Saturday, October 6, 2012

What Works in Government

Excellent review on What Works in Government by Bloomberg http://buswk.co/Oflvdz - many approaches don't work but these are success stories. This article profiles what has worked around the country in various cities.

Monday, April 30, 2012

There is a great article on Stanford,Silicon Valley and Innovation in New Yorker http://tinyurl.com/7p5xeep -Can Connecticut & New York learn from this?

Friday, April 13, 2012

Startup Weekend Stamford enlivens Old Town Hall

I wrote this article for the Fairfield County Business Journal

Matt Murphy warbled about his website to help people ready for a first date. A teen and his mom shared his iPod game to teach young children Chinese. Linda Woods huddled with her team over orange-juice futures.

On March 30, the inaugural Startup Weekend Stamford squeezed fresh entrepreneurial juice out of Old Town Hall as 48 entrepreneurs made one-minute pitches to a sold-out crowd of 150 people.

Immediately evident was the energy and enthusiasm among the mostly young professionals. People were there for the experience and were excited also about a personal need they had or product or service that would fill a hole in the market.

After the initial pitches, entrepreneurs, marketers, developers, designers, mentors and generalists hashed out ideas in groups. Along with judges, each had three votes to bestow on the strongest ideas to flesh out for the finals April 1 at the University of Connecticut Stamford. The field was winnowed to a dozen winning ideas, with teams of up to eight people forming to figure out a plan of action.

I was a mentor for three teams, but spent a good part of the weekend with Agricomm Weather, which took third place. Headed by Linda Woods, in town from Boston, the team included a Stamford developer, two members who worked in finance in New York City and a New York Yankees intern.

Agricomm has an exclusive arrangement to provide weather information to commodity traders using 650,000 sensors, instead of the 8,000 currently used. They met Friday night, most of the day and night on Saturday, and members even studied and developed forecasts for orange juice futures remotely and financial projections right in the classroom. The team bonded well and enjoyed the experience and said they will stay in touch.

I also worked with Matt Murphy, an MBA student at Babson College, who sang his pitch. His company became LoveSquadron – the team also flirted with Date Hint – with a platform for people to get advice from friends on what to do on first dates and other life events. Harmonizing his presentation with a personal story, Murphy was the runner up.

The first-place team, led by Amee Patel and Michelle Larivee from Wharton Business School, came up with an idea to help students manage their debt. Winners won legal, accounting and incubation space for their ventures.

This was the fourth Startup Weekend event in Connecticut – and the best, according to Joe DeMartino, a judge and former president of the Angel Investors Forum. Other events were held in Storrs, Hartford and New Haven.

“The quality of the presentations was clearly the best we have seen,” DeMartino said. “There are more developers and media savvy professionals in Stamford.”

Sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, Startup Weekend events are held each weekend in cities globally, with over 45,000 people attending since it began. In case you missed Stamford Startup Weekend (information is online at stamford.startupweekend.org), New York City will hold a similar event May 4-6 focused on music and gaming.



Doug Campbell is CEO of the Success Coach, a Darien consultancy. He can be reached at doug@thesuccesscoach.com.

http://westfaironline.com/2012/20901-startup-weekend-stamford-enlivens-old-town-hall/ check out their news and website.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Cheer Up! 17 Reasons it's a Great Time to be Alive

In this age of negative news frequently with a celebrity focus - most of which I find to be of little interest. Here is a positive article that contains some facts about how far we have come since the mid 1900s in terms of better living conditions for the poor, a better environment, innovation and new ideas, global trade etc. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/85em3q4 and be an optimist going forward.

Limit your TV news intake and read a variety of sources to be better and more broadly informed.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Who are your 10-15 Top Advocates for you in your Business or your Career? How do you stay connected to them?

