Thursday, November 21, 2019

What can YOU learn from Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles?


Whether you admire Amazon or hate it, there's no question the Seattle-based retail and services juggernaut is a stellar business performer.

GP: Amazon's Jeff Bezos Makes Surprise Visit To Employee Veterans Day Event 2What's Jeff Bezos's secret? Amazon's careers page offers a tantalizing glimpse: a list of 14 Leadership Principles the company claims to use every day, "whether we're discussing ideas for new projects or deciding on the best approach to solving a problem." It is, the company says. "just one of the things that makes Amazon peculiar."

Although aimed at potential hires, Amazon's leadership principles offer key insights for any business owner into what it takes to succeed today on the front lines of the disruption economy. Why not copy and paste this post and adopt a similar list of recommended skills and values for your staff (future and present-day)? 

Start small. Choose (and revise if necessary) seven of these principles and bring them to your next management meeting for discussion. If your team buys in, make sure they also take responsibility for revising the organization's processes so that your acutal practices match the idealism of these lvaues.Then roll out your fancy new prinicples and watch your bsuiness soar.


Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job."

Invent and Simplify
Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here." As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.

Are Right, A Lot
Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.

Learn and Be Curious
Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.

Hire and Develop the Best
Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.

Insist on the Highest Standards
Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.

Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.

Bias for Action
Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking. 

Frugality
Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.

Earn Trust
Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.

Dive Deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.

Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.



Image result for jeff bezos, amazon principles

Sunday, November 17, 2019

It’s not easy being Elon Musk

I’ve never found the time to listen to Joe Rogan’s two-plus-hour podcasts. But I just made an exception for his 2018 interview with Elon Musk.
Rogan: "You must admire my Samurai sword!"
Elon: "Love is the answer."

As one of the world’s most creative and daring entrepreneurs, Elon Musk is normally an enigma surrounded by jargon-infused mystery. But on this show he relaxed, sipped whiskey with his garrulous host, and even puffed on a joint. (Which Elon says he doesn’t normally do.)

There are very few “gotcha! moments in this video. Rogan takes Elon on a leisurely tour through Tesla, Space X, the Boring Company, solar roof panels, electric jets and other projects. (Sadly, nothing about Hyperloops.) 

One highlight: About the 55-minute mark, Elon talks about slipping Easter eggs into Tesla technology just to surprise and reward his customers. “The Model X can do this ballet thing to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra,” Elon says. “It's pretty cool.”

It’s an unexpected moment, and an intriguing glimpse into Elon’s fun side.

But if you have any interest in entrepreneurship, innovation or technology, listen to the last 15-20 minutes, where Elon drops all pretence and talks about the pain and pressure of being a genius… and why he just wants to make you happy.

So click on the video below and click to the 2:16 mark to hear:
Why no one else would want to be Elon Musk. (“It’s very hard to turn it off.”)

2:18: “I know a lot of people like weed, and that's fine. But I don't find that it is very good for productivity.

2:22: Why Elon can’t stop his brain from thinking, questioning and ideating: “It's like a never-ending explosion.”

2:23:20: Elon felt different, strange, as a child. He tried to hide it: “I hoped they wouldn't find out, because they might put me away or something.”

2:25:10: Elon’s objectives for the rest of his career: “My goal is to try to do useful things, try to maximize the probability that the future’s good, and make the future exciting… We’re trying to make things that people love.”

2:26: Mankind’s future in space: “A future where we are a space-faring civilization, out there among the stars, I think that's very exciting. Whereas if you knew we would not be a space-faring civilization, but forever confined to earth, that would be very sad.”

2:30:20: “This may sound corny, but love is the answer… Spend more time with your friends and less time on social media.”

2:35:30: “People should be nicer to each other. People are nicer than you think. Give people more credit.”

Thursday, November 07, 2019

“Make the call. Don’t overthink it. Don’t second guess yourself.”

I was interviewed recently by John Vuong of Toronto-based localseosearch.ca for his podcast. We talked broadly about a lot of entrepreneurial-related topics, including working styles, solving problems, becoming a great entrepreneur, building social capital, and working with mentors. John's a great listener!

This was me trying to figure out why my webcam wasn't working.
I hope you enjoy this glimpse of my fridge-magnet collection.

Have a listen and let me know what you think.
https://soundcloud.com/user-980750308/live-interview-with-rick-spence


Friday, August 02, 2019

Every Person is an Adventure - The Video!


A while back, I signed up with Lumen 5 to explore their free, AI-driven, animated videos. Then, when I failed to follow up, they made a video out of one of my favourite blogposts. 

Of course, they got bits of it out of order, and they left out the best parts, so it needed some editing. But that proved easy to do, so I thought I would share the results. (You can even click to watch full-screen.)

