Predictability is one of the most important attributes of any business. Owners, investors, and acquirers all want to be able to see a reliable stream of profits well into the future.
But almost by definition, predictability can be boring. Those same owners, investors, and acquirers want to see growth, which comes from selling new products and services and/or winning new customers.
So can you be predictable and innovative at the same time?
I put the question to Toronto-based Jeremy Gutsche, author of Exploiting Chaos and founder of TrendHunter.com, a business that tracks emerging trends for customers like Google, Pepsi, and Cadbury.
Based on my conversation with Gutsche, here are five ways to make sure your company doesn’t become boring on the journey to becoming valuable:
1. Set up a gambling fund.
Put aside some money to gamble on new ideas. When the BBC, the U.K.’s national broadcaster, was stuck in a programming rut, it set up a gambling fund for ideas that failed the usual new-program screening process. Producers could apply for gambling funds if their idea was cut, which is how The Office, one of the BBC’s most successful programs of all time, was funded.
2. Think like a portfolio manager.
Like a money manager, envision your business as a portfolio of investments balanced to generate the best risk-adjusted reward over the long term. Gutsche recommends having some areas of your business that are reliable and predictable while reserving part of your portfolio for trying new things.
3. Reward sound decisions.
Most companies pay their employees based on results and outcomes, which means the best employees want to work in the mature area of the business that is most likely to generate good results in a predictable way. It also means your best employees stop taking risks. Instead, Gutsche recommends you reward good decisions rather than outcomes. If you reward based on decisions, you can still incent employees to try things that may be risky as long as their decision-making is sound.
4. If you’re small, act big; if you’re big, act small.
Small companies often have lots of ideas, but customers can be hesitant to be the first one to try them. Gutsche recommends small companies merchandise their client list and media hits to build credibility. Gutsche himself projects a larger-than-life image. If you go to TrendHunter.com, you’ll see a “who’s who” list of marketers, from eBay to Microsoft, which Gutsche says gives visitors confidence to take a flyer on his business that’s only been around since 2006.
Likewise, Gutsche suggests the big guys act small by carving off new products into separate companies. Similar to the way RBC and BMO launched their credit card processing joint venture under the Moneris moniker, have a separate brand and stand-alone workspace to give your new business units an entrepreneurial feel.
5. Give your employees playtime.
Set aside some company time each week or month for employees to use to work on pet projects. 3M, of Post-It note fame, popularized this technique, which has since been adopted by companies like Google and Amazon, who give their engineers time to tinker.
By following Gutsche’s advice, you may just be able to create a predictable-growth company, which is the most valuable company of all.
John Warrillow is a writer, speaker, and angel investor in a number of start-up companies. He writes a blog about building a sellable company at http://www.BuiltToSell.com/blog. You can also follow him on Twitter at @JohnWarrillow.
“It remains to be seen if it’s good in the long run but what’s exciting is Amazon has proven the ability to move product,” said Ben Gottlieb, president of mobile app maker Stand Alone Inc. “It all depends on the implementation. But if they live up to what they say, we can make more money.”
That’s a real issue. Gottlieb, who sells a crossword app, says he makes 20-30 times more selling his apps in the App Store compared to Android Market. It’s gotten a little better lately, but it’s still discouraging trying to sell in Android Market, which has more than 80,000 apps. Developers like Gottlieb say the store needs more recommendation and discovery tools, more categories, a better check-out system and more marketing muscle. These are all things that Amazon could immediately address.
Arron La, maker of the Advanced Task Manager app, said Amazon could help ignite sales by giving better recommendation tips and making checkouts easier for users. He said Google Checkout can be a nightmare at times, sometimes charging people multiple times for one app. A reliable and familiar system like Amazon’s could prompt people to open up their wallets, something they don’t do that much of in the Android Market. He also hopes that Amazon will do more to promote apps and advertise its app store, which Google has shied away from.
Google, for its part, is working on a number of changes, including a new web-based Android Market and a reported deal with PayPal for payments. And it just expanded the number of countries that can buy paid apps.Even with those improvements, La feels better about Amazon because the company seems more committed to making money, something Google seems less interested in. Google claims it doesn’t make any money from Android Market.