Here is How to Build Your “Top” Advocate Strategy

Attend networking events and have other people introduce you

Target contacts with access to resources and people

Set up a networking or mastermind group

Identify your Top 10-15 contacts

TOUCH them every month (or more often if appropriate:

articles
calls
monthly gift
invite them to events
personal notes
friendly voicemails
attend events they are likely to be at; arrive early
connect them with clients or partners
send them a subscription to a favorite magazine
have coffee or lunch to discuss an idea or working relationship

Review, evaluate and update your list every 3 months

Monday, January 16, 2012

30 Ways to Network More “Effectively” and “Enjoy the Experience”

30 Ways to Network More “Effectively” and “Enjoy the Experience”
by Douglas Campbell III
CEO The Success Coach

As networking options continue to grow in the business and non profit world, a coherent strategy is more important than ever. As you read this, circle the FIVE ideas that make the most sense to you – and implement them today.

1. Set up realistic goals when you attend a meeting. Meaningful conversations with 2 or 3 people are frequently a goal for me.
2. Take a networking quiz to assess where you are and how difficult networking is for you.
3. Know the 10 myths of networking and learn from them.
4. Write down the 10 things people should know about you.
5. Craft an appropriate message or “pitch” with 3 lengths that people will remember.
6. Honor business cards. Look closely at the card, and make notes on the back of the card to remind you of the date, event, what you discussed, and note any follow-up action you need to take.
7. Call people you have met that you would like to share ideas over coffee even if they only partially overlap with you business. Partnerships come from all directions.
8. If you meet someone that you have previously met, learn and record 2 new pieces of information about them – family, interests, recent travel, etc.
9. Join networking groups that fit your schedule. There are groups that meet in the morning, over lunch, and in the evening. The size of the group may also be important to you.
10. Get in a leadership position in a civic group such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions or another group. You will meet city and community leaders and learn about local happenings.
11. Join a committee in your local chamber that plans or develops events. There is also an ambassadors committee which welcomes new members. I ran the Small Business Council and launched several new programs for business owners in a local chamber.
12. Join a second or third chamber to expand your reach and meet new people.
13. Volunteer and work for a local non profit that is important to you. You are giving back, and you will be visible at their annual events.
14. Rotate organizations that you are actively involved in every three or four years.
15. Develop a list of 50-100 types of professionals you need to know to expand your business or organization. Systematically work to meet 1 or 2 in each category of professional.
16. Attend meetings of trade associations where you will meet or see target professionals, even if you only can make it once or twice a year.
17. Check the Sunday papers for a list of the events scheduled in the coming 2 or 3 weeks.
18. Call people you know who are written up in the papers and congratulate them. They are flattered and glad to reconnect.
19. Nurture relationships with editors and writers at events you attend. Share ideas or thoughts with them to provoke their thought process.
20. Write practical articles for the paper with a byline and contact information at the end of the article.
21. Write letters to the editor if you have a point of view that needs to be emphasized. Send it to several papers whose circulation overlaps.
22. Teach a course at a local university. This positions you as an expert, and you will learn from the process.
23. Run a teleclass (teleclass.com) on a topic of interest where you can share your knowledge.
24. Visit major trade shows in New York such as the automobile, toy, gift or software shows, for new contacts and/or new ideas.
25. Read a new book on networking every year and save them as references. Power Networking by Sandy Vilas and Donna Fisher (1992) and Make Your Contacts Count by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon (2002) wer3e meaningful ones for me.
26. Join or set up a mastermind group with your peers that meets at least monthly. A professional speaker friend meets every month with 4 other speakers from the New England area for a day.
27. Set up your own networking group and make it unique. I have a group that meets with leading entrepreneurs, authors and speakers in southwest Connecticut.
28. Invite people who meet the criteria for the group to come and join. This allows you to reach out and network with successful, high-powered people that you would not ordinarily contact.
29. Engage in a debating society to sharpen your mind and meet people in a different setting.
30. Learn and grow by participating in a spiritual group that meets weekly. Sharpen your focus to define your calling and mission in life.