To see the original blogpost, scroll down or click here: https://canentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2019/04/every-person-is-adventure.html

To start making your own social-media videos, visit https://lumen5.com  (Not an endorsement, just a suggestion.)

Too many business people see little purpose in meeting new people who can't directly help their business right away. I find that point of view short-sighted, unimaginative, and ultimately counter-productive.

Take a chance. Introduce yourself to someone new today, and see for yourself.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Reliving Collision: Day 2 tweets

Here are my tweets from day 2 of Collision Toronto 2019. Many great moments!
As in the previous post, read from the bottom up if you care about chronological order.

This time, I've added a few comments, to provide follow-up or correct the occasional error.


(This tweet got under the skin of a few Nenshi haters. I'd prefer it got under people's skin in Waterloo, which missed a great chance to formally showcase its incredible tech community. Of course, individual tech entrepreneurs from K-W were found throughout Collision, but randomness is not the best branding.)

I missed tweeting two of the three semi-finalists (each pitch was just 3 minutes long - barely enough time for a meaningful tweet). New York-based Loliware  uses leading seaweed technology to replace single-use plastics such as straws ("Designed to disappear.") Los Angeles-based Spero Foods produces plant-based substitutes for eggs and dairy products. Dum spiro spero!

Addendum: The winner was Loliware. Canadian connection: Loliware is a SheEO-backed company.
Congrats to founders Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker!
Furlong's point was  valid, and I'm glad she had the courage to point that out after so many VCs were gushing over the quality of the pitches. You can't learn much from genial praise.


Very cool company! Check out Victoria-based Open Ocean Robotics at  https://openoceanrobotics.com/

Korapay is actually based in Toronto. Read more; 




There were actually 14 pitches, divided into two sessions of seven. Sorry for the error. Listening is harder than it sounds.

This tweet was especially popular in the Second Amendment community. That doesn't make it wrong.
For more about Anduril Industries, visit https://www.anduril.com/.
In elvish, "Anduril" (the name of Aragorn's sword) means "Flame of the West."* Which bothers me a little bit. Tolkien's hoary Nordicness is a bit out of place in our globalized world, where India and China are not Mordor.
* (Yes, I did have to look that up.)

Amazing new product from the company formerly known as Thalmic Labs. Read a review here. 

Speaking about the Ford cuts, Bains also noted, "We would not be here today (ie, in a leadership position in AI-related technologies) if we had not invested in the past... When it comes to AI and innovation, we will continue to invest."

Seriously. The paranoia about Chinese and Russian tech from some American speakers was almost tangible.


Always thank the volunteers.


Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Collision 2019 Toronto - Relive Day 1 through my best tweets!

Collision, one of the world's biggest tech conferences, has set up shop in Toronto this week.

It's like a 12-ring circus: it's impossible to take it all in. But here are a few highlights, as conveyed in a few of my tweets today. See where the smart money is going, witness the death of cash, get to know Timbalake, meet some innovative bankers, find out how Collision welcomed new Ontario premier Doug Ford, and learn what to do with self-doubt.

In the style of Twitter, these tweets are in the opposite of chronological order.





















Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Why You Need to Develop Smarter Introductions

Once you've learned the difference between gross and net, there is no more important skill for business leaders to master than developing a clear, compelling personal introduction.

Preparing your all-star, all-purpose mission statement provides multiple benefits. Instant clarity enables more productive business conversations. It can connect you faster and more efficiently to new ideas, new opportunities and new business relationships that will enhance your career and your life.

Wherever you meet people – at conferences, lunches or other events – you must be able to sum up your business role in a way that creates interest and stimulates follow-on conversation. People are always happy to meet interesting people.

A few well-chosen words can make all the difference between new contacts saying “Tell me more” or “See you later.”

Elevator pitches, missions, USPs (Unique Service [or Sales] Propositions) are all forms of business introductions. But developing them into compelling, relationship-building statements requires creativity, confidence and practice – which explains why so few people get them right.

Think of the last time you introduced yourself. Did your comments fire the other person’s imagination? Or did you mumble the first thing that came into your head: “I'm in the printing business.”

I'm not suggesting you “sell” to everyone. Most of the people you meet are not prospects. BUT – anyone could be a potential new partner, advisor or friend. They may know people who are prospects, or they may have access to resources you need. That’s why your job when you're out meeting people is not to sell, but to build relationships by signalling that you are interesting, your role is worthwhile, and your work matters.

Consider this typical dialogue when two business people meet at an event. 

Hi. My name’s Phil. 
I’m Julie. 
What brings you here, Julie? 
I’m here with my company. 
Oh? What company do you work for? 
Nelsoncom. Have you heard of it? 
First time. What does Nelsoncom do? 
Oh, we’re in office supplies. 
What kind of office supplies? 
All kinds, really ... 

