What am I doing differently today because of AnythingGoes?

For me, the most important part of AG was the community – the energy of the group – the friends I made – and one thing that's changed in my life is the kind of conversations I'm having. But how have my actions changed since the session?

Well here's one thing:

Bill Warner got me to create a Posterous blog (by simply emailing an iPhone audio recording of one of our brainstorm sessions to post@posterous.com) and since then I've been blogging.

This might not sound like a big thing – everyone's blogging these days and services like Posterous are making it easier and easier to get started.

For me though, it's a really big step. I'm someone who's kept my writing private for years – I've been been “blogging” in private since 1998 – keeping a personal, unpublished journal, that is, and I've probably spent more time on it than anything else.

In essence, I was taking the same approach to my writing that some entrepreneurs take when they launch a product – go into stealth mode, keep it secret, ask people to sign NDAs, try to polish your product till it's perfect, and then release it in a big splash.

When you spend time in the startup world you learn that this defensive, secretive approach doesn't always work out.

I've scrapped that mentality in my entrepreneurial projects and recently, I've scrapped it in my writing as well. I finally got the courage to show my rough, unedited face to the world. I've recognized that starting conversations is more important to me than achieving perfection in prose.

So how does this relate to Bill Warner's ideas – the core of the AnythingGoes curriculum?

I think one thing you can gain from Bill's concept of “timeless intention” – one thing you can gain from exploring your intentions and finding simple words to express them – one thing you can gain from doing this among peers in a setting like AnythingGoes – is courage.

Bill believes entrepreneurs need “tools” to follow their hearts, since the world often pushes us to follow our heads. I believe the tools Bill has already created are effective in the way they build courage.

Here's a blog post I wrote yesterday, describing how I'd teach the core of what I learned in AG. This is my own take, not “approved” by Bill or anyone else – you can read it and see what you think.

how I understand Bill Warner's “Follow your heart” message now

“Intentions aren't something you invent, so don't try”

http://blog.rudiseitz.com/how-i-understand-bill-warners-follow-your-hea

Below are some of my other recent posts about entrepreneurship and inventing (my own personal positions, not necessarily reflecting Bill's philosophy, but influenced by it):

your work is your vote

“What each of us does for work has at least as much, if not a greater social impact than the way each of us casts our vote in a presidential election.”

http://blog.rudiseitz.com/your-work-is-your-vote

the etymology of tools

“Are we going to hear the messages of the inventors?”

http://blog.rudiseitz.com/the-etymology-of-tools

manifest intentions now

“If your intention is to help people make new friends, you could host a cocktail party.”

http://blog.rudiseitz.com/manifest-intentions-now

language, money, intention

“Don't work for a company if you don't understand or believe the language it uses to describe itself.”

http://blog.rudiseitz.com/language-money-intention

thought experiment: products as teachers

“What would you need to teach someone so that they could solve the same problem that your product solves?”

http://blog.rudiseitz.com/thought-experiment-products-as-teachers

If you've read this far and want more, I've made this offer to anyone who visits my blog:

an offer to readers / premature optimization

“I'll take any rough piece of writing from this blog, refine it, shape it, clarify it, and make the improved product freely available here – if you have a use for it and you let me know.”

http://blog.rudiseitz.com/an-offer-to-readers-premature-optimization

-Rudi

If there were a single lesson I would take from these 2 weeks it would be: don't be afraid of failure. We all know this, but putting it in practice is not easy, fear has kept me from doing many things. How did I learn this time? I heard very smart people telling stories about their failures, and they were not embarrassed, they even laughed about it.

The most convincing was having Bill Warner telling how a New York editor rejected his book. Some of his ideas were inspired by Wayne Dyer's The Power of Intention and he gave him credit for it. The editor's answer was pretty close to if I wanted to read Wayne Dyer I'd buy a book by Wayne Dyer.

As a team, we also had our own dose of failure, Scott Kirsner, a writer for the Boston Globe, came to visit. When he compared us to Curves I don't think he meant it as a compliment.

We invited 2 guests to have lunch and talk, they were Eric Peters and Desh Deshpande. Eric was CTO and technical co-founder of Avid Technology It was interesting to hear how Eric and Bill created the co-flow that made Avid successful.

What is Co-Flow?

All of us have multiple intentions, and because we're humans, there aren't two people with the same intentions, it's like our DNA.

A company on the other hand, has only one intention, the vision of the original founder, what wanted to achieve with the idea. Because unique, it's called the primary intention. The goal of a startup is then, building an invention to achieve the primary intention; we say that the primary intention flows through the invention.

But the founder is not alone, there're co-founders and employees, all with intentions of their own. There's co-flow when the members of the team not only follow the primary intention, but also add-up to it, they amplify it, this is the most powerful concept in building a company from the heart.

It's essential to identify the primary intention very clearly and communicate it to every member of the company. This was one of the main goals during our first week at Anything Goes Lab.

Eric Peter's task was to create the technology to allow movie editors use a computer, it was the 80's and they were still cutting celluloid to do their work. Bill asked Eric to create the hardware and software to display movies at 15 frames per second. Defining the target display refresh rate was a tricky decision, make the number too low and the editors won't like the product or will buy a competitor, make it too high and you'll run into technical difficulties, will need more resources, and delay the release.