Networking is a discipline that you have to work at continuously. Challenge yourself to give, give and give and help others. You and your business will be paid back with abundance.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Steve Jobs: The Book

Walter Isaacson is a gifted writer, and his portrayal of Steve Jobs in the new bestseller is very different than the previous books I have read of his on Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein.
It was a very difficult task given the personal challenging background of Steve (he was abandoned by his parents) and his up and down personality. He frequently berated people and always expected their best. He pushed people to do more and innovate beyond what others saw was possible. He was a perfectionist of the first order who refined and reworked until it was perfect in his eyes. He didn't believe in market research only in delivering great innovative products to the customer. The strategy led to blockbuster products including the mac, ipod, ipad, itunes, and pixar to mention a few.
He changed the rules of industries and caused lasting disruptions in so many ways. He was uneven with his family (favoring his son over daughters) and a workaholic. His diet was vegan and very unbalanced over his life - this led to some of his health issues. He was constantly a fighter (with the need for control) with other major figures such as Bill Gates and key founders and leaders at Disney and Pixar. Many he reconciled with later in life.
Most of all he focused on implementing his visions. He drove people to make them happen; he invested time and money while he expected their best all the time. Is he a role model for innovation? No, but we can learn from his continuing focus on his visions, the wide net of friends and resources he built, and his excellent products that challenged the status quo and redefined industries.
A salute to Steve!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

We Survived the Irene Storm

The Irene storm blanketed the East Coast with high winds and plenty of rain. It was 6 days of anticipation, and then 6 days without power. Usually the weather predictions are off target (about 90% of the time). This one was on target, but, fortunately, the intensity was less than projected. 370,000 were evacuated from New York City and mass transit in the city shut down at 12 noon on Sat about 10 hours before the storm hit. Over 1 million people lost power in the tri-state area. A significant storm.

There was a run on fill-your-own sandbags at the transfer station, and they helped prevent major floods down our driveway before and after I cleared the drains at 5:45 when there was light outside. Ice, flashlights, batteries, and generators were nowhere to be found for a couple of days. Just like camping - only it got old after 3 days!

The storm brought people together and reinforced how many conveniences we have and have come to rely on in modern life. I am not sure the round the clock hyper weather coverage is a step forward - it hurts business and frays a lot of nerves. We were spared, but many towns and families were seriously disrupted. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they work to rebuild their lives, towns and neighborhoods.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Yale is Focusing on New Businesses

I recently went to the Angel Investors Forum & Yale Entrepreneurial Institute event to hear presentations by 3 student teams. They were well presented and innovative. Each team was passionate and had attracted mentors who had 20+ years of experience and who had invested in the businesses. A working prototype and/or revenue generating business was also the case with all three. Several students were planning to take a year off and pursue their ventures.

Roammeo.com was an event consolidator that had launched in New Haven with mobile applications. Booksavr.com was lowering the cost of books at colleges and offering seveal options for students and management systems for professors. A third project focused on cooling servers with a unique approach that had applied for several patents. Well done teams!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Idea Man by Paul Allen

I just read Idea Man by Paul Allen. It offers his view of launching Microsoft and some insights into Bill Gates. It also covers buying 2 sports teams - Blazers and Seahawks and building a new stadium in Seattle. One chapter covers building a team and partnering with Burt Rutan to win the private space race and $10mil for the first ship to reach space twice (62 miles high) in 5 days. It chronicles the story of his guitar playing and passion for launching Hendrix & EMP music museum in Seattle. He invested in Dreamworks with the big 3 in Hollywood. He also has launched a Brain Research Institute in Washington state. He evens reviews how he lost $8bil in the cable business. It clearly has some interesting insights intermixed with a very big ego.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Where Good Ideas Come From

Steven Johnson's book by the same name (Where Good Ideas Come From 2010) is very inspiring and informative. It chronicles all of key innovations from 1400-2000 in a glossary; where they were created and by whom. In many cases there were multiple creators. It is claearly a fascinating look at the evolution of the modern world we live in. He also captures the creative energy of the early coffee shops, liquid networks, and the slow hunch (i.e Darwin's theory of Evolution) which lead to his epiphany, and serendipity which frequently leads to breakthroughs. I suggest you track it down.
DC3

Friday, January 21, 2011

Australia Rocks!

