Worthless, Impossible and Stupid: How Contrarian Entrepreneurs Create and Capture Extraordinary Value

Worthless, Impossible and Stupid: How Contrarian Entrepreneurs Create and Capture Extraordinary Value

by Daniel Isenberg  (Author)

Introducing the global mind-set changing the way we do business.
In this fascinating book, global entrepreneurship expert Daniel Isenberg presents a completely novel way to approach business building—with the insights and lessons learned from a worldwide cast of entrepreneurial characters. Not bound by a western, Silicon Valley stereotype, this group of courageous and energeticdoers has created a global and diverse mix of companies destined to become tomorrow’s leading organizations. Worthless, Impossible, and Stupid is about how enterprising individuals from around the world see hidden value in situations where others do not, use that perception to develop products and services that people initially don’t think they want, and ultimately go on to realize extraordinary value for themselves, their customers, and society as a whole. What these business builders have in common is a contrarian mind-set that allows them to create opportunities and succeed where others see nothing. Amazingly, this process repeats itself in one form or another countless times a day all over the world. From Albuquerque to Islamabad, you will travel with Isenberg to discover unusual yet practical insights that you can use in your own business. Meet the founders of Grameenphone in Bangladesh, PACIV in Puerto Rico, Sea to Table in New York, Actavis in Iceland, Studio Moderna in Slovenia, Hartwell Metals in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, Given Imaging in Israel, WildChina in China, and many others. You’ll be moved by the stories of these plucky start-ups—many of them fueled by adversity and, more often than not, by necessity. Great stories, stunning successes, crushing failures—they’re all here. What can we, in the East and West, learn from them? What can you learn—and what will these entrepreneurial stories, so compellingly told, inspire you to do? Let this book open doors for you where you once saw only walls. If you’ve ever felt the urge to turn a glimmer of an idea into something extraordinary, these stories are for you. Read more of this post

The Inner Game Of Everything: Why Is A Four-Decade-Old Tennis Book Still A Self-Help Sensation?

The Inner Game Of Everything: Why Is A Four-Decade-Old Tennis Book Still A Self-Help Sensation?

A Harvard English major wrote The Inner Game of Tennis in 1972. A million copies later, its ideas are still some of the most influential in sports — and beyond, taken seriously by actors, politicians, and even sex researchers. What’s its secret? Maybe that there is no secret.posted on July 5, 2013 at 2:36pm EDT

Reeves WiedemanBuzzFeed Contributor

The fall of 2006 was not a good one for Lawrence Jackson. Earlier that year, he had ended his sophomore season as a defensive end at the University of Southern California with 16 career sacks and his name high on a number of NFL draft boards. “People were asking me if I was gonna leave after that year,” Jackson recalled recently. “I decided to go back, and part of that was to improve my numbers.” But eight games into his junior year, Jackson’s sack total remained stuck at 16. Against Oregon State, in October, the Trojans gave up 33 points, and USC was knocked from the national title race. Jackson hadn’t managed a solo tackle, much less a sack. Fans changed his nickname from “LoJack” to “NoSack.” The following week, immediately after another sack-less game against Stanford, he learned that a close relative had been killed in a car accident. “It was just a lot of pressure, and a lot anger and frustration,” he said. “Nothing was going right.” Read more of this post

The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

by W. Timothy Gallwey  (Author) , Zach Kleiman (Preface) , Pete Carroll (Foreword)

Amazon.com Review

A phenomenon when first published in 1972, the Inner Game was a real revelation. Instead of serving up technique, it concentrated on the fact that, as Gallwey wrote, “Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game.” The former is played against opponents, and is filled with lots of contradictory advice; the latter is played not against, but within the mind of the player, and its principal obstacles are self-doubt and anxiety. Gallwey’s revolutionary thinking, built on a foundation of Zen thinking and humanistic psychology, was really a primer on how to get out of your own way to let your best game emerge. It was sports psychology before the two words were pressed against each other and codified into an accepted discipline. The new edition of this remarkable work–Billie Jean King called the original her tennis bible–refines Gallwey’s theories on concentration, gamesmanship, breaking bad habits, learning to trust yourself on the court, and awareness. “No matter what a person’s complaint when he has a lesson with me, I have found the most beneficial first step,” he stressed, “is to encourage him to see and feel what he is doing–that is, to increase his awareness of what actually is.” There are aspects of psychobabble and mysticism to be found here, sure, but Gallwey instructs as much by anecdote as anything else, and time has ultimately proved him a guru. What seemed radical in the early ’70s is now accepted ammunition for the canon; the right mental approach is every bit as important as a good backhand. The Inner Game of Tennis still does much to keep that idea in play. –Jeff Silverman

From the Inside Flap

The Inner Game of Tennis is a revolutionary program for overcoming the self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses of concentration that can keep a player from winning. Now available in a revised paperback edition, this classic bestseller can change the way the game of tennis is played.