“Once you have the right things in place and you get that ecosystem going, you can definitely make money out of it,” he said. “But that’s been what’s hurting Android Market. Everyone using Google devices, they want and expect everything for free. When Google released Android market, they had no paid apps in the beginning.”
To be sure, an Amazon Android store or a similar market from Verizon Wireless could be a headache for developers. Developers would have to get in the habit of submitting and updating apps in multiple markets. Users might get confused as to who to turn to for apps or support. Amazon will have the ability to turn down apps and has stated it won’t approve offensive or pornographic content. It could lead to some gripes from developers about rejected apps, similar to complaints about the App Store, and it’s unclear if it will be as easy as one click to buy an app and get it on an Android device.
If Amazon proves to be a real player in the app market, expect a lot of developers to look Amazon’s way. They’ll be happy to get something closer to an App Store experience for their apps. “Apple is about the making the whole experience pleasant while Google is just focused on getting the job done and it’s not always pretty,” Gottlieb said. “Amazon is somewhere in between and it’s definitely closer to Apple than Google.”
Related research from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):
- Why Google Launched App Inventor
- Is Amazon the New Self-Publish Kingpin?
- Why Carriers Still Hold the Key to Handset Sales
George Soros Buys a Scalp | Right Wing <b>News</b>
Right Wing News is the best source on the net for conservative news, views, & interviews.
Macsimum <b>News</b> - Jobs comments on Java-Mac OS X situation
MacsimumNews - Your Leading Apple News Alternative. Jobs comments on Java-Mac OS X situation. Posted by Dennis Sellers Apple ico Oct 22, 2010 at 10:52am. image Apple's announcement that they would be ceasing future development of their ...
The Fox <b>News</b> “Lawn Jockey” and The Tolerant Left | RedState
Juan Williams' firing did not happen in a vacuum. It happened in the context of him having been the official Fox News lawn jockey stooge for years.
eric seiger eric seiger
Predictability is one of the most important attributes of any business. Owners, investors, and acquirers all want to be able to see a reliable stream of profits well into the future.
But almost by definition, predictability can be boring. Those same owners, investors, and acquirers want to see growth, which comes from selling new products and services and/or winning new customers.
So can you be predictable and innovative at the same time?
I put the question to Toronto-based Jeremy Gutsche, author of Exploiting Chaos and founder of TrendHunter.com, a business that tracks emerging trends for customers like Google, Pepsi, and Cadbury.
Based on my conversation with Gutsche, here are five ways to make sure your company doesn’t become boring on the journey to becoming valuable:
1. Set up a gambling fund.
Put aside some money to gamble on new ideas. When the BBC, the U.K.’s national broadcaster, was stuck in a programming rut, it set up a gambling fund for ideas that failed the usual new-program screening process. Producers could apply for gambling funds if their idea was cut, which is how The Office, one of the BBC’s most successful programs of all time, was funded.
2. Think like a portfolio manager.
Like a money manager, envision your business as a portfolio of investments balanced to generate the best risk-adjusted reward over the long term. Gutsche recommends having some areas of your business that are reliable and predictable while reserving part of your portfolio for trying new things.
3. Reward sound decisions.
Most companies pay their employees based on results and outcomes, which means the best employees want to work in the mature area of the business that is most likely to generate good results in a predictable way. It also means your best employees stop taking risks. Instead, Gutsche recommends you reward good decisions rather than outcomes. If you reward based on decisions, you can still incent employees to try things that may be risky as long as their decision-making is sound.
4. If you’re small, act big; if you’re big, act small.
Small companies often have lots of ideas, but customers can be hesitant to be the first one to try them. Gutsche recommends small companies merchandise their client list and media hits to build credibility. Gutsche himself projects a larger-than-life image. If you go to TrendHunter.com, you’ll see a “who’s who” list of marketers, from eBay to Microsoft, which Gutsche says gives visitors confidence to take a flyer on his business that’s only been around since 2006.
