Start Something That Matters

One of the key fears that we all have is fear that this is the wrong time to start whatever our project is and we should wait until the “time is right.”

Starting small is a particularly good idea for someone who already has a job.

By starting small, you can work through your story, try out your idea, and test your mettle. There’s a Japanese concept known as kaizen, which says that small improvements made every day will lead to massive improvement overall.

Do Doodle (www.doodle.com):

“People just aren’t that good at remembering facts,” he wrote in his book Meatball Sundae. “When people do remember facts, it’s almost always in context.

Giving doesn’t just make it easy to attract great employees; it also means you can attract great partners as well.

All this happened because Eric and Adam had an idea, a story to tell, and, eventually, a product to sell. From their very first sale, they led with their story—the personal story of two guys worried about the toxicity of the products they cleaned with, and the professional story of a company that approached cleaning in an environmentally friendly w

When you micromanage, you’re effectively telling people that you don’t trust their judgment and that, unless you’re personally involved in every detail, the project won’t get done right.

This setup encourages easy and quick communication—anyone can talk to anyone else at any time; there is little division between the top executives and the customer-service people.

The lesson: The power of your story isn’t just a way to connect to your ultimate consumer but is also a means of making you attractive to potential partners who want to attach themselves to something deeper than buying and selling.