Innovation

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Are Startup Innovators Born…Or Made?

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Are Startup Innovators Born…Or Made?

Todd recently had an opportunity to write an article for The Conversation on innovators. The article explored what if anything makes entrepreneurs and innovators different from other people. Madam C.J. Walker is featured as an exemplar of some of the important attributes and behaviors of innovators. Based on decades of research, the basic thesis is that there are no specific personality traits or DNA that entrepreneurs are born with; however, there are some abilities and behaviors that can be learned and practiced.

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Decisions, Decisions: How Startups Need to Approach Decision Making

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Decisions, Decisions: How Startups Need to Approach Decision Making

We recently started reading Steven Johnson’s book Farsighted: How We Make The Decisions That Matter The Most. The essence of the book is that complex decisions require a thoughtful and intentional process to increase the odds of having a favorable outcome… Here are three key elements to good decision making in the startup context:

 

The logic is very similar to our framework in The Titanic Effect. Making important decisions under conditions of uncertainty can have unanticipated consequences—what we call debtbergs in our framework—in a variety of areas including people, markets, technology/product, and strategy. Understanding the tradeoffs and implications of these decisions is important for complex strategic choices like those that startups make on a regular basis. We map out many of the common mistakes founding teams make that can subsequently sink their startups.

 

Smart Startups Plan for Product Improvement and Evolution

Smart Startups Plan for Product Improvement and Evolution

It’s so exciting! You have a few customers or users and your product is off the ground! A startup finally gets momentum. Customers are increasing in number. It’s hard not to relax, have a beer, and bask in the glory of a newly released product. However, this is only the beginning. 

So many startups that make it through the early, treacherous waters of launch end up foundering at the discipline required to operate continuously. More and more of the venture’s activity migrates out of the direct sight lines of the founding team. During this stage of a company, it’s important to keep the hunger and enthusiasm that was there at the beginning. Easing up now could diminish all of the hard work put in. 

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Lessons Learned from Intrapreneurship and Entrepreneurship

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Lessons Learned from Intrapreneurship and Entrepreneurship

Guest Blog by Sunny Lu Williams (sunny@techserv.io) 

At the book launch for The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navigating the Uncertainties that Sink Most Startups, Kim and Todd asked me to share my personal insights leading innovation activities both within my former employer of 13 years, Telamon Corporation, and now my own company, TechServ. Here are the 3 ideas I shared about how I manage the uncertainty to succeed:

Know your Role on the Rig– You have to start by knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. Then, build a team to supplement your strengths. Teams’ skill sets should enhance the whole, especially complementing where the leader is weak. Be flexible about what role you take on as a leader, working from your strengths…