A Bigger Voice

What It Takes to Be a Provocateur

Great TEDx talk by David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, on what it takes to be a provocateur, and how schools can play a part in developing more of them:

 

Resonate, Lessons From the Grateful Dead, and the Disease of Entrepreneurship

Over the last few years, this blog has expanded to talk about entrepreneurship in general, beyond being a social entrepreneur or wisdom entrepreneur.  The concepts of story-telling and community-building apply to entrepreneurship in general, especially these days. More importantly, the personal journey of creating something lasting and larger than yourself, whether it's for profit or non-profit, is the same. 

Here are resources that I recommend any entrepreneur check out:

• Resonate by Nancy Duarte.  This book is based on change management principles and the things that move people into action.  Duarte is a master at creating a compelling story that helps the listener feel the tension between what is and what can be. In this book, she analyzes great speeches in history and outlines a form that you can use to develop presentations that connect deeply to the audience. A few wonderful quotes from the book that inspire and tell me that Duarte knows what she is talking about:

"Passion for your idea should drive you to invest in communication."

"We were born to create ideas; getting people to feel like they have a stake in what we believe is the hard part."

"If you can communicate an idea well, you have, within you, the power to change the world."

• Marketing Lessons From the Grateful Dead, by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan. Meerman Scott and Halligan are marketing gurus who are also lifelong Deadheads. So this book is the result of walking in both worlds and realizing the connection between the two (that's a boundary crosser in my book.) Watch this video to learn more about the approach of the book.

I quickly devoured this book and finished with a renewed feeling that community-building is at the heart of a successful enterprise--whether for-profit, non-profit or anything in between.  Sure the product has to be interesting and engaging.  But it's the community that fuels the growth beyond what any business person could envision.

• Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic Depression: Making the Rollercoaster Work for You. This blog post is one of the best descriptions I've seen of the emotional journey that every entrepreneur makes. Even more useful is a section that matches activities the entrepreneur should undertake in each phase and what activities to avoid.  I've lived this and only wish I had read this blog post a few years ago. Photo by Kekka.

• Entrepreneurship as a Disease.  This post on the Harvard Business Review blog comes down heavily on the side of nature in the debate of whether entrepreneurs are born or made. Entrepreneurs find they can't stop themselves from doing what they do. Those who have the disease will recognize themselves immediately and those who don't will wonder whether they missed out on the magic pill somewhere along the way.  I provide this last resource to help those who are often described as driven (like me) to see that it's what we are wired to do. The caveat is to pay close attention to the other blog post about emotional journey, so that you don't end up burning yourself out (like me.)

And finally, I love this HBR blog post,"On Entrepreneurship, Steve Jobs, and Unashamedly Loving Your Work." The blogger talks about one of the many gifts that Steve Jobs gave to the world--an example of what it looks like to be passionate and engaged with your work, to the very end. A favorite quote from the blog post:

"For too many, work is a grind instead of a passion, a four-letter word. I'm lucky enough to share Jobs' absolute passion for work. A good number of my friends and colleagues I know feel the same way — and entrepreneurs absolutely have to, or their businesses will fail. But it is sad to see how many people do not cherish what they do for a living."

While being an entrepreneur is not an easy path, I count myself among the lucky ones to be on this journey. 

 

What an Entrepreneur Looks Like, Part 3

In the first posting of this series, a sixth-grader showed us how the mind of an entrepreneur works--imaginative, customer-oriented, and opportunistic (in a good way).

In the second posting, we saw how one Millenial uses his resourcefulness, curiosity, and team-oriented leadership style to shake up the music industry's way of finding up and coming bands.    

Much has been written about the joy of being an entrepreneur, the glory and positive impact when successful.  But I'm curious about the flip side.  What happens when things get difficult? Photo by alaina.buzas

In this third and final posting of this series on the different faces of entrepreneurs, we explore the messy side of entrepreneurship--when things go wrong.   It's a big topic, one that all entrepreneurs face, and one that I've been living with over the last few months.

The more I talk to entrepreneurs, the more I admire anyone who tries their hand at starting a business.  Often, things get messy when assumptions (spoken and unspoken) are proven wrong. This creates situations where there are no easy answers and all the choices are unappealing.  I've used pseudonyms below to protect the privacy of entrepreneurs who were willing to share their stories.

