CHAPTER PROGRESS

Embrace Constraints

Constraints are advantages in disguise.

 Shakespeare – limitations of sonnets

Ernest Hemingway & Reymond Carver use simple, clear language to deliver maximum impact.

Southwest – Flies only Boeing 737s -> Every employee can work any flight. All plane parts fit all of its planes.

Even when you have more resources and people, you should still force constraints – only one or two people working on a product at a time. Keep features to a minimum.

Build a half product, not a half-ass product

You can turn a bunch of great ideas into a crappy product real fast by trying to do them all at once. You just can’t do everything you want to do and do it well. You have limited time, resources, ability, and focus. It’s hard enough to do one thing right. Trying to do ten things well at the same time? Forget about it.

Start at the epicenter

There’s stuff:

• you could do
• you want to do
• you have to do (Start point)

 *Notes:

What are the stuff we have to do?

So figure out your epicenter. Which part of your equation can’t be removed?

 *Notes:

Cook4You:

• What are the stuff we have to do?
• Variety of food (a menu of 10 dishes that we can switch around) Do we have that already?
• How much should we price each item?
• How do we insure food quality is still there after a week? 如何保证新鲜?
• How do we market ourselves? How do we get people to trust our product?

 Tripatchers:

•  Profile – What are the asterisk(*) items?
• Maybe it’s a good idea to start with constraints: Location + Serivce Catalog
• Location: New York City – Shanghai
• SC: Photography? Simple show around the city type of service

*/notes

Ignore the details early on:

Details make the difference. But getting infatuated with details too early leads to disagreement, meetings, and delays. You get lost in things that don’t really matter. You waste time on decisions that are going to change anyway. So ignore the details – for a while. Nail the basics first and worry about the specifics later.

  Sharpie vs. Ballpoint pen

Making the call is making progress

You don’t have to live with a decision forever. If you make a mistake, you can correct it later.

Be a curator

You don’t make a great museum by putting all the art in the world into a single room. That’s a warehouse. What makes a museum great is the stuff that’s not on the walls.

It’s the stuff you leave out that matters. Constantly look for the things to remove, simplify, and streamline. Be a curator. Stick to what’s truly essential. Pare things down until you’re left with only the most important stuff. Then do it again. You can always add stuff back in later if you need to.

Throw less at the problem

Watch chef Gorden Ramsay’s Ktichen Nightmares and you’ll see a pattern. The menus at failing restaurants offer too many dishes. The owners think making every dish under the sun will broaden the appeal of the restaurant. Instead it makes for crappy food (and creates inventory headaches).

That’s why Ramsay’s first step is nearly always to trim the menu, usually from thrity-plus dishes to around ten. Think about that. Improving the current menu doesn’t come first. Trimming it down comes first. Then he polishes what’s left.

Focus on what won’t change

The core of your business should bebuilt around things that won’t change.

*Notes

Cook4You: Healthy, Cost Saving, Easy to manage (heat, eat and toss)

Tripatcher: Patch your trip

*/Notes

Industry Examples:

Amazon – Fast/Free Shipping, Great Selection, Friendly Return Policies, and afforadable prices.

37Signals – Speed, Simplicity, ease of use and clarity.

Japanese Automakers – Reliability, affordability, and practicality.

Fashion fades away. When you focus on /permanent/ features, you’re in bed with things that never go out of style.

Tone is in your fingers

Use whatever you’ve got already or can afford cheaply. Then go.

Sell your by-products

Everything has a by-product.

Lumber industry uses sawdust, chips, and shredded wood for synthetic fireplace logs, concrete, ice strengtheners, mulch, particleboard, fuel, and more.

Launch now

launch before everything’s perfect; this approach just recognizes that the best way to get there is through iterations.

Get the chisel out and start making something real. Anything else is just a distraction.

Make a dent in the universe

To do great work, you need to feel that you’re making a difference.

You want your customers to say, “This makes my life better.” You want to feel that if you stopped doing what you do , people would notice.

Don’t think it takes a huge team to make that difference either.

Craigslist

Drudge Report

Scratch your own itch (organic ideas)

Build something that you want to use.

• James Dyson – Dyson
• Vic Firth – The Perfect Pair (Drumsticks)
• Bill Bowerman – Nike
• Mary Kay Wagner – Mary Kay Cosmetics

When you build what you need, you can also assess the quality of what you make quickly and directly, instead of by proxy.

Start making something

 

Stanley Kubrick: “Get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.”

Ideas are cheap and plentiful. The original pitch idea is such a small part of a business that it’s almost negligible. The real question is how well you execute.

No time is no excuse

When you want something bad enough, you make the time – regardless of your other obligations. The truth is most people just don’t want it bad enough. Then they protect their ego with the excuse of time.

Draw a line in the sand

Great business have a point of view, not just a product or service.

A strong stand is how you attract superfans.

Whole foods

Vinnie’s Sub Shop

 

Mission Statement Impossible

Truly stand for what you vow for: live it or leave it

Outside money is plan Z

We’re in a service economy now. Service businesses don’t require much to get going. If you’re running a business like that, avoid outside funding.

Spending other’s money has a noose attached:

• You give up control
• “Cashing out” begins to trump building a quality business
• Spending other people’s money is addictive
• It’s usually a bad deal
• Customers move down the totem pole
• Raising money is incredibly distracting

Start a business, not a startup

The problem with this magical place is it’s a fairy tale. The truth is every business, new or old, is goverened by the same set of market forces and economic rules. Revenue in, expenses out. Turn a profit or wind up gone.

 You need a commitment strategy, not an exit strategy

A business without a path to profit isn’t a business, it’s a hobby.

Less mass

Mass is increased by:

• Long-term contracts
• Excess Staff
• Permanent decisions
• Meetings
• Thick process
• Inventory(Physical or mental)
• Hardware, software and technology lock-ins
• Long-term road maps
• Office politics

Again, Jason Fried is my hero. Everything I don’t like about my office is mentioned by him.

Rework is a extremely fast and good read. Part of it is Jason’s writing style is easy enough for you to skim through. Finished the entire book on my flight to China.

Notes extracted from my kindle(I’ll post notes one chapters per day):

Learning from mistakes is overated 

Contrast learning from mistakes with learning from your successes. Success gives you real ammunition.

Planning is guessing

Sometimes you need to say, “we’re going in a new direction because that’s what makes sense today.”

It’s OK to wing it . Just get on the plane and go. You can pick up a nicer shirt, shaving cream, and a toothbrush once you get there.

Workaholism

If all you do is work, you’re unlikely to have sound judgments. Your values and decision making wind up skewed. You stop being able to decide what’s worth extra effort and what’s not.

Enough with “entrepreneurs”

Let’s retire the term “entrepreneur”. It’s outdated and loaded with baggage. It smells like members-only club. Everyone should be encouraged to start his own business, not just some rare breed that self-identifies as entrepreneurs.

So let’s replace the fancy-sounding word with something a bit more down-to-earth. Instead of entrepreneurs, let’s just call them starters. Anyone who creates a new business is a starter. You don’t need an MBA, a certificate, a fancy suit, a briefcase, or an above-average tolerance for risk. You just need an idea, a touch of confidence, and a push to get started.