Once More unto the Breach

Startup Mechanics: Culture comes from the Top

Culture comes from the top.  This isn't true only in start-ups.  It's true for all social  organizations.  (Revolution on the other hand comes from the grass roots.)  But it's very important to think about culture as you find your co-founders and especially as you begin to hire your first employees. 

I discovered Andy Monfried's awesome post (via Seth Godin) that describes the difference between a start-up's cultural environment versus a traditional company.  This is the sort of cultural leadership you embrace.  This is why I prefer small companies over big companies. 

Indeed, as the company grows, one no longer can simply consider the culture, but one has to determine how best to transmit it.  I've been having a debate recently with a friend on how culture transmits successfully.  Some organizations seem to be able to pull it off (e.g. USMC and Judaism).  Many can't. 

I suspect that culture begins to break down when the people at the bottom observe there's a multi-tier culture in place between the executive management at the top, and the plebes at the bottom.  When the observed reward systems, punishments, and purposes begin to diverge, the cultural system breaks down rapidly.  ("It's okay for me to <re-state options | sexually harass a direct report | focus on competitors instead of customers>, but not okay for you.") 

Published "values" and hallway art work don't transmit culture if the observed behaviour contradicts the message.  If you want your best employees to be the next line of outside-the-box innovators to grow your business, then you need to be outside-the-box first!   

Blog Clean-up Redux

Thanks for your patience.  I saw a little bit of feed bleed, but I believe I had feeds off while the category edits occurred and I'm hopeful my readers aren't drowning in a hundred re-posts.  Categories are mostly working now.  In an ego-centric moment when I started blogging, I opted for advanced templates on Typepad as there were things two years ago I couldn't do with the basic blog package.  It of course means I am now doing EVERYTHING by hand, including things that "come for free" in the basic package.  I still have a little clean-up, but I'm mostly happy. 

You will see some posts with two sets of del.icio.us and Digg links.  This is an artifact of having added such linking to the base templates now, so all entries get such links.  The old hand created links still exist.  My apologies for the aesthetic gaff. 

Blog Clean-up Apology

I'll be (finally) making use of Categories on this blog to try to improve the navigation.  Unfortunately, when I save posts with the Categories attached, it appears to trip the feeds so you'll see a lot of false positives over the next day or so.  I also have several new posts to get out there, so I'll hold all of them back until I finish the categories work.  My apologies for the inconvenience. 

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year to all.

Five things you probably don't know about me either

Good lord.  I've been tagged twice before I even noticed (thanks to Zack and Stephen).  This of course raises all sorts of questions about what one is willing to share and how.  Do we pick safe clever things?  Odd embarrassing moments far enough in the past to have become harmless?  Share something deep -- possibly stepping off that personal cliff akin to postcards?  Reach for the bold and brazen moment? 

My five things:

1. I was at an impressionable age when I first discovered Emma Peel on our black-and-white TV.  I developed this ideal of complete gender equality based on strong intelligent women that still like to "dress" for the evening.  It was reinforced shortly thereafter when I discovered Modesty Blaise novels, and later by Honor Harrington.  You get the idea.
2. I went through my teens in the '70s.   I still listen to Supertramp, the Who, Pink Floyd, and old Genesis.  And no, they don't make them like they used to.  This probably horrifies my daughters.  My father certainly horrified me with his advocacy for Bill Haley and "Rock around the Clock". 
   
3. I never finished a university degree.  I was actually suspended at the end of second year and never quite got back.  I often fudge around it when I don't know people.  I can talk about learning NP-complete from Stephen Cook himself, but that was night school at the University of Toronto years later.  Life got in the way and I still never quite finished.  It still bothers me from time to time.
4. I stood in the room with my grandfather when he died.  I watched his breathing stop.  Then the pulse at his throat.  And then it's just over.  So I swore I would watch my children come into this world.  And I did.  Two awesome daughters.  I've seen both ends of it.  After you get over the shock and terror, (at least for the first event) it's quite liberating.
5. I have always wanted to learn how to scuba dive.  It's on the list.  Really.  This year!   And play an instrument.  And re-learn how to salsa dance.  OK.  I'll stop this now. 