"Joanna" assumed that building a business could fit into the life of a mother raising three children under the age of 7 and the role of a supportive spouse to a serial entrepreneur, who hasn't taken a salary in years.  Her assumption was wrong.  She wonders when it will be her turn again, when she'll have enough financial and mental runway to get something off the ground. In the meantime, she's looking to return to a previous employer, on a part-time basis. 

Returning to work for someone else is one that Mike knows all too well. He spent nearly three years trying to get traction on a bootstrapped startup that he described as a "Open Table Meets Yelp" for the XYZ industry.  His spouse worked in the startup, while holding down a full-time job, and eventually, both lost the juice to continue.  Mike now works at a thriving Silicon Valley Internet company. 

This option--dropping out for period of time in exchange for steady paycheck--is one of the little talked about paths for entrepreneurs. Photo by bradleyolin.

And then there's "Louise", who found out that assumptions about the adoption rate of her recommendation sharing service and the ability to sell sponsorships were both wrong. Louise needs a new business model and she needs to prove it out, quickly.  Funding this business on her own, she's run out of time.  Like many entrepreneurs, Louise has plenty of experience in the corporate world, working inside established companies, where unprofitable projects go on for far too long.   In the start-up world, trial and error must proceed at a much quicker pace.

"Dan" also knows the value of time in a start-up.  He's been working on a software start-up for over four years, aimed at serving university students.  His wrong assumption?  The adoption rate of free software that helps to recover lost laptops.  He recently remarked, "If you looked at my website, you'd think I was driving around in a BMW.  Instead, I've got a car that has 160,000 miles on it where the door doesn't open without a good jiggling."  He's emotionally drained, trying to figure out how to make his start-up profitable, with less time invested and better results. He's a serial entrepreneur, using his first company, established decades ago, to fund his start-up and now on the lookout for external funding.  

Neither Dan nor Louise have lost their optimism for what might be around the corner, with the right packaging, a strategic trade show, or a different market. In a ten-round boxing match, they are willing to come back for rounds two and three, after getting punched in the stomach in round one.  They are smarter, and hopeful that learning from their experiences will make the difference in the long run.  Photo by _Fidelio_

"Patty" took a different route, having built a thriving company over seven years, one where venture capitalists were willing to invest.  And then she burned out. Her personal life with her family had suffered considerably.  She took a year and a half off to rejuvenate.  Now, she helps other small business owners avoid unnecessary struggle and depletion. 

In each of these stories, the way that entrepreneurs respond to the messiness is familiar and yet, uniquely their own.  They take a job, continue with another trial and error, or in extreme cases, drop out completely.  One option is not better than the other, but rather a response to the circumstances at the time and what's best for an individual, personally and professionally. Photo by Noobins.

To hear these stories, one might want to quit before even trying.  Yet, my friend, "John", a seasoned serial entrepreneur, provides another perspective.  John is working on his sixth business, and is known for being meticulous about measuring the right things.  He lives close to reality.  He's gone more than a few rounds in the boxing ring and could tell me ten more stories for every one that I've relayed here. He also found success right out of the chute, with his first company, started in college and sold in his thirties.  

What intrigues me is that John has also had his share of failures, when things got difficult, and the only choice was to move on.  Success is no insurance against failure.  And failure isn't a pre-requisite for success. 

A few of John's perspectives that I found fascinating:

• On the need to prove something: "All entrepreneurs have something to prove.  It's part of what makes them an entrepreneur."

• On not having control and humility:  "Expect that things can blow up at any time."

• On the lifecycle of companies: "Companies go through a cycle, starting with the excitement and thrill of starting up and growing.  Then it matures and at some point, chaos comes.  During the chaos, which is really no fun but it always comes, we remember the excitement of starting up and growing.  That's what keeps us going.  And finally, something dies--some part of the company or the company itself. Until something else is born.  Then the cycle starts again."

