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The Scientific Approach to Building a Successful, Innovative and Sustainable Business – The Lean Startup

By on April 29, 2012 | Category: Article

The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries, is a book that leverages the scientific method to redefine entrepreneurship as the process of developing successful, innovative and sustainable businesses.

I just finished reading a book that will undoubtedly influence decisions that I make for the rest of my life. The book is called, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, and was written by Eric Ries.

Background

Here is what I have learned about Eric Ries:

  • He graduated from Yale in 2001
  • Ries was the CTO and co-founder of IMVU, a successful startup based on the framework outlined in the book
  • He has received numerous awards and accolades from various business and tech publications
  • In 2010, Ries was selected by Harvard Business School as an Entrepreneur in Residence
  • He is equally well-versed in both the technology and business aspects of leading a successful startup

After being a part of a startup that failed in the infamous dot com boom/crash, Ries went on to achieve great success by applying the scientific method to the art and practice of entrepreneurship. Over the last several years, he has become the leader of the Lean Startup movement that has taken both new and existing businesses, inside and outside of the tech world, to sustainable models of growth. After years of speaking, training, consulting and blogging about these proven strategies, Ries published a book on the subject in September 2011.

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To succeed in the new economy, every company must become a Tech company

By on April 18, 2012 | Category: Link

Adam Hartung, one of the leading global management consultants, states that for success in the new economy, every company must become a tech company. In analyzing the astonishing rise of the share price of Apple, he says that traditionally valued assets (land, buildings, equipment) matter less than information, knowledge and effective solutions:

Unless we look at this information in the context of a major, global economic shift. That what the world values has changed dramatically. And that what investors are telling business (and government) leaders is that in a globalized, fast paced world value is based upon what you know, when you know it – in other words information. Not land, buildings or the ability to make things…

Successful competition in 2012 (and going forward) requires businesses know about customers, products and have the ability to supply solutions fast with great reach. Winning is about what you know, knowing it early, acting upon the information and then being able to disseminate that solution fast to those who have emerging needs.

Via The Phoenix Principle

 


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How to deliver a better proposal

By on March 19, 2012 | Category: Link

For many professional service firms, here is the typical sales process:

  1. Meet a new potential client
  2. Get to know said potential client and establish trust
  3. Identify an opportunity to work with potential client
  4. Send proposal to potential client
  5. Potential client accepts proposal and becomes an active client

A new web-based application, Quote Roller hopes to improve on step 4 – sending beautiful proposals effortlessly. Robert Scoble did an interview with one of the team members behind Quote Roller:

via youtube.com

Quote Roller comes in a free version (allowing 3 proposals per month), and paid versions for individuals and teams.

RFPs

One thing about this product – it probably won’t be very useful when responding to formalized Requests For Proposals (RFPs), which are much more common in government and institutional contracts. For that, I recommend my friend Matt Handal’s book:


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Do small firms need consulting to grow?

By on March 2, 2012 | Category: Article

Small businesses are often lacking in certain business functions that can be outsourced to consultants – provided the pride of small business leaders can be overcome.

This is a question I have been wrestling with internally for a while. Over the past 20 years, I have worked primarily with small/solo professional service firms. As anyone who has worked for a small business can attest, everyone usually wears a lot of different hats at a small firm. That means, quite often, that certain key business functions necessary for sustainable growth are somewhat lacking.

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The BLHill Report – More than just a newsletter

By on February 21, 2012 | Category: Article

The BLHill Report offers insight, tips and techniques to help you achieve More From Less in your business.

Some time ago, I set up a newsletter to automatically inform subscribers of new posts on this blog. But I haven’t been happy about the impersonal nature of the emails, so I spent some time this weekend trying to improve that situation.

The result: The BLHill Report.

From now on, I’ll be personally writing each email sent out by the newsletter. Archives of those emails will be stored on the website. But that’s not all. The BLHill Report will also serve as a repository for cataloguing all of the various links that I share via Twitter. (Since some of you out there aren’t using Twitter, you miss out on a lot of great content that other people are creating.)

Over time there will be even more features coming to the site, including case studies, white papers, etc. – all in an effort to offer something of tangible value.

If you subscribed yet, I encourage you to do so. After all, it’s free!

To sign up, visit The BLHill Report and click on the subscribe button.


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