The Innovation Mindset in Action: Jerry Buss (1933-2013), the longtime LA Lakers owner who rose from an impoverished Depression-era childhood to the Basketball Hall of Fame and ultimately transformed the sport of basketball

The Innovation Mindset in Action: Jerry Buss

by Vijay Govindarajan and Srikanth Srinivas  |  11:00 AM July 9, 2013

Innovators think and do things differently in order to achieve extraordinary success. They are found not just in the world of business, although they do have strong leadership qualities and excellent business sense as a common core. Our research indicates that whether they are CEOs, senior executives, sports team owners, or film directors, game changers who stand head and shoulders above the rest share a common set of qualities that we call the innovation mindset. In a series of blog posts, we’ll introduce a few game changers and explore the common qualities that make them such effective innovators: they see and act on opportunities, use “and” thinking andresourcefulness, focus on outcomes, and act to “expand the pie.” Regardless of where they start, innovators persist till they successfully change the game. Take, for example, Jerry Buss (1933-2013), the longtime LA Lakers owner who rose from an impoverished Depression-era childhood to the Basketball Hall of Fame and ultimately transformed the sport of basketball. Innovators connect the dots differently and see opportunities that others don’t. They seize opportunities that others don’t dare to. Read more of this post

Why Fights Erupt in Family Businesses

Why Fights Erupt in Family Businesses

by Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer  |  12:00 PM July 9, 2013

Two brothers sharing ownership in a fourth-generation concrete business had a bitter falling out over an unlikely issue: a sailboat. The older sibling accused the younger of dipping into the till to support his racing habit. The younger brother struck back by issuing an ultimatum: buy out my share of the company, or sell me yours. An ugly fight ensued, affecting the business, the family, the employees, and the customers.

The rift between these two men — the father and uncle of a colleague of ours — never healed. Both men went to their graves without speaking another word to one another; their children grew up as strangers instead of cousins. Read more of this post

Why So Many Leadership Programs Ultimately Fail

Why So Many Leadership Programs Ultimately Fail

by Peter Bregman  |  10:00 AM July 10, 2013

The topic in the Executive Committee meeting turned to Europe. The technology company, Alentix*, was doing well and growing annually at the rate of about 15%. But its European division was struggling. It had been five years since the region turned a profit.

Yet no one had addressed that issue. Jean, the head of the Europe office, had been with the company longer than anyone else around the table — he had strong ties with the board — and the topic seemed untouchable. Read more of this post

The only community you need to worry about are the people who buy your stuff; They’re the only ones who truly appreciate your value, and they’re the only ones who have any interest in seeing you succeed

The only community you need to worry about

BY FRANCISCO DAO 
ON JULY 9, 2013

Social media advocates will tell you it’s no longer enough for a business to just have customers or even fans. They have to have an active community of “influencers,” “brand advocates,” and a designated community manager to keep them all warm and happy. As usual, the smankers have it wrong. They think your community is who likes you on Facebook or who attends your launch party. Such people have no commitment to you and are basically just using you for whatever they can get for free. Stop worrying about managing this false community. The only group you need to worry about are the people who buy your stuff. Unless someone is an actual customer, they haven’t experienced your product or service, which means whatever they have to say about your brand is coming from a place of limited knowledge. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that someone who is not a customer can legitimately identify with, or has any emotional attachment to, your product or service. There’s really no way for them to be a credible advocate for what you offer. Read more of this post

The most dangerous unforced errors: Major, self-inflicted mistakes can undermine a career – or an entire life

July 9, 2013 4:57 pm

The most dangerous unforced errors

By Luke Johnson

Major, self-inflicted mistakes can undermine a career – or an entire life

As Wimbledon has just ended, it feels appropriate to discuss the subject of unforced errors. I’m not referring to shots on a tennis court: I’m talking about big, self-inflicted mistakes that can undermine a commercial career – or indeed an entire life.