• On persistence and failure: "Each time we go into the ring, we know there's a chance of getting beat up.  And each time we get beat up, it's not as bad.  But we still get beat up. We all experience failure in our lives, but failure as an entrepreneur is a lot more visible."  Photo by bolhav
  

What I've learned from John and others is that those who endure failure best are the ones who win.   They are able to see failure not as a personal indictment, but as a sign that something needs to change in the equation.  They are able to cut bait, when they've sunk time, energy and money into something that isn't working.  No small feat.  Emotional attachment is both a blessing and a curse for entrepreneurs.

Seth Godin's newest book, Poke the Box, underscores the importance of failing.  A few choice quotes:

"The person who fails the most usually wins. If you fail once, and big, you don't fail the most. If you never fail, either you're really lucky or you haven't shipped anything. But if you succeed often enough to be given the privilege of failing next time, then you're on the road to a series of failures.  Fail, succeed, fail, fail, fail, succeed--you get the idea." 

"Talk to any successful person.  He'll be happy to fill you in on his long string of failures."

"I started a record label, and failed.  I started a fundraising business based on light bulbs, and failed.  Launched the first aquarium on a VHS tape and failed.  Published many books and failed. The winning part?  I learned from each of these failures."

This is the essence of entrepreneurship--trial and error.  Being keenly observant, willing to face reality, humble enough to know that even smart people get hammered, creatively resourceful, and adapting quickly.

Why do it?  Why go through the pain?  I can think of no better reason that this one, from Pam Slim:  

"Entrepreneurship, at its heart, is aligning your purpose for being on earth with a business idea that is so compelling that you must do it, despite the fears that hold you back."

 Photo by @boetter.

The Need to Prove Something

A wise friend and coaching colleague of mine, upon reading my post about failure, made the observation, "When what drives us is the need to prove something, we suffer."  So she asked me about my reasons for being an entrepreneur. Photo by nasrulekram

I do have reasons for being an entrepreneur that have nothing to do with proving something. I love the process of creating something from nothing.  I also love the satisfaction of having a lasting impact.

And yet, I've been pondering that question. What have I been trying to prove and how have I suffered because of it?

It's easy to see what's suffered.  Two years ago, before spending 90% of my time on a start-up that serves university alumni associations (My Alumni Link), I had more time--to play the flute in a local community band, to blog, to do the things that I know give me joy.  Not so much anymore.

While journaling, I wrote a partial answer, "Being competent at being an entrepreneur."  I've known for awhile that being seen as competent is a biggie for me. It's where I can easily get hooked.  (Yes, if you want to give my Gremlins a field day, tell me that I'm completely incompetent and then cite the reasons why.) 

And here's the kicker: What constitutes competency as an entrepreneur?   Making a profit can be one measure.  Making a living can be another measure.  Creating a sustainable business, worth selling is another. And there are plenty of successful entrepreneurs, people I would judge as totally competent, who attempted and failed repeatedly before making it by any of those measures.

If I'm being totally honest, I'd say my drive to be an entrepreneur is an attempt to make my dad proud, to do what he wasn't able to do and to show him that one of his own made it after all.  Crazy, I know.  My dad died over 35 years ago.  Photo by makelessnoise.

Entrepreneurship is one of the most challenging professions I can think of, because much of it is an "inside first" endeavor.  It's both a head and heart game.  The more I do this, the more I learn about myself.

What are you learning about yourself as a result of being an entrerpreneur? 

What Do You Believe About Failure?

Last month, I hit the wall.  One of the best things that has come out of that experience is uncovering my beliefs about failure.  Photo by Sean MacEntee.

Entrepreneurs are in the business of trying new things.  Not everything works out. Heck, if half of what you try works, you're doing well. A common mantra among start-ups is "Fail fast."  In other words, failure is the gift of finding out what doesn't work and moving on to the next experiment, quickly.

So it came as a shock when I realized that:

• I avoid looking at the numbers associated with my businesses to avoid facing failure head on.  The numbers don't lie. You are either making money or losing money. 

• Failure feels like death. When I started out as a career coach, I was in the red at the end of the year, after being in business for just six months. I went into a long depression that lasted the entire month of December.  It was the same feeling when I hit the wall a few weeks ago with my newest business, My Alumni Link. The world turns from vibrant to dull overnight.

