Innovation and the Entrepreneur

Starting a business, any business, can be an intimidating undertaking. Entrepreneur magazine is a great source for information regarding starting, sustaining and inspiring small businesses and entrepreneurs. This month’s issue was no exception.

In his Wise Guy column, Guy Kawasaki wrote “innovation is an art: It’s more magic and luck than procedure.” He gave a list entrepreneurs should take to heart. Below you’ll find the list along with some explanation and my comments.

1. Jump to the next curve. There’s no point fighting for marginal market-share when you could spend time moving your ideas past the current market barriers. For an extreme illustration, you could make a more fuel efficient automobile by designing better tires or work on ways to invent a new source of power altogether.

2. Don’t worry, be crappy. You can’t wait for a perfect product before you act. If that were the case you’d never introduce your product.

3. Churn, baby, churn. Shipping crappy products is ok, but staying crappy is not. Microsoft’s Vista has gone through many revisions since it was released and will go through many more throughout its life.

4. Don’t be afraid to polarize people. Trying to make everyone happy leads to mediocre products. Focus, with passion, on making a specific segment excited even if another demographic is unhappy with your product.

5. Break down barriers. Innovation defies the status quo which is not always very easy or pleasant. Market acceptance may come slowly. Muscle through and ignore the non-constructive negative feedback.

6. Think digital. Act analog. Use all technological tools available without losing sight of the fact that the purpose of innovation is not cool products but happy customers and employees.

7. Never ask people to do what you wouldn’t do. I don’t think any additional information is needed for this one.

8. Don’t let the bozos grind you down. This is one of my favorites. As Kawasaki explains. Some of the bozos are clearly losers and are easy to ignore. The most harmful bozos are rich, famous and powerful. People who may have been successful in the last technological cycle. Their past success does not make them the foremost authority on your innovative ideas. Another type of bozo to look out for is family and friends who may laugh at you when you need or think you need their support the most.

- Kawasaki, Guy.(2007). Never been done. Entrepreneur, May 2007, pg. 32.