"...keeping
you great"
HEADLINES:
Latest Rage -- the concept of "the Lean Start-Up", birthed in Silicon Valley by Eric Ries, is now sweeping the globe. Applicable to any new product or service launch in existing firms, the message is "we have to stop wasting people's time" building stuff nobody wants. Take a look at this 15 minute video -- and if in a hurry, go right to 12:18 and take 3 minutes to review the 4 Myths/Truths about Lean Start-Ups. And if you only have a minute, go to 14:30 and check out the most important misunderstanding: that Lean Start-ups are trying to replace vision with data or customer feedback.
The Truth -- you want to be driven by a compelling vision and then rigorously test each element of that vision through rapid customer feedback. Many of you have heard me rant about the importance of talking to one customer each week, looking for that Black Swan moment when you're able to pivot (the hot new buzz word discussed in the video above) your product or service to better serve the market. Here's a link to the article . BTW, thanks to Johan Åhlund, founder of Barcelona-based Artificial Solutions, for pointing me to this video.
Lean for Software Development -- this very practical video explains how Lean principles (in contrast to Scrum or Agility) apply to building software. And the most applicable piece for all of us is their discussion about "delayed commitments." The video is structured so you can go right to that 2 minute piece. Many of us make decisions way too early in a process -- quite an eye-opener for me and a lesson I learned just this past week. And for those doing IT work for the government, go to their second to last section and hear them explain what the Norwegian government is doing to write more flexible government contracts which allow Lean to be practiced. Thanks to Emilio Moreno, CEO of Softonic, for pointing me to this video.
Asia's 200 Best Public Companies Under a Billion -- and congrats to India-based Ashiana Housing, a $61 million market cap Rockefeller Habits driven firm, for making the Forbes list this week. India scored 39 of the 200 Asian firms, up from 20 last year. China fell from having 79 on the list to 71. Notes Ankur Gupta "The meeting rhythm, especially the added monthly huddle (with all middle managers), has really helped us and we have been able to more than double our sales. Around this time last year we had sold 2.12 lacs sq.ft. and this year we are at 5.5 lac sq.ft." No slow down in housing in India, at least for Ashiana!!
ThinkProductive's Daily Huddle -- speaking of meetings, Graham Allcott, director of UK-based ThinkProductive, a personal productivity firm, posted a short video explaining how they structure their daily huddles for those still on the fence or wanting to fine-tune their huddle. Thanks Graham.
John Grisham's Career Path -- take a few minutes to read Grisham's delightful guest column in the NY Times this week and then share it with your children. From watering rose bushes for a dollar an hour to plumbers helper to men's underwear salesman, Grisham's path to world class novelist will give anyone hope they can find and then live their passion. BTW, he considers writing the toughest and most grueling job he's ever had.
