MINDdrift - inside the mind of an entrepreneur - David Hauser

The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho

International best seller with substance. Very enjoyable story--finished the book during one long plane ride. All about following dreams, love and destiny, the book is really different for everyone; the message of following your true self is meant to give the story universal appeal (and I think it does). I was surprised how a simple story made me think about larger life goals.

Key takeaways:

• Follow your dreams
• The universe conspires to make dreams happen
• Personal legends are the reason for living

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
by Garr Reynolds

Death by PowerPoint is a hyperbolic title for an all too real phenomenon in both academia (primarily business schools) and enterprise: mind-numbingly boring and useless PowerPoint presentations. Garr has some great sample processes and thoughts about how to change PowerPoint presentations to make them effective and useful. Super easy read, lots of pictures, examples, graphics, and quotes. If you want a quick overview watch the Authors@Google video where he talks and gives examples.

Key takeaways:

• Tell a story in your PowerPoint presentations
• Don't worry-- it's a process and takes time to perfect
• You don't need to be a designer
• Less is more
• Use vivid graphics

It could've been worse, but GotVMail ended up with one of the more positive "awards" on Adweek's article entitled, "The Year of the Freak." Author Tim Nudd named some of the freakiest ad campaigns of 2008, one of which was GotVMail's viral "ad campaign" featuring Gary Busey (I put that in quotes because it wasn't really advertising our company), which Nudd called the "best celebrity endorsement."

The thing about GotVMail's viral videos featuring Gary Busey is that it wasn't an ad campaign, and it wasn't a celebrity endorsement. We wanted to think of it as an opportunity for GotVMail to communicate with those who share our sense of humor, or just our general fascination with the creature that is Gary Busey. Since Gary shares his first name with our company mascot, and so many of us at GotVMail were fans of Busey's insane antics (one of our favorites is Busey's ability to draw new meaning out of words like "team"--together everyone achieves more--but that's just one example) on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club," (for all of you recent Gary Busey converts, this was before his more recent "Celebrity Rehab" series) we just felt like it was the right fit.

No, our Busey ads didn't really explain exactly what GotVMail was, but that wasn't the point. Instead, we were trying to get across that this guy is insane, but sometimes, when you're excited about something, that's how you should be. And it's true the spots were totally bizarre, but the whole point is that everything shouldn't be the same, whether that's business or human behavior. Entrepreneurs are successful because they think outside the box--and the Gary Busey spots were all about doing just that. And if after watching a few of the viral videos you're curious about what GotVMail is, there's a little something called the world wide web or internet where you can check our website to find out what we do.

"Pay for performance" has been around for a while, but the results of implementing it in companies have been varied. It's an easy concept to understand --pay people when they produce results!--but it's not as easy to implement.

Performance reviews weren't a priority when launching GotVMail, and still weren't while fueling our amazing growth. However, at the start of this year, it was clear performance reviews were ineffective: the process was confusing to managers, resulting in delays or missed reviews, and they provided little value to employees. Rather than put a system like this in place, which took old fashioned paper-based processes and digitized them, we wanted to efficiently link pay with individual goals and company alignment.

"Pay for performance" is a concept that's so straight-forward that it's easy to just dump it into a business. However, this hands-off factor contributes to its failure rate and lack of long term viability. Rather than throw this system into the performance structure at GotVMail, we defined a framework that would take a number of quarters to fully implement. It will need refinement, but ultimately it will provide valuable as well as timely feedback to employees, while rewarding behavior and actions closer to the time they occur with quarterly bonus pay. Here's the plan:

• Company Alignment: Every company, large or small--and especially the truly entrepreneurial ones--needs to be driving in the same direction at every level of the company. This means making sure people are aligned around common goals, all the time--not just when it's convenient. It also needs to happen at all levels, from the most junior person to the executive team.
• Goals Culture: Once aligned, people need to be driving on a daily basis towards SMART goals, which are cascaded from each department and then, ultimately, unifed within the scheme of company goals. Understanding the difference between 'tasks' and 'goals' and boosting the ability to think in this way is critical.
• Coaching and Career Development: While the company works towards clear goals together, people need to establish a vested interest in the process by integrating their personal goals with their goals as an employee. Career development is the missing link that provides personal direction and commitment to the goals of your organization.

With this framework in mind, a true "pay for performance" culture is theoretically attainable--and sustainable. Here at GotVMail, we're eager to apply this theory, and see the results. We've completed our first full quarter cycle of reviews, learned a lot about ratings scale alignment as well as setting goals or "goal-setting." The end of the 4th quarter represents our second full cycle, and it's the first time we'll have a quarterly performance opportunity incentive (bonus) tied to the results. Check back here as my company goes through this process, learns the ins and outs (as well as experiences the major mistakes), and implements a truly productive "pay for performance" structure.

(Note: I recently heard a speaker talking about performance reviews and he suggested using the name "progress reviews" to be more positive, and I am considering making this shift. For the time-being, however, I'm sticking to the term "performance reviews")

If you have not heard Benjamin Zander of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra talk then you are missing out. He is one of the most engaging, entertaining storytellers I have had the privilege of witnessing. I had that privilege in July 2008 at an Entrepreneurs' Organization event here in Boston. Watch these videos and you'll experience a world of possibilities, "shining eyes", and "one buttock playing".

