William Wu Personal Blog

I have previously mentioned about my love of The Art of War and the comparion to the Hindu Bhagavad.  To help put a bit more context to The Art of War, here is some more high-level summary of its spirits as quoted from “The Art of War For Executives” by Donald G. Krause:

Sun Tzu’s Principles of Success:

• Learn to fight
• Show the way
• Do it right
• Know the facts
• Expect the worst
• Seize the day
• Burn the bridges
• Do it better
• Pull together
• Keep them guessing

I am not sure this is exactly how Sun Tzu said it, but it is useful from the layman’s term. I always like to read the opening chapter of The Art of War, which states:

“War is the most important aspect in the survival of the nation.  It is the way of existence and non-existence.  It cannot be stuided too much.

Therefore, we estimate using five principles and calculate our strategies.  the we jude our course of action.  Of the five principles, the fist is call Tao (way); the second is called Tien (heaven); the third is called Dee (earth); the fourth is called Gian (leadership); and the fifth is called Far (law).

Conquerors estimate in their template on these 5 principles before the war begins.  They consider everything.  The defected also estimate before the war, but they do not consider everything.  Estimating completely creates victory.  Estimating incompletely causes failures.  When we look at it from this point of view, it is obvious who will win the war.”

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James Collins and Jerry Porras wrote a famous, now classic, book Built To Last which studies what they called Visionary Companies.Â

They defined Visionary Companies as premier institutions in their industries, widely admired by their peers and having a long track record of making significant impact on the world around them.

The book lists a dozen common myths when it comes to creat long-lasting visionary companies:

• Myth 1: It takes a great idea to start a great company.
• Myth 2: Visionary companies require great and charismatic visionary leaders
• Myth 3: The most successful companies exists first and foremost to maximize profits
• Myth 4: Visionary companies share a common subset of “correct” core values
• Myth 5: The only constant is change
• Myth 6: Blue-chip companies play it safe
• Myth 7: Visionary companies are great places to work, for everyone
• Myth 8: Highly successful companies make their best moves by brilliant and complex strategic planning
• Myth 9: Companies should hire outside CEOs to stimulate fundamental change
• Myth 10: The most successful companies focus primarily on beating the competition
• Myth 11: You can’t have your cake and eat it too
• Myth 12: Companies become visionary primarily through “vision statements”

To counter these myths, the book has some great advices for CEOs, managers and entrepreneurs:

• Be a clock builder — an architect — not a timekeeper
• Create a set of ‘core values’ and preseve the ‘core ideology’
• No strong dynamic leader is necessary and no ‘great idea’ is needed to start a company. Just need to make consistent alignment to make the core ideology/values a Reality. Look inside for your top management
• BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). Constantly innovate and don’t be afraid to evolve to try new things and use what works.

For a quick summary on these point, you can visit here or read the book in detail.

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When you start a business, it is easy to confuse your own role as a boss or as a leader. The difference between a boss and a leader is simple:

A boss says, “Go!”, and a leader says, “Let’s Go!”

According to Theodore Roosevelt, “The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert.  The leader leads, and the boss drives.”

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Technology innovation is going at an incredible speed.  Anyone that is satisfied with the status quo tends to be proven wrong over time.  Here are a few examples of how even the visionary people can sometimes appear so out of date in their thinking:

“...Everything that can be invented has been invented” - Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” - Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

“There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.” -  Ken Olson, Founder, Digital Equipment, 1977

“640 KB should be enough for anybody.” - Bill Gates, 1981

No one can predict  with 100% accuracy what the technology world will be in the future.  The reality is the world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation.

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I saw this joke from Reader’s Digest October 2006 issue and thought it was funny to share:

A hot-air ballonist had drifted off course. He saw a man on the ground and yelled, “Excuse me, can you tel lme where I am?”
“Yes,” the guy said.  “You’re in a balloon.”
“You must work in I.T.,” the balloonist said.
“How did you know?”
“What you told me is technically correct, but of no use to anyone.”
“And you must work in management,” the man on the ground retored.
“Yup.”
“Figures.  You don’t know where you are or where you’re going, but you expect me to help.  And you’re in the same position you were in before we met, but now it is my fault.”

There are some truth in here that illustrates the fundamental difference between a pure management vs. a good leader.  It is difficult to be an effective manager without first being an effective leader that can lead the team to accomplish the right goal.  A leader, in short, is someone:

• Model the way
• Inspire a shared vision
• Challengethe process
• Enable others to act
• Encourage
• Competent & Credible

A good manager as well as a good lead needs to have value-added competency.  The leader’s credibility is established by having wins - flawless execution, detail & thorough planning, delighted customers who are actually using the product.

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Most people in the digital signage industry have been quoting “70-75% of shoppers have exhibited the impulse-buying behavior in retail store“.  Here is the latest excerpt from Adweek published in July 2006:

“According to a Nielsen Media Research study 68% of those surveyed said in-store messages would sway their product purchasing decisions.  Another 44% said they would swap products that had intended to buy for one advertised.”

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Ran into a great commentary in a Business Week column by Jack Welch in the Nov. 27, 2006 Issue.  He stated, “In a global economy wherein job challenges are constantly escalating, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by conflicting demands. …feeling swamped is really just a default mechanism: It’s what occurs when you don’t face what ‘achieving work-life balance‘ really comes down to, which is making choices and living with their consequences.  In fact, we would even vote to retire the term ‘work-life balance’ and replace it with ‘work-life choices‘…. The problem is that ‘work-life balance’ suggests there is one right ratio for how much time you spend working and not working… Sure, there’s a lot of politically correct advocacy for a kind of perfect equilibrium, and it may well be that many people want a 50-50 split between work and life.  But some people love working so much and find it so gratifying that they want to live a different equation, like 70-30, say.  Still others want to work just enough to support a life of avocation.”

Jack’s article continued, “Balance is a personal choice based on what feels right to you given what you want from life personally and professionally.  With the choice comes consequences.  When you choose to work 80 hours a week and you have a family, you’re also choosing to give up some level of intimacy with your spouse and children.  When you choose to work 35 hours a week in order to see more of them, you’re also choosing to take yourself off the fast track to senior management.  There’s no right or wrong here.  There are just individual choices and their trade-offs.” 

What an insightful and candid comment from one of the legendary business leaders!

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Many startup succeeded by being at the right place at the right time.  For every successful venture, there are typically

 a lot of efforts involved.  A list of things that pave the way for successful venture include:

• Goot Timing
• Creative Ideas
• Seeing Possibilities
• Knowledge & Experiences
• Organization
• Products
• Funding
• The Right Partners (a team with diverse skills)

 Of course, luck never hurts!  But to increase the chance of luck, you must be willing to spend the effort to get ready.  As Louis Pasteur pointed out, “Luck favors the prepared mind!”

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When you are choosing a career move, do you prefer to work for a solid steady 800 pound of gorilla or a smart nimble underdog company?  People that have worked in both types of companies know their respective pros and cons.  In the tech world, most people that I talked to seem to care more about the challenging and reward from their work, the people and team they can trust and associate with.  But do size really matter to you? 

Like playing chess against a strong grand master, you may not win the game simply because you have a few more pieces on the board.  Why? The GM knows how to deploy their pieces better than you can.  So it seems that know how to leverage what you have and make the best usage is the key.  This is especially true for a small startup where resources are limited and opportunities are abundant. You need to choose the right battle to fight. Like the famous quote: “It is not the size of the dog in fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog!”  And remember every big successful company was once a tiny startup.�

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In addition to the leaders that created the startup, one of the most important things to foster in an early stage company is to build a can-do attitude within an organization.  It is not hard to see that there are 4 types of people in the company:

1. The cop-outs. These people set no goals and make no decisions.
2. The holdouts. These people have beautiful dreams, but they are afraid to respond to challenges because they lack the self-confidence to overcome difficulties.
3. The dropouts. These individuals clearly define their goals, and, in the beginning, they work hard to make their dreams come true. However, when the going gets tough, they quit.
4. The all-outs. These are the stars. They want to shine out as an inspiration to others. Once all-outs have set their goals, they never quit. Even when the price gets high and the challenges mount, they are dedicated. Their can-do attitudes carry them to greatness.

According to Dr. John C. Maxwell, there are 10 keys to cultivate a Can-do attitude:

1. Disown your helplessness. Aggressively pursue solutions and in the process uncover creative solutions others never even try to find.  Actively take responsibility for the future Instead of blame circumstances or other people.
2. Take the bull by the horns. Be fearless and aggressive. Go straight to the source of their solution. Don’t wait, initiate. 
3. Enter the no whining zone. Abstain from complaining. Recognize the futility and guard minds and mouths against indulging in this time-wasting activity.  Like George Washington Carver observed,”99% percent of failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.” 
4. Put on another pair of shoes. Empathize with others. Put ourselves in other’s place. See the world from 2 perspectives: (a) use own perspective to give other direction; (b) use others perspectives to forge relational connection.
5. Nurture your passion. Learn to be immune to burnout. Love what we do because we’ve learned how to fuel the fire that keeps us moving. In leadership, it’s often said that the prize is given to person with passion and not to the smartest person nor person with more resources and position.
6. Walk the second mile. Exceed expectations. Not settle for an acceptable solution. No satisfied until we have achieved the unimagined.  Set expectations for ourselves higher than what is dictated by the people or situations around us .
7. Quit stewing and start doing. Take action instead of crippled by worry, fear, and anxiety. Take risk. The perfect moment when all is safe and assured may never arrive, so why wait for it?
8. Go with the flow. Adjust to change. Don’t get caught griping about an unexpected curve in the road. Accept transition with an optimistic outlook. Realize it’s less important what happens TO us, than it is what happens IN us.
9. Follow through to the end. Not only initiate, also finish. We want to be self-starters with the capacity to close the deal. I have seen too many brilliant people that have great ideas and can get the thing going, but not able to drive it through.  To be successful, you need to be a good starter as well as a good finisher.
10. Expect a return as a result of your committment. Passionate commitment is contagious, and resources follow resolve. We will reap rewards and find open doors as others are drawn to the excitement and energy emanating from us.

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