And so it goes. A perfectly normal business conversation, awkward and full of pauses. Neither side is trying very hard.

Let’s imagine a better way. Where both people are proud of what they do and eager to connect. 

Hi. My name’s Phil.
I’m Julie.
What brings you here, Julie?
I'm in charge of procurement for Nelsoncom office supplies. We supply the entire Midwest with everything from staplers to office furnishings. We work with new brands that offer better value and more innovation than our biggest competitors.
That’s incredible, Julie. I work with a printer that specializes in rush jobs for really demanding clients. I bet we have a lot in common.
Do you work with Somfeld Industries? We've been trying to crack that account for years.
Yes. I even went to school with one of their VPs …


Notice how the first conversation drags on listlessly, while the second gets things done, with passion and vigour. That’s because both sides understood the importance of concise but expressive introductions that engage other people quickly and meaningfully.

I am convinced that anyone can develop compelling introductions that lead to deeper, more productive business conversations. Just keep in mind that passion is reciprocal. The more effort you put into being interesting and compelling, the more energy you’ll get back from other people!

To start you off, here are three ways to master the meaningful introduction.

1. Ugrade your introductions by selecting the parts of your story that are most compelling. What makes your business (or product) different? What makes it special?

2. Hint at the benefits or purpose behind what you do. How do you actually help your clients? How do you create value? Why do customers keep coming back?

3. Keep your intro short. Keep it human. Avoid jargon. Remember, you're not selling – you're connecting.

For more info on connecting more deeply through meaningful introductions, follow my new Twitter account, “Instant Clarity.” @clarity_instant.

Get help with your mission – free!
I tweet regularly about mission statements, introductions and branding. And I happily invite questions. My goal is to help people develop better introductions live-on-Twitter, so everyone can watch these messages evolve. This service is free – you just have to agree to go through the process in public. (Which is also great promotion, BTW.)

On our first day, we helped one company, Riverwood Acoustics, change its approach to branding. We’d be pleased to help you, too.

(If you're a marketer or consultant, you can join the conversation to help others improve their personal branding. Your input will be welcome.)

See you on Twitter!

Rick Spence:
"I help people create more exciting business messages."

Thursday, April 25, 2019

"Every person is an adventure"

A short note about networking.

When you are up to your neck in business and personal affairs, networking can seem like an extraneous, pointless activity. Why go out of your way to meet new people when you know most of them will never become customers – and you’re already too busy to properly serve all the people you know and love?
The answer is: the right people will surprise and re-energize you. 

So what if most of them will not buy from you? You already have (or should have) a marketing program designed to reach potential prospects. Networking is about nourishing your soul. It’s about breaking out of your solitude and your rut, and connecting with brilliant minds doing cool things. Their stories of purpose and achievement will inspire you, and their activities and new perspectives will trigger new ideas for refreshing your business and doing things differently.

It's an effort to take the initiative and talk to new people. And it’s getting even harder now, as people hide behind their phones in public places, masking their solitude with the appearance of activity and connection.

But every time I connect, it pays off. At a recent conference of social entrepreneurs, in Oxford, England, I met so many amazing people: purposeful investors, creative social activists, students searching for their place, a startup phone manufacturer from Peru, a guy with a 100-year-old one-sheet printing press. a French-Italian entrepreneur working in Finland to help home-based businesses in rural Africa. So many perspectives, so many stories, so much passion and energy!

When you open up to other people, your world gets bigger. New possibilities excite you. Hearing other people’s challenges reminds you that you don't have it so tough. Making arrangements to follow up with Skype calls and Zoom meetings ensures that these lessons and this energy aren’t lost.

And every time you talk about your own story you get better at it. You find new, better ways to describe your mission and engage other people. Contrary to popular belief, networking isn’t marketing – it’s personal development.

At Oxford, I tweeted about my experience.
Tired? Looking for inspiration? Get out and meet new people. Talk less, listen more. Follow up with those who make you smile.

You'll never regret it.

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Climate Solutions: Follow CSI's epic "Pitch Night" through 11 Tweets

Full disclosure: I am a newly minted advisor to the Centre for Social Innovation's Climate Ventures program in Toronto. I'm looking forward to working with these and other outstanding cleantech entrepreneurs!













Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Surround yourself with good people (and much, much more)


Today is #TuesdayThoughts day on Twitter. I hope you'll find some inspiration from some of my favourites among this morning's tweets.










Sunday, January 06, 2019

Happy New Year! Best wishes for achieving your fullest potential in 2019.

If attitude determines altitude, your success this year will hinge on your mindset.
Are you focusing on the right things? Expelling negative thoughts from your life?

From author, speaker and leadership expert Jon Gordon, here are 20 tips for creating a more positive new year.
I particularly like numbers 5, 6, 10, 15 and 16: Smile, Serve, Read, Love.