Clearly, I have no courage when it comes to sharing. 

Hopefully someone is performing some sort of Stanley Milgram or Granovetter analysis on the results of names we throw out.  And then there's the choosing.  Again, how and who?  What rules suggest themselves?  Here I'll reach out for breadth and diversity and tag Dave Gynn, Jeff Haemer, r0ml, Amy Jiang, and Mike Smith.

P.S. I will update this post as those tagged post. 

Blogging and Traditional Marketing

Clearly I've reached some new plateau in my "blog" status.  I received anonymous email from CNN Marketing encouraging me to blog about a press release they sent along.  It touched the wrong nerve.  Here's my response email:

Dear CNN Marketing (marketing@cnn.com),
Come on, guys.  Really.  I (obviously) take credit for the writing on my
blog.  You should take credit for your emails.  Otherwise we can't have
a discussion.  It would be like talking with the CNN logo on your
building.  Decidedly impersonal. Without a name, we can't even begin to
have trust.  No trust -- no relationship.

As a marketing organization, if you really honestly want to reach out
through the "new media" you've discovered, then have the courage to
reach out.  Step naked off the damned cliff and be bold.  I am on a
personal name/email/mobile basis with about a dozen journalists.  We
share news.  Sometimes I'm quoted in their articles and on their own
news blogs.  It's a relationship.  We respect one another and one
another's integrity and confidences.

You want me to be your pipeline?  Build a relationship.  I'm not your
pimp.  I can imagine the script that culled my name and address from a
blog search on "China" to cough it up to you, but your 1:many broadcast
is so so so traditional media.  I could explain "social arithmetic" to
you, but I'm betting you wouldn't understand.  Indeed, I've confidence
the management chain in CNN marketing will be very sure I'm wrong.  Too
bad.

But ask yourself: What possible incentive would I have to do ANYTHING
with the impersonal advert you sent to me?  I didn't even crack open the
zip archive you sent along. I write for my readers.  Why would I want to
"place ads" in my content on your behalf?

You did NOT do me a favour by sending me your content.  If I knew who
you were, however, it might have been different.  If you took the time
to introduce yourself, and find out who I am, and what I write about for
my readers, you might discover I'm not a good target for this piece of
information.  But I might be a GREAT target for the next bit you want to
pass along.

Please don't waste my time unless you actually want to have the
discussion and are willing to put your name on your work.

kindest regards,
stephe

Here was their "original" personal email that provoked the response:

Dear stephen.walli (Once More unto the Breach),

xxxxx xxxx in Beijing, the latest addition to CNN.com's highly 
rated 'The Scene' series has just been released! As a well-written blog 
on the topic I thought you should be amongst the first to know.  I've 
attached some press material about xxxxx xxxx which you are free to use
on your blog.

<pithy quote removed>

I hope you and your visitors find this interesting!  If there's anything
else I can do for you please don't hesitate to let me know.

The scene itself can be found at:
<url removed>

Yours Sincerely,

CNN Marketing
--
CNN EMEA, Turner House, 16 Great Marlborough Street, London W1F 7HS
Tel: +44 20 7693 0939

As I said: clearly they hit a nerve.  At least the marketing person from UNISYS that tried a similar stunt last week (a.) was bold enough he signed his name to the email, and (b.) had apparently taken a look at my blog long enough to figure out my readers might be interested in the press release he passed on to me.  (I didn't think so.)

It's not like there aren't enough books on blogging out there.  Maybe they should hire Hugh or Seth to explain it to them, or at least they should read their blogs to understand better.  They definitely need to get a clue. 

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The Optaros Open Source Year-in-Review

I was talking with Dave Gynn over the weekend.  He'll be presenting the Open Source Year in Review webinar tomorrow (Tuesday, 12 December, 1pm Eastern).  I've had a bit of a preview of the event, and it promises to be informative and fun.  He's including predictions for the year ahead as well, and they'll certainly make you stop and think.  Here's the sign-up link.