Random Musings:

The Education of Andy Grove

Harvard historian Richard Tedlow's lengthy article on Andy Grove in Fortune is not to be missed. It might have also been called Zen and The Art of Corporate Maintenance, or more simply, Zen Strategy Master. The story of Intel and Grove have been told before, of course, but Tedlow's article distills the important lessons. A snippet from the article setup:

Failing Your Way To Success

As readers know, I'm a big fan of Paige Arnof-Fenn, founder and CEO of strategic marketing firm Mavens & Moguls. Entrepreneur.com has published an Arnof-Fenn article, "Failing Your Way to Success: Don't let a failed startup kill your entrepreneurial dreams." Couldn't have said it any better. Snippets:

You can't separate the successes from the failures--it's all part of the same journey. Optimism can be learned; choose happiness and see how it feels the next time you get down. It may be hard at first but I guarantee you'll enjoy the journey a lot more trying it this way. By carrying around a lot of bitterness and anger, you'll never lead a full life. Forgive, forget and move on. This quote from E.B. White should give you the courage to at least try it: "I wake up every morning determined both to change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day a little difficult."

 

The Future of Scotland

The Future Foundation was commissioned by VisitScotland to explore alternative visions for the country and for tourism. As reported by Peter MacMahon at the Scotsman.com,

SCOTLAND could develop into a "dynamic country" with a "bohemian culture" attracting wealthy tourists from the developing nations, or it could become like a third world nation with a few visitors in "gated resorts" catering for high-rollers.

Goodby Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker has died at the age of 95.  One of the few management consultants worth listening to, whose thoughts and views were usually far from the current fads. His article on the 5 deadly business sins has been a personal favorite.

His NYTimes obit provides an appreciation and history.

Taking VC Investments

I tend not to believe in coincidences. Something different seems to be in the air, so to speak. I'm not sure why now.

I've noticed in the past couple of days blogicles that address the advantages but mainly the disadvantages of taking investments from VCs. Don Dodge's posting is one example. Paul Graham's Venture Capital Squeeze article is another. Graham's article should be required reading for entrepreneurs. Snippets: