techniques

How To Cope With the Usual “Be Like This Startup” Comment

by

So lately I got laid off from my latest startup.  As you can guess, I’m kinda getting over the startup thing.  As I look back on my startup experiences and those of friends, one thing comes to mind repeatedly.

Comparisons.

You cannot easily measure how tired I am of hearing the stories about “what Facebook does.”  I’m only slightly more tired of that all the other “we should be like X startup” comments I’ve tolerated over the years.  You can imagine how tired I am; you probably are yourself.

We’re tired of “be like X.”

Let’s be brutally honest here: these comparisons are usually ridiculous.  The startup or company you’re at is not Facebook.  These little “be like X” invocations are tossed around casually and they’re ridiculous and dangerous because they ignore harsh realities and serious differences.

So, when confronted with them?  Here’s my checklist to see if the comparison is actually relevant – and how i respond.

Is the startup being invoked in the same business as your company?  If not then the comparison is already suspect.  If the company being admired isn’t in a business yours can relate to, the comparison may be of no value.  Of course there may be another valuable comparison.

Is the startup being invoked using any similar technologies?  If the much-admired startup you’re being harassed about isn’t using any similar technologies, then really, there’s not much to say.  If there’s no solid underpinnings you share in common, what’s similar?  Well, OK there may be one thing . . .

Is the startup being invoked using any similar business processes?  This can actually be relevant because business processes like SCRUM, Kanban, etc. can be remapped more easily than technical ones.  However, people still have to demonstrate that the processes can be imported because . . .

Is the startup being invoked one that has any similarities to your business at all?  If not, then why the hell is anyone comparing it?  Similar supply chains?  Something?  Really?  If there isn’t anything, then there’s no comparison.  But finally . . .

Is the startup being invoked one that’s gonna be around and have the future you want?  Even if it’s actually good advice in the short term, in the long term is the latest popular startup someone you’re going to want to be like in the next year or two?  If not, then the comparison isn’t really a valid one.

Personally and professionally, I’m very tired of the “be like the latest startup” trend.  I’m sure you are too.  So here’s a bit of ammo next time you have to wade into the war of ideas.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Time Conversion Technique

by

Let's talk Time Conversion.

No, this isn't referencing an unbroadcast episode of Doctor Who, but a technique I use to help me with planning and organizing.  It involves metaphor, math, and imagination so it's a perfect technique for geeks who want to improve time management.

Some time ago, I believe on this blog (it's hard to recall with over two years of posts) I mentioned a trick of mine to help plan finance better.  This trick involves figuring out, when one spends money on something, what else that money could have bought:

  • Two fancy meals out is one new Console game.
  • In Silicon Valley, three months of rent would buy you two new Mac Laptops (ouch).
  • A new hardcover book would pay for five make-at-home meals.

You get the idea.

You can also do this with time.  When you spend a half-hour doing one thing, what else could you have done in that time?  Is that hour you spend on the train a waste, or could you take your DS or a book on the trip?  In that time you spend driving to a lecture on art would you be better off drawing?

Time may be money, so why not play around with figuring out how you can "spend" time – and when you spend time, what other things you could have done.

This is revealing (and at times depressing), but very useful.  We feel like we never have enough time, yet we often take it for granted as well.  Figuring out how time converts from one thing to another can wake you up to many possibilities.

Give it a try – or in short, take the time.

– Steven Savage

Learn From Other Geeks

by

I like to use the things I geek out over in my career, which is somewhat obvious by the fact I help run a blog about the very subject.  I'm a big advocate that hobbies, jobs, and interests really should be mostly the same thing.

However, it's too easy to get caught up in our own obsessions, our own geeky, our own fanning.  Sure we can learn a lot from our obsession with video games, our passion for digital art, and our interest in writing.

However if you really want to be a passionate fan-to-pro type you need to study the geekery of others.

Read more