It’s hard to believe that 3 weeks ago I was diving on the Great Barrier Reef in northern Queensland, Australia. The cyclone did not affect us, but it disrupted life completely just over the mountain to the west in Rockhampton and later Brisbane. Suncorp, my daughter Caroline's company, froze all new hires her and laid people off including her due to uncertain insurance payments. She has found a new job in the health care field, but it was sudden and disruptive.

Yes,it is a marathon trip, but well worth the journey. Caroline moved in late March to Melbourne and lives in trendy St Kilda area near the tram and a 25 minute walk from the water. The economy is strong with 6% growth and a strong Australian dollar. It feels like the hey days of 1960s in the US with a positive attitude and a more open and free society.

Melbourne and Sydney are great cities with panoramic vistas, and happy and engaged people who really enjoy life. All jobs seem to be worthy and quite well paid including waiters, taxi drivers and tour guides to mention a few.

It made me realize how many excessive regulations and systems we have and are now implementing in the US. We have bogged down business opportunities and start-ups and created many uncertainties. This makes for a more pressured society and life. If you do get away for a period of time, you will feel it quite quickly. Alas hopefully we are getting more in balance and ready to address big issues in the US.

Australia is a bucket list item - go and partake and check it off your list.

.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Jack ... the book

I just finished reading Jack Welch's book which he and a professional writer patched together almost 10 years ago. He ran GE for 20 years and was an out of the box CEO appointment by Reg Jones ,his predecessor. Welch has a relentless ego and an overload of self confidence, but he did drive GE to many new heights. His four major pushes over 20 years were globalization, services, digitization and e-business - all were relatively early in their evolutions. Welch was demanding and disruptive, at times, and yes dominating. It is an interesting question as to how well this style would work today. He went through the same process as Reg did - winnowing a list of 27 successors and making them compete over a couple of years. Jeff Immelt ultimately won, but the other 2 finalists left the company and took over Home Depot and 3M. Many top results-oriented business leaders have come out of GE, and the company has stayed on top for over 6+ decades.

Jack also won several golf championships at Sankaty Head on Nantucket - time to go off and play golf.

I am now reading Google - The Story of Search (2006)- guess I just need to catch up on my business reading.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

High Talent Creatives (The HTC Group)

For 10 years I have been highlighting great business pioneers in monthly High Talent Creative meetings in SW Connecticut. From Sobe to Edgar Online to Boardroom to Exposures - all fascinating success stories with some challenges and ups and downs along the way. We recently met in April with Will Haughy who launched Tegu (www.tegu.com) with his brother - a magnetic wooden block system that was profiled on the Today Show in Jan. The only problem was that due to some unexpected challenges in Honduras (2 presidents among others) they only received their first product shipments in April.
Maud Purcell (www.thelifesolutioncenter.net) shared the story of her new center in June which brings together a range of professionals to help families and professionals by providing professional services (nutrition; counseling, coaching, legal, health etc.) all in one place. A new idea where professionals tag team clients and work closely together out of the same center.
Next week Bonnie Marcus (www.bonniemarcus), who has created a multi-million dollar stationary business and recently licensed some of her unique designs, will meet with the HTC group. She has accomplished all this since 2002 while raising 3 children who are all under 6. Inspiring!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Where To Go From Here book - review by UNH & book signing video

Here is a review in the University of New Hampshire magazine (Fall 2009).

http://unhmagazine.unh.edu/f09/bookreviews.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1I9vVU8-9w Book Signing Greenwich CT Fall 2009

Author Where To Go From Here: Reinventing Your Career, Your Business, Your Working Life (2009) is available through Amazon as a book or ebook through the author.