● One of the worst blunders is to be insufficiently optimistic when favourable circumstances present themselves. Great business and substantial market openings are rare. To cast them aside too swiftly is a frequent failing. After we took Topps Tiles public in 1997, the shares rose threefold, and it seemed to me that the stock market was overexcited – so I sold a big chunk of my holding. But the journey was only just beginning. The stock climbed at least 500 per cent more over the following years: I could only watch in irritation at the ascent. Gordon Moore, who went on to found Intel, said: “My biggest mistake at Fairchild [Semiconductor] was not appreciating how big the business for integrated circuits would be.” Read more of this post

7 Founders That Got Kicked Out By Their Own Company

7 Founders That Got Kicked Out By Their Own Company

INC STAFF, INC. JUL. 9, 2013, 6:25 PM 12,431

Men’s Wearhouse made headlines recently when it decided to can its TV spokesman and founder George Zimmer. This type of thing happens all the time, says Noam Wasserman, a professor at Harvard Business School. Sometimes their passion detracts from their management skills and they aren’t suited to run the companies their start-ups grow into. Here are seven more founders who learned the hard way.

Martin Eberhard, Tesla

Tesla Motors might be synonymous with the name Elon Musk, but the company has two founders. In 2007, Tesla fired Martin Eberhard from his post as president, but apparently signing a”non-disparagement agreement” didn’t stop him from sounding off on the company. In 2009, Eberhard sued Musk for libel and breach of contract, as well as taking credit for developing Tesla’s Roadster. The suit also claimed Tesla had withheld his severance pay as a consequence of violating the non-disparagement clause. Read more of this post

The future is in creativity, not mere productivity

The future is in creativity, not mere productivity

Organisations have nearly perfected the industrial model of managing work. For individuals, this model ensures that we know what we are supposed to do each day. For organisations, it guarantees predictability and efficiency.

4 HOURS 31 MIN AGO

Organisations have nearly perfected the industrial model of managing work. For individuals, this model ensures that we know what we are supposed to do each day. For organisations, it guarantees predictability and efficiency. The problem with this model is that work is becoming commoditised at an increasing rate, extending beyond manual tasks into knowledge work, as data entry, purchasing, billing, payroll and similar responsibilities become automated. Organisations are finding that it is increasingly difficult to draw value from the optimisation of repetitive work. The value of products and services today is based more and more on creativity — the innovative ways that products take advantage of new materials, technologies and processes. Read more of this post

Loro Piana Brothers Become Billionaires Selling Cashmere

Loro Piana Brothers Become Billionaires Selling Cashmere

Sergio and Pier Luigi Loro Piana, the brothers who head Italian cashmere clothier Loro Piana SpA, have emerged as billionaires after agreeing to sell 80 percent of the family-owned company to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC).

LVMH’s 2 billion euro ($2.57 billion) purchase is subject to approval by competition authorities, the Paris-based company said yesterday in a statement. The deal gives Quarona, Italy-based Loro Piana an enterprise value of 2.7 billion euros. Enterprise value is defined as market capitalization plus debt minus cash. The Loro Piana brothers will retain 20 percent of the business, LVMH said. Read more of this post

Spanish message in a bottle; Carlos Moro has nurtured a flourishing winery based on patents; sales at Matarromera, one of Spain’s top 20 wine groups by sales, have risen by 43 per cent, fuelled by a surge in exports, since the start of the crisis

July 9, 2013 5:32 pm

Spanish message in a bottle

By Tobias Buck

World view: Carlos Moro says Matarromera was based on globalisation ‘before people spoke about globalisation’

When Carlos Moro wants to show off the heart of his winery group, he takes visitors neither to the famous vineyards that dot the Spanish region of Ribera de Duero, nor to the dark cavernous halls that house hundreds of oak barrels filled with the latest vintages.

Instead, he opens the door to a brightly lit laboratory on the first floor of a bodega, or winery, just outside the village of Valbuena. Perched at computer screens and scientific instruments are more than a dozen researchers in white lab coats. The walls are covered with posters of molecules and technical diagrams explaining some of the seven patents awarded to the winery in recent years. There is not a corkscrew or wine bottle in sight. Read more of this post