• I take failure personally.  After working two years on My Alumni Link, and seeing that working harder won't necessarily increase the profitability, I wonder, "Am I smart enough to turn this around? "  My Gremlin gleefully shouts, "No, you are not good enough!"  And yet, we can do all the right things and the landscape can shift overnight.  A friend told me about a mom and pop convenience store that had been in business for nearly a decade.  A storefront nearby lost its lease and guess who moved in?  A national convenience store chain.  Overnight the mom and pop store saw its sales cut in half.  Photo by Lyfetime.

• What I interpret as failure may be what others interpret as one step on the road to success.  Friends reminded me that it's natural to lose money the first couple of years in business, given start-up costs. They were right.  Looking back on my early years as a career coach, I can see that the first step on an upward trajectory may point downward.

Much of these insights came in talking with a friend last week. In the course of the conversation, I blurted out, "If I don't change the way that I view failure, it will kill me as an entrepreneur."  As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized the mental model that I had been holding for several decades, dating back to my childhood. 

My father, after being an employee for all his life, realized his dream of being an entrepreneur in his forties.  He opened a Chinese restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was his one and only attempt at building a business. The restaurant went bankrupt within two years.  Afterward, he went back to working for someone else.  But not before he suffered from insomnia and ulcers.  My mother told me that after the bankruptcy, my father was never the same. A few years later, he was diagnosed with cancer.  Within 6 years of declaring bankruptcy, he was dead at the age of 51. 

It's all so obvious now. 

What I know is that I can change the stories that I tell myself.  I'm writing a new story about failure--about how I can't know ahead of time how the experiment will turn out, but that I can change how I interpret the results and what it says about myself.  I can take the results and learn from them to point me in the right direction. I can see failure as one step in a successful journey. Photo by stevendepoto.

I became an entrepreneur in part to follow my own path. And yet, if it is truly my path, and not someone else's, I'll need to turn off the autopilot, leave the highway, and navigate from a new inner compass.

Do You Know the Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon?

Most entrepreneurs know they need to be heads down, focused, in order to achieve their goals.  And along the way they see the value of having their ducks in a row---whether it's identifying who they are trying to attract or crafting a compelling message or developing a solid business model. 

The entrepreneur's secret weapon has nothing to do with planning or working hard and everything to do with being in the moment and playing. It's the art of improvisation.

A year ago, I interviewed Patricia Ryan Madson, author of Improv Wisdom, for this blog. She's a wisdom entrepreneur intent on bringing the wisdom of improv to help people in their every day lives. Little did I know that I would come back to her book a year later, spurred on by the insight that improv could help me as an entrepreneur.

The story starts about a month ago. Burned out from my recent start-up, My Alumni Link, business was no longer fun. The joy had been squeezed out of this project, in direct correlation to the tightness of my grip on controlling the results.  "Must have X number of registrants for my webinar series."  "Series must be flawlessly executed, from reminder emails for participants to the VOIP technology used to listen to the webinars to visually enticing slides." And on and on it went.

With the encouragement of a friend, I signed up for an improv workshop, one that I had been pining over since I tried to take it three years ago, got sick, and had to cancel. Since then, my Gremlin had kept my creative muse shuttered, believing that there was never a good time to spend an evening and a day, just playing, with others. And especially not during the the weekend before the start of my webinar series. 

That weekend, I found my mojo again. I was like a traveler in the desert who found water, and had forgotten how water was essential to life. I laughed. I cried.  I made quirky sounds and moved my body in odd ways, with a quickness that felt foreign but exhilarating. I was asked to show and embrace intense emotion--joy, frustration, anger, compassion--as a way to expand my emotional range when improvising. It was ten times more than I usually express in my daily life. It felt good to clean off the emotional barnacles that had built up over months and leave with a fresh coat of paint. I tapped into my imagination, the things I couldn't see but which I had to feel my way through. I signed up for another class the following weekend.

More importantly, when I got back in the office, I was calm and refreshed.  I didn't have the need to do, but rather to enjoy what I was doing or not do it. I learned to say "Yes, and" to whatever was showing up.  Improv got me back in the flow of the Universe, instead of trying to control or resist it. Now, I'm the raft riding the river, instead of the rock in the middle, being worn down over time.