TED

Pop!Tech 2008

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008

The most effective help content in applications is the kind you don't have to look for, and in many cases, don't need to think about. At GotVMail, internally we've called this "passive help," but externally this could be known as "inline help," "context help," or "pop-up help." Good "passive help" might even include the kind of informative information you provide to your customers via your website before, during, and after a sale. If you can provide a user with information before they need to look for it, and in context with what they are doing, it can prevent the need for evening having help manuals.

Some great examples of passive help from around the internet.

Facebook: Educate the user about functions as they see them, then there is no need for help later.

LinkedIn: Show users information about new features, draw attention and let them dismiss it.

Google Gmail: Tell users about new features that require another click to get to but would be helpful. Must be dismissible and Google calls this "hide"

TripIt: Collect contextual feedback in real time.

If you have seen great examples of passive help post a comment or email me with the information, love to see what is out there.

Food, wine and family were in abundance this Thanksgiving--I had a lot to be thankful for, both personally and professionally. Sitting at Thanksgiving dinner, however, made me think a lot about how much we (I mean me, and my immediate group of friends and family) take events like Thanksgiving for granted--we just assume that things like food and water will be readily available. For many people around the world, though, the mere presence--not even abundance--of food and water just isn't a reality due to poverty, environmental pollution, or both.

Just before Thanksgiving, I was invited to participate in the Summit Series, held in Mexico. We were invited as part of an "entrepreneurial retreat" of sorts--basically, an elaborate networking event. However, the meet-up became more than just that for me when I heard the founder of Charity: Water, Scott Harrison, was scheduled to speak at the event. Scott's story transformed the event from mundane to meaningful, and gave me a lot of hope for the future of social entrepreneurship. Scott's organization helps people get clean water. It's as simple as that. But the issue behind it is vastly more complex.

Charity: Water is an organization that delivers water to people in parts of the world who have very little if any access to the natural resource, primarily by constructing wells. Charity: Water accepts donations for either the building of wells or administrative costs (i.e., running the office that coordinates everything for the construction of the wells). So when you donate money to the construction of wells, the money goes directly towards that. Through a slew of public awareness campaigns, a website that uses clear graphics and design to illustrate points, as well as founder Scott's tireless efforts to tell the Charity: Water story around the globe, the organization has managed to complete 890 water projects around the world as of November 5, 2008. Places like Bangladesh, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti and Honduras--just to name a few--have benefited from Charity: Water's efforts to bring clean drinking water to people in need.

Scott wasn't always interested in this type of humanitarian work. He comes from a background in club promoting and nightlife in New York City. Scott's story is proof that you can make a difference--no matter where you come from--if you have passion and know how to take a calibrated risk. For this reason, I asked Scott to be interviewed via email for this blog post, and he graciously agreed.

David Hauser/MindDRIFT: When did you start charity: water?

Scott Harrison/Charity: Water: I started charity: water in 2006 out of a friend's apartment in SoHo, New York City.

DH: Why did you start charity: water? Was there an inspirational event or defining moment for you?

SH: I'd spent a decade of my life from 18 - 28 in the nightclub business. I was one of New York City's more successful promoters, and lived decadently, arrogantly and selfishly. On a trip to South America in 2004, I realized just how miserable I really was, and what a mess I'd made of my "perfect looking" life. I started to come back to my Christian faith that I'd completely abandoned for those 10 years, and decided to live it out. I left everything behind in New York City a few months later, and flew to West Africa to volunteer as a photojournalist for a floating hospital ship in Benin and Liberia.

DH: What's the mission of charity: water?

SH: More than 1 billion people on the planet (one in six) don't have access to clean water. We bring clean water and basic sanitation to people in developing nations, and use 100% of the money we raise to do just that. We scrap for our administrative funding separately, and actually prove every project in the field with GPS coordinates, photos and village information.

DH: How do you stay true to your founding principles?

SH: You know, the 100% has been tough. As you might imagine, it's much easier raising money to build wells than to support my small staff who work their tails off for some of the world's poorest people. We've had very little money in the bank before, and some people think my vision is crazy, but as long as I'm lucky enough to run the organization, we'll hold true to that. It takes a lot of faith sometimes, but the payoff is well worth it. [Editor's note: Charity: Water separates the cost of running the organization from the charitable donations people give towards building wells and getting people water. As a result, running the Charity: Water office that makes the construction of wells possible is completely reliant on separate donations for operational costs such as staffing and strategy.]

DH: How do you spread the word about what you do? How do people respond?

SH: We use just about every kind of media we can to get people engaged. We produce outdoor exhibitions, indoor exhibitions, public service announcements, waterwalks, interactive displays... Innovative campaigns on the internet... we go into middle schools, high schools and colleges. We have ads running now on donated space on 175 buses in New York City.

People generally respond extremely well. Water is something we take for granted every day, and no kid should have to drink water from a fetid, muddy swamp. No mother should have to haul that water on her back for 6 hours a day... Water is so basic... Water is life...