Likewise, Gutsche suggests the big guys act small by carving off new products into separate companies. Similar to the way RBC and BMO launched their credit card processing joint venture under the Moneris moniker, have a separate brand and stand-alone workspace to give your new business units an entrepreneurial feel.
5. Give your employees playtime.
Set aside some company time each week or month for employees to use to work on pet projects. 3M, of Post-It note fame, popularized this technique, which has since been adopted by companies like Google and Amazon, who give their engineers time to tinker.
By following Gutsche’s advice, you may just be able to create a predictable-growth company, which is the most valuable company of all.
John Warrillow is a writer, speaker, and angel investor in a number of start-up companies. He writes a blog about building a sellable company at http://www.BuiltToSell.com/blog. You can also follow him on Twitter at @JohnWarrillow.
“It remains to be seen if it’s good in the long run but what’s exciting is Amazon has proven the ability to move product,” said Ben Gottlieb, president of mobile app maker Stand Alone Inc. “It all depends on the implementation. But if they live up to what they say, we can make more money.”
That’s a real issue. Gottlieb, who sells a crossword app, says he makes 20-30 times more selling his apps in the App Store compared to Android Market. It’s gotten a little better lately, but it’s still discouraging trying to sell in Android Market, which has more than 80,000 apps. Developers like Gottlieb say the store needs more recommendation and discovery tools, more categories, a better check-out system and more marketing muscle. These are all things that Amazon could immediately address.
Arron La, maker of the Advanced Task Manager app, said Amazon could help ignite sales by giving better recommendation tips and making checkouts easier for users. He said Google Checkout can be a nightmare at times, sometimes charging people multiple times for one app. A reliable and familiar system like Amazon’s could prompt people to open up their wallets, something they don’t do that much of in the Android Market. He also hopes that Amazon will do more to promote apps and advertise its app store, which Google has shied away from.
Google, for its part, is working on a number of changes, including a new web-based Android Market and a reported deal with PayPal for payments. And it just expanded the number of countries that can buy paid apps.Even with those improvements, La feels better about Amazon because the company seems more committed to making money, something Google seems less interested in. Google claims it doesn’t make any money from Android Market.
“Once you have the right things in place and you get that ecosystem going, you can definitely make money out of it,” he said. “But that’s been what’s hurting Android Market. Everyone using Google devices, they want and expect everything for free. When Google released Android market, they had no paid apps in the beginning.”
To be sure, an Amazon Android store or a similar market from Verizon Wireless could be a headache for developers. Developers would have to get in the habit of submitting and updating apps in multiple markets. Users might get confused as to who to turn to for apps or support. Amazon will have the ability to turn down apps and has stated it won’t approve offensive or pornographic content. It could lead to some gripes from developers about rejected apps, similar to complaints about the App Store, and it’s unclear if it will be as easy as one click to buy an app and get it on an Android device.
If Amazon proves to be a real player in the app market, expect a lot of developers to look Amazon’s way. They’ll be happy to get something closer to an App Store experience for their apps. “Apple is about the making the whole experience pleasant while Google is just focused on getting the job done and it’s not always pretty,” Gottlieb said. “Amazon is somewhere in between and it’s definitely closer to Apple than Google.”
Related research from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):
- Why Google Launched App Inventor
- Is Amazon the New Self-Publish Kingpin?
- Why Carriers Still Hold the Key to Handset Sales
George Soros Buys a Scalp | Right Wing <b>News</b>
Right Wing News is the best source on the net for conservative news, views, & interviews.
Macsimum <b>News</b> - Jobs comments on Java-Mac OS X situation
MacsimumNews - Your Leading Apple News Alternative. Jobs comments on Java-Mac OS X situation. Posted by Dennis Sellers Apple ico Oct 22, 2010 at 10:52am. image Apple's announcement that they would be ceasing future development of their ...
The Fox <b>News</b> “Lawn Jockey” and The Tolerant Left | RedState
Juan Williams' firing did not happen in a vacuum. It happened in the context of him having been the official Fox News lawn jockey stooge for years.
eric seiger eric seiger
No comments:
Post a Comment