Why is this so important as an entrepreneur? Because entrepreneurship is a journey down the river. There will be ups and downs and all kinds of surprises. No matter how well you prepare, things will not go as planned. You think you've got it figured out and here comes another rapid, swirling around you. It threatens to take you into the undertow, unless you stay alert to conditions of the moment, and know how to pop out and get back into the flow of the river. Photo by Rob and Jules

There's a passage from Patricia's book, Improv Wisdom, that I've underlined and marked with a bright pink Post-It note. Here it is:

"A good improviser is someone who is awake, not entirely self-focused, and moved by a desire to do something useful and give something back and who acts upon this impulse."  

Let this be a guidepost for entrepreneurs everywhere. Give yourself the gift of improv and if not that, learn the lessons of improv with Patricia's book, Improv Wisdom.

Traps That Wisdom Entrepreneurs Can Fall Into

As a wisdom entrepreneur, there are many places where I can get stuck. Here are a few of traps that I fall into:

• Skimping on "dream" time. This is a big one for me. As someone who likes to get things done, I can rush through the phase of dreaming about what I want, envisioning how things could look differently. I settle for a "rough sketch" of the future or worse yet, a small dream, and move on to tactics and implementation. Stay in the dreaming phase as long as you can stand it. Revel in possibilities and what ifs. Give your imagination a work out. Photo by MysticMoon14

• Relying on observation instead of action. Finding great examples to inspire and model after are great. But eventually, you have to figure out the solution to your specific situation by moving into action. Success is created experientially, not theoretically. I once had a coaching instructor say to me, "Carol, you can't just be an observer of life. You have to be a participant."  Be a participant. Try stuff out and see what happens.

• Action that's not grounded in essence. I can get caught up in the doing, without being grounded in the essence or core of why I'm doing something. This is otherwise known as "being busy." If you find yourself frenetic, with no feeling of progress, go back to the core of your message, the essence of your idea.  Essence relates more to feeling than thinking. Once you have the feeling, then bring in purpose. Align essence with purpose with action. If you have trouble aligning those three, reassess the need for action.Photo by jurvetson

• Losing the essence altogether. I have to admit that this is probably where I've been for the last few weeks. While focused on building a new business related to my Networking Naturally Program, I lost sight of the essence of A Bigger Voice. I forgot about the magic that comes with building a community, how the seed of an idea can blossom into something larger than a single individual, how communities can produce unexpected and stunning results.  It wasn't until I caught up with a couple of our pilot clients from last year, and heard how the concepts of A Bigger Voice have been put into practice, that I got excited about working on ABV again. In the next few weeks, I'll post portions of my interview with the Wendel brothers, Chris and Tim.

You may be wondering, "How does this relate to the three phases of A Bigger Voice?"

We can know the recipe but still be reluctant to cook. We can follow the steps but not know what it is we are preparing. We can lack the anticipation and excitement of imagining what the dish will taste and look like when it's done. We can forget that we are hungry, more hungry than we know. The three phases of A Bigger Voice--Crystallize, Build Community, and Sustain--provide the recipe. Just like a cook sees the recipe as the start, so should the wisdom entrepreneur see A Bigger Voice--as a roadmap for a long and wonderful journey.

Which trap have you been falling into lately? 

Photo by erix!

Being Scrappy and Running a Marathon

These are just two lessons I've been learning recently with my new venture, My Alumni Link. It's too new for a website but the business stems from success with the Networking Naturally Program.

Whether you are a wisdom entrepreneur or a traditional entrepreneur, here are a few lessons to keep in mind:

