Entrepreneurial Seminar Notes

• The basics of entrepreneurship: sense of mission, customer/product vision, high speed innovation, and self-inspired behaviour.
• "The inclination of my life has been to do things and make things which will give pleasure to people in new and amazing ways. By doing that I please and satisfy myself." - Walt Disney
• Steve Jobs: The managers knew how to manage, but they couldn't do anything. (Apple Computer)
• Sense of mission: leaving footprints in the sand
• be excited, love your business! this is important stuff.
• "Fall in love with your business" - George Tidball, Founder of Keg Restaurants.
• "I was convinced we were doing something that had tremendous significance in the world." - Ben Tregoe
• Sense of Mission: creating high purpose and high standards.
• don't do average work, do excellent work.
• "Our duty as industrialists is to produce goods for the public, and to enrich and make happier all those who use them." - Konosuke Matsushita (Panasonic)
• To create your business plans you must question yourself: What do I like to do? What Am I Good at Doing? What does the market need? What competitive position would I have? and what capabilities and cash must I have?
• Creating Entrepreneurial Business Plans: A matter of Survival, It's not a "project", focus on customers, focus on products, and the criteria that count.
• In a high competitive position, you will have a high market need.
• Bigger is NOT better.
• 33% of the Excellent Co's('62-'84), 84% of the 100 Biggest Co's(1990-2000), 70% of the Fortune 500 (1955-2006)
• started out entrepreneurial, became managerial.
• LIFE CYCLE OF ORGANIZATION: 1. Start up, 2. High Growth, 3. Decline, 4. Survival
• "everything that can be invented has been invented." - Charles Duell Director. (US Patent Office, 1899)
• I'm Okay, you're okay. (1st deadly sin) this produces terminal inaction --> we are not okay, we are NEVER okay.
• crisis, and a sense of urgency are necessary for organizations to grow.
• One Best Way (2nd deadly sin) - Silences workers forever, kills innovation.
• Out of touch with competitors and customers (3rd deadly sin) - your next great idea comes from competitors and customers.
• Centralize everything (4th) - this is all about controlling things, is bigger actually better?
• when in doubt - decentralize.
• Branson - when he sold Virgin Records, it was made up of 50 different record companies with no more than 60 employees in each.
• Lab in the Woods (Scientists take over) (5th)
• Idea of having an innovation team out in the woods away from the hustle bustle of business allowed for creativity.
• Best ideas come from the factory floor, lunch brainstorming with salesman and face to face meetings with unhappy customers. (McDonald's)
• Marketing takes over or salesmen take over  (6th)
• opposite to lab in the woods
• not product specialist, you need both scientist (product specialist) and salesman (customer specialist) working together.
• Senior Management disconnected (7th)
• MBA Syndrome: sit in corner office and make decisions, disconnect from factory floor, customer.
• Sears was the largest retailer, then it built the World's tallest building in Chicago, lost connections to customers. In comes Wal-Mart.