Eric accepted the requirement without arguing. Didn't say anything either when Bill asked "is it ready?" which I assume happened countless times. When Eric got back to Bill with a working solution, it was capable of displaying 30 frames/second. He knew his people (the editors) better than Bill, he knew 15 wasn't enough to convince them to switch. He also knew that Bill wouldn't allow him to work with a target refresh rate of 30, so he kept it secret.

This is a good example of co-flow at work. It's also proof of the exceptional abilities of Eric Peters as an engineer. This gave Avid a huge advantage over the competition, today its yearly sales are over $600 million.

Desh Deshpande

Desh shared some of his stories as an entrepreneur, among others, as co-founder of Cascade Systems and Sycamore Networks. We have an audio recording of this session.

We discussed the principles of building a startup from the heart and he agreed with most of our ideas. He thinks using your head is an obstacle especially in the beginning, if you use your head you might never start a company. The first steps are irrational and they come from the heart. But when things have started, the head can be useful too, for instance, recognizing that some approach you've been trying doesn't work. We summarized this idea in the sentence follow your heart, use your head.

Among the teachings Desh shared with us, there's one that caused a big impression on me, something I already knew, but the clarity and conviction he used stroke me: identify the good people early and never miss an opportunity to work with them.

Deliverables

Some of you might be wondering what goal we achieved, what concrete deliverables we completed in these two weeks, I know it because we asked ourselves the same question the last few days. We took the boards and put everything in a wiki, you're welcome to take a look and even make comments. There're 26 of us, with our stories, our people, intentions, beliefs and inventions.

We've already started working on our startups, we intend to be in touch and help each other through this journey. Who knows, in 5 years, if we're lucky, someone else will invite us to talk to a group of young entrepreneurs, to tell them our story, how it all started at Anything Goes Lab.

(Original version of this post:
http://carreno.me/posts/my-second-week-at-anything-goes-lab)

(download)

Click here to download:

My_Second_Week_at_Anything_Goe.zip (314 KB)

Summary of the takeaways from Desh Deshpande's presentation at Anything Goes Lab.

Desh asked us to summarize the messages that resonated most with us during his talk, here are some of the key takeaways the group noted.

Build credibility that you can leverage –

For an entrepreneur to get funding she/he needs credibility. Credibility comes from proving that you have done something similar before – ideally led or been part of a successful entrepreneurial team before. So, try to have some work experience with smaller startups under your belt before you start your own.

Focus on the smallest problem –

The one thing entrepreneurs cannot have enough of is – resources. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on the smallest problem that at one time. When faced with two large problems – throw one away and cut the other in half!

What problem to solve?

A litmus test of whether you’re working on the right problem is whether you can convince a customer of its value. Check how excited they are and are they willing to invest. Unless someone is willing to pay for it, you’re not working on the right issue.

Recipes for success –

1. Being ‘Hungry’ is a recipe for success. If something that was once exciting has now become a chore, give it up. Let someone else who is ‘hungry’ take it over - they might do a better job.  Also, it frees you up to do something that you are ‘hungry’ for.
2. Selling it at home. You need to have your partner/spouse on board with your entrepreneurial venture. It might help to mutually agree on a set of deadlines/milestones for yourself and stick to them.

The experience –

Lastly, Entrepreneurship is not and should not feel like a sacrifice. It’s not about the goal, you're doing it because you enjoy it. As a part of the experience, an entrepreneur continuously questions his/her goals and approach. Consider it as a gift and embrace the process!

Special thanks for Makarand Joshi for summarizing the list from the group.

Desh Deshpande came to Anything Goes Lab on Thursday July 22 to tell stories at the big table.

Desh_Deshpande_Anything_Goes_2010_Jul_23.mp3

(download)

Click here to download:

Desh_Deshpande_Anything_Goes_2010_Jul_23.mp3 (63.34 MB)

Update: We've summarized our takeaways from this talk in a new post.

All you need to know:
--This Saturday!
--Meet @ 9 AM (arrive early! we'll be making sandwiches!)
--CIC 9th floor space
--Bring 2 water bottles
--Email me your number if you want a wake up call
--Return by 6PM

Extra details:
* There are still a few open spots! I want you to come! If you get
tired I will even channel my inner sherpa and carry you! Add yourself
here: http://www.doodle.com/4hqv3pyaz2pvighn
* Transportation is taken care of
* we will have PB&J Sandwiches + chips + the spoils of a CIC kitchen raid
* lists below: pretty much everything is optional except for WATER. If
nothing else, bring at least 2 water bottles!

Things you should bring:
Water. At least 2 Water bottles (Somebody is always thirsty.)
A second, or third, t-shirt. (You will be hot and sweaty.)
Bug spray. (unfortunately not applicable to legacy code bases)
Camera! Recording devices! Magic singing bowls!

What should I wear?
Gym or khaki shorts.
Cotton T-shirt or pile/underarmor
Hiking boots with sturdy socks or running shoes
Please see the attached picture for proper attire and hiking form.

What should I expect
A solid 4-6 hours hiking
Beautiful scenery and vistas
Hot weather
Me narrating any interaction with wildlife as Steve Irwin

"But Kip, this sounds intense!"

No, dear reader, this is hiking. Camping is in tents. :P

Contributed by Kip Landergren