1. It's a marathon, not a sprint. I forget and want everything in the next  release of the product. I forget and think that I have full control of the Universe. I forget and feel driven by deadlines instead of common sense. Photo by epimetheus.
2. Be scrappy. Make every dollar count on the expense side, independent of how many dollars are coming in. Look for value. See what you can get for free before deciding to spend money.
3. Build to what's good enough. Don't over engineer. This is related to number 2. The perfect solution may not be noticeably different from the good enough solution in the eyes of the customer (or the community member). 
4. Put one foot in front of another. It's easy to get overwhelmed if I think everything that needs to be done to launch a business (or a community.) Juggling sales, marketing, business process work, and product development can drive you nuts. But if I only look at what needs to be done today, and tomorrow, and this week, it's manageable. 
5. Networking requires patience and rewards me with magical results. I've done my share of networking recently to find allies, collaborators, and customers for My Alumni Link. Things don't always move as fast as I would like, and that's okay. I've been blessed with incredible support from my network, especially when I ask for what I need. 
6. Create plans and goals but don't be attached to the outcome. I figured this one out in time to rescue my sanity. This is where the task master in me can go off the deep end. ("No you cannot go for a bike ride! You have more emails to send!" Ughh....)
7. Focus on creativity. I used to think money fueled growth.  But I found out it's the power of the mind to create something from nothing, to meet a user need, that results in growth. Photo by Bohman.
8. Understand your break even point. Know what Plan B is. Without that, I ended up chasing imaginary goals and numbers. Urgent or not? Necessary or not? I had no idea.
9. Take a warm lead. Always. This relates to number 5. One person leads you to another to another. If you can get introduced, even if it takes going through two or three people along the way, it's worth it.
10. Work on yourself. Taking care of your mind, body, and spirit is just as important as working on your business or your cause. Time to rest and rejuvenate is just as important as time to focus and get down to work.

I love being an entrepreneur. I used to think it was all about creative freedom. What I'm experiencing is the joy of the learning curve, the delight of meeting new people, and the magic of how the pieces come together, when I least expect it.

Tomorrow, I journey to Houston to give a talk on "Finding Your Voice" at the Juvenile Arthritis annual conference. More learning, new connections and seeing the pieces fit together. Fun!

Photo by alicepopkorn-busy

The Stunning Result of 10+ Years of Work

My friend, Dave, sent me this video of land that was recently designated for public use in Traverse City, Michigan. It's a pristine piece of property on a peninsula jutting into the Grand Traverse Bay, that includes meadow and virgin forests and the remnants of a long-forgotten orchard. Dave and many others worked for over a decade to take the property from private ownership to public caretaking. Last November, with a ballot initiative that passed, the fruits of their labors were realized.

When I was in Traverse City last September, Dave and I walked parts of this property. It's lovely. I enjoyed seeing from the video what it looks like at other times of the year. BTW--Dave tells me that the music to the video is original and was composed by a fellow community member and music instructor at the reknowned Interlochen Arts Academy.  Another mark of community is the giving of one's gifts to the larger cause that the community embraces.



I've never asked Dave point-blank why he worked for so long on this project. I'm sure there were times when his enthusiasm waned and his frustration level rose like a childhood fever. My guess is that even he wouldn't be able to fully articulate why he hung in there for so long.

When passion takes hold, I am smart to follow and see where it leads me. Logic becomes secondary to what my heart tells me is important. In the end, I know of no other way to respond, in a way that keeps me congruent and in alignment with my deepest beliefs--about what is right or who I am. I'm guessing that Dave feels the same way.

Are You Worth Following?

When I first started working on A Bigger Voice, back in December 2007, I discounted the role of personal leadership/development in turning an idea into a sustainable movement. I was more concerned with what wisdom entrepreneurs need to do, rather than how they need to be.  Ironic, given that I've been a professional coach since 2003.  Photo by HaPe_Gera

My pet peeves in working with social entrepreneurs--places where they shoot themselves in the foot:

• Not committed.  See my post about why commitment trumps passion.
• Not respecting the power of grassroots and/or obsessed with power at the top to create change.
• Focused on the "big bang" of an event (front end) instead of the long-term conversation (back end).
• Thinking that someone else needs to make the first move before change can happen.

This is all about your head game--how you view the world, how you are being.

Seth Godin sums this up very nicely in his newest book, Tribes. He asks the question:

Are you worth following?

Indeed. If you're not committed, if you only are in it for the big bang, if you can only see power at the top, if you keep waiting for someone else to make the first move, you're not worth following. Pure and simple.

If you are passionate about creating change in the world, pause to assess whether you are worth following. Leave a comment below. I want to hear not only where you come up short, but where you really shine.

Photo by jhdtolentino