101 – Learning How to Sell

 Cash, entrepreneurs, investors, VC  No Responses »
Feb 012008
 

As an entrepreneur, you are in constant “sell mode”. Each human interaction – a lunch meeting, a formal presentation or a surprise encounter with an old school friend while wandering down the street – is a chance to ‘sell’ your idea, product or venture.

I use “sell” here in a broader sense.

When it comes to potential investors, you sell in the sense that you are trying to convince them to invest in you. With potential customers, you sell in the sense of seeking a firm expression of interest – “Yes, I would buy that product/service” etc. Occasionally, you even need to sell family members (so they can “keep the faith”).

There are millions of books on selling techniques. Common to all of them is a single pearl of wisdom: successful sales people listen more than they talk.

Sure, there are exceptions. If you’re invited to do a 20 minute pitch to a group of investors, then you’d better cram that 20 minutes with as much solid and convincing information as you can muster.

Before you can prepare an effective 20 minute presentation, however, you will have spent considerable time understanding those to whom you are presenting.

In most “selling” opportunities, you won’t have time to prepare. That’s partly why I advocate memorising succinct “elevator speeches” that you can deliver on-the-go.

Yet, even the most effective elevator speech won’t get you past “Go” if you haven’t established the right context. How do you establish the right context? Ask a few questions and listen very intently on the answers.

What is the best context-setting question? It really doesn’t matter what you ask. More important is that you show you are listening. At the end of the day, however, what you want to know is what is the biggest “pain” in their life/business (because the best way to create an opportunity is to uncover a “pain” and create an innovative solution).

So you could start with: “What drives you nuts about your business?”

Follow that with a series of open-ended questions (Why? Why not? How? etc.), and very soon you will be hearing a cry for help (figuratively speaking). If your idea, product or venture provides a solution, then you have established the right context for “selling” it.