More notes from Entrepreneurial Thinking conference

The Entrepreneurial Thinking conference was well worth it. I look forward to the next one on April 18th, 2008.

Alan Webber (adding to my quick notes)

• He did not have slides, so this is what stayed up on screen as he talked: Expert on change and innovation in the knowledge economy.
• Two things matter for business success: Innovation and Leadership. That is where you stand out. (The rest are important but taken for granted.) They are two sides of the same coin. Innovation: upset status quo to create new value. Leadership: guide/create positive change, master the art of change. That means the coin is called Change.
• Three brutal facts of business life: Globalization, Technology, Human capital. My favorite quote (paraphrased): "Web 2.0 is a buzzword that means: If the work is not moving to India or China, then it will move to the web." Human capital - it really means "hire the best people." Interesting stat: The top programmers are 10,000 times more productive than average ones.
• In the TINA questions, I of course liked the fact that "customer's skin" and "design" are next to each other. Good quotes: "Know your customers better than they know themselves," "Your web site instantly communicates your brand values" and "Design is a signal of intention."
• The best question for Alan was about open systems. The old model of a great business was that you controlled everything within your corporate boundaries.

Guy Kawasaki

• Worth the price of admission. Very inspiring. And funny. Great presenter. (Guy is one of the judges in SlideShare's World Best Presentation Contest.)
• His talk was titled "The art of innovation" and it was very similar to his "art of the start" talks. There are several copies of his Art of the Start floating around - here is one on SlideShare and another.
• Since some of his points were different, I will list them here., with short notes. (Update: PDF attached below.)

1. Make meaning (the money comes from the meaning but you cannot make meaning just from money)
2. Make mantra (not mission statements)
3. Jump to the next curve (10 times better, not 10% better)
4. Roll the DICEE (Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Elegant, Emotive)
5. Don't worry, be crappy (ship and then test, but only revolutionary products can get away with this)
6. Polarize people (if you design for everyone, it works for no one)
7. Let 100 flowers blossom (spread it widely because you will get unanticipated customers)
8. Churn, baby, churn (hardest part is shifting from "do not listen to the people who tell you it is impossible" before shipping to evolutionary mode - "listen to your users" - after shipping)
9. Niche thyself (high value + unique product - high and to the right on the charts)
10. Follow the 10/20/30 rule (for pitching ideas - 10 slides, 20 minutes of talking and then discussion, 30 point font)
11. Don't let the bozos grind you down (innovation is about seeing the next curve, those stuck in the current curve will get in your way)

Other things

• I hung out a lot with the great folks at Hanson. Very nice to have them involved. Shared a lot of great ideas for nurturing the user experience community in the area.
• BGSU is doing other good things. I did not take notes on this part, since I was eating, but from what I remember: A new program where a cohort of students go thru the business program with a cohort of multi-disciplinary teachers. A way for alumni to come back for "lifelong learning." A new WBGU-TV program of interviews with entrepreneurs, starring Martha Rogers. (I will blog this more as I learn more - or someone who knows the details can add a comment here.)
• There are other events happening at BGSU this weekend, none of which I can attend. The one I really will miss is Oprah's dress (not).
• Keith Trowbridge, Executive Quest, is quite the character - I attended the break-out session where he spoke. Stories ranging from how he got the curling rink built to the "BGSU mafia" to his innovative timeshare business.

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