DH: Can you provide a snapshot of how your work has impacted the lives of the people you help?

SH: I travel a lot to our projects to vet our partners, check up on work we've funded, and find future capacity. This year, I was in India, Bangladesh, Honduras, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia four times... In January, I was in a village in Northwestern Ethiopia called "Gasi Springs." I watched in horror as women stooped and collected brown muck for their children. charity: water stepped in and funded a spring protection effort there. I had the incredible pleasure of returning a few months later to a shouting and clapping crowd. Clean water gushed from two taps, and a concrete box had replaced the mud pit.

DH: Why do you think design and presentation are important for charities?

SH: I think many charities under-emphasize how important it is to present the message with quality, clarity and purpose. We don't think that just because we're a charity our website should look second-rate, or our staff should work [only] 9 - 5. Photography, video, design and storytelling are just part of our DNA. We want to spread hope, and show people just how easy it is to get involved. How easy it is to change communities like Gasi Springs.

I always enjoy visiting Chicago. It has its own local culture, great restaurants and other things to do at night, and is pretty easy to get around (but then again, I grew up in Manhattan, so I suppose it's all relative). It also has a history as a city people came to with very little, and with hard work, started businesses and made lives for themselves.

The rich history of Chicago makes it a great location for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA). I had the good fortune of visiting Chicago again November 6-9 to participate in the final judging for the GSEA competition. I was also in the city to attend the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) conference, where I received their Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. I was honored to receive the award from CEO, as well as have the chance to speak to college students about entrepreneurship.

Talking to people just a few years younger than myself about entrepreneurship can be weird, but I feel like I've learned a lot in a short amount of time. When I was getting ready to deliver my acceptance speech at the CEO conference, I knew I wanted to say something that would be relevant and meaningful to the 1000+ college students sitting in the audience. I think a lot of people in college are under so much pressure to "stay on the right track" that entrepreneurship and risk is sometimes frowned upon. But my message is that "staying on the right track" is different depending on who you are, and learning how to take a calibrated risk--like launching a business--can be a crucial learning experience for a young person and budding entrepreneur.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Quotations like this find their way into many different cultures, languages, and institutions and that's because there is a kernel of truth to the statement--it's the truth of human experience, trial and error--whatever you want to call it. Because this is just a blog and not a novel, I'll just share one of the most important lessons I've learned as a young person and as an entrepreneur, which is based on the quotation above: use any freedom you have--whether you're young or old--to be an agent of change. It's the only way to make your mark in the business world, and beyond. Is there a population that would benefit from a service (big or small) you've been thinking about offering? Do it. Does your business model make impossible for you to grow as a company? Change it. I wanted to get across to the young entrepreneurs in the audience in Chicago that life is now. When you graduate from college, there's no one at graduation who shakes your hand and says, "OK, you can start your life now." While it's important to stay on track in school and cultivate those connections that only college can offer, you have to also find the track that's right for you. College isn't one size fits all and it shouldn't be, because everyone's different.

Being an entrepreneur means seizing the enormous opportunities before you, and taking calibrated risks that will help you make your dreams a reality. No one is ever going to give you the "right" circumstances or the "right" amount of money to build your ideal business--work with what you've got, and it will take you somewhere. Even if it's not exactly where you want to end up, you've made progress towards your goal. For me, being a young entrepreneur was about finding the right track for me. I was never going to find it by asking a professor in college or taking classes in business without ever having any experience launching a start-up of my own. It's true, not everyone should (or could) start a business while in school--people have different responsibilities and priorities--but it's all about finding the path that's right for you, not taking the one that everyone else travels down.

This post is about something I have really strong opinions about: work. Some people hate going to work, and for a variety of reasons. When people hate going to work, they aren't productive and when they aren't productive... Well, you get the point.

One of the reasons I think people hate going to work is that the companies people work for have no identifiable core values. At the end of the day, if your employees don't know the company purpose and the values (which are non-negotiable tenets of the way you do business) then you've failed them--you've given them no reason to get excited about coming into work each day, and no reason to relate to the goals of your company.

This is a topic I'll continue to write about, but today I wanted to share this video with you. It's from Atlassian, and John Rotenstein and he has made an awesome video which highlights--in Atlassian employees' own words--what their core values are. The Atlassian core value that's one of my favorites is "DFTC": "don't fuck the customer." Yup, that's right. It's such a basic concept--don't make it harder for the customer to do anything--but it's pure genius. It's also a "big picture" concept that anyone can understand why pursuing that goal is important. Roteinstein's video is a great example of how vital core values are to a company because it shows how employees take them to heart, and incorporate them into their lives--and all in their own words. It also shows that it's not just about getting a project done, but also creating a work environment that makes people comfortable and understanding that changes that you make to anything have to work for the customer.

Anyway, I'm done writing. Watch the video and you'll see why it's no surprise the staff at Atlassian enjoys coming to work each day. We (my company, GotVMail, that is) happen to be a happy customer of Atlassian as well, using JIRA, Confluence and a few other applications.