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Is Goal-Setting Outdated? –The Rosalind Resnick Interview
My business mind was shaped by reading books like Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich as a kid. Most of those business philosophy books talked about setting clear goals and refusing to stop until you achieved them.
As you’ll hear in my conversation with Rosalind Resnick, that’s not how she built NetCreations. She didn’t set out to build an opt-in email business and take it public. As far as I can tell, she didn’t start out with a burning desire to get into the email business in any way. She and her partner tried a bunch of different ideas. Most of them either failed or just did okay. One of the ideas they tried was an email list management business. It hit. She loved growing it. And that’s the business that changed her life.
Have you read Founders at Work yet? Most of the entrepreneurs in that book started out chasing one dream and ended up realizing another. Evan Williams tried building a project management tool and ended up with Blogger. Max Levchin was focused on the Palm Pilot before steering PayPal towards what it is today. And Steve Wozniak was just trying to build cool stuff.
So here’s the question: Is goal-setting an outmoded idea?
Right click here to download the interview!
(1 hour long)
If you’re an entrepreneur, you can hire Rosalind’s company to help guide you and you can read her book about what really goes into building a great success.
Everyone is Accessible - The Gregory Galant Interview
I interviewed Gregory Galant of Venture Voice because he’s talking to and learning from some of the most successful people on the internet.
Gregory has talked to the founders of Blogger, PayPal, LinkedIn, Feedburner, Kleiner Perkins and dozens of others.
I’m a big fan of his interviews and wanted to learn from him, so I gave him a ring. Here are 4 things he taught me:
Everyone’s accessible - Gregory doesn’t have any special connection to these business people. He says he often simply cold calls and asks for an interview.
10 hours - People ask him why he doesn’t do a new interview every day. He says they don’t realize that it takes him about 10 hours to do each show, because he has to setup, record and edit each show.
Shut up - One of the reasons I love his show is that I get to hear people’s full stories. He says they can do because he simply stays quiet and lets people talk.
No Bond - My big disappointment was learning that he didn’t get to build friendships with everyone he interviewed. Maybe I’m being naive, but I’m hoping to learn from and build relationships with the people I interview.
Right click here to download the interview (35 minutes)
How to Clear Your Inbox - The Mark Hurst Interview
I used to have hundreds of unread emails in my in-box. I assumed that an overwhelming in-box was the price of working at an Internet company. Then at a Creative Good event, I got a book called Bit Literacy, by Mark Hurst. After I read it, my email became manageable.
I interviewed Mark recently about how his system works and recorded it so you can learn from him. Most of our conversation deals with getting your in-box down to zero unread messages. At the end of the interview, I ask him about other productivity techniques.
If this interview helps you, recommend it to your employees and link to this post so we can help others.
“Right click” to download the podcast interview!
(About 30 minutes.)
What Sways people - The Ori Brafman Interview
I recorded a phone interview with Ori Brafman this week about his new book Sway, which helps explain the seemingly-irrational decisions that people make. I have a full audio interview for you to download below, and a short video for people who don’t have time to listen to the 40+ minute conversation.
One of the things that Ori taught me is the power of endorsements. He told me that he put a collection of endorsements on the back cover of his book (instead of a summary or list of topics or a big picture of him and his brother) because people are more swayed by the opinions of people who are prominent, powerful or authoritative.
Like every other good idea that I learn from my interviews, I plan to use that technique. I’ve interviewed some prominent people because of my events on Mixergy. I’m going to start asking them for quotes about me so I could sway others. I started with Ori. Here’s what he said:
“Andrew does a well-researched interview that’s focused on helping his audience use the ideas they learn. A very interesting illuminating conversation.”
Right click to save this podcast interview (40+ minutes)
And here’s a quick video with one idea I learned from Ori:
Save the Date: Lunch 2.0 on 08/08/08
Your online invitation is coming soon.
Update: Here’s the online invitation. Very few details available. ArtistForce, the event’s host, wants to surprise you. Go RSVP before it’s too late!
Five Observations from My Day with Robert Scoble
I invited Robert Scoble to check out some of the companies that I met by hosting events on Mixergy.com. Yesterday he spent the day meeting six startups and shooting interviews with them for FastCompany.tv. Here are five observations from my time with him:
- Benefits of fame - Most people couldn’t get tickets to yesterday’s sold out Twiistup event, but when the organizers heard that Scoble was in town and had a few minutes to spare before his flight, they went out of their way to get him to come. He told me he got to the front of the line to buy an iPhone because a fan spotted him and asked him to join him.
- Bobble-head - If you look at some of the interviews I’ve done for Tech Zulu, you’ll see me nodding, biting my lip and just bobbing around while the person I’m interviewing talks. It’s very distracting. I watched Scoble do interviews for 5 hours and, as you can see in the picture above, after he asked a question, he’s just still. He told me it’ll take some practice. I’ll work on it.
- Constant work - After the interviews were over, I left him alone in the studio for about an hour. When I came back in to check on him, he turned it into his office–complete with a cradle for his iPhone–and was lost in work. On the drive to the airport he was on FriendFeed writing his thoughts on the PodTech sale. If he had a minute to spare, he was on twitter, writing or reading a post. When I asked him what I needed to do to be “internet famous” he told me to keep publishing everywhere. That’s what he was doing any chance he got.
- Measuring success - I asked him if he ever wanted to be as rich as the people he covered for FastCompany.tv. I think he laughed at the idea. He didn’t even seem concerned with his traffic numbers or how many people viewed his videos. He told me he measured success by how big a conversation he was starting.
- The Mixergy community is working - I know it’s self-serving to say it, but I think the tech events we’ve all done in SoCal have helped raise all of our profiles. Alana Semuels of the LA Times once told me that she’s less interested in covering a single company than a big trend. By getting together, we’re all creating a big movement that’s making it easier for each of us to get attention. Having Scoble come here with his cameras is a great example of the growing excitement for the startups in our community.
Thank you Rubicon Project for hosting this event in your office. And thank you Robert Scoble for coming here, shooting video of our startups and for being so generous with the credit.
How to host an amazing conference - By Jason Calacanis
About this post: It was written by Jason Calacanis and sent to his email list. He gave readers permission to reprint it and I think it’s helpful, so here it is. Thanks Erik and Sloane for telling me about it.
After 14 years of running and attending conferences in the technology space, I’ve learned about 20 things that I think are essential to either making–or breaking–an event. I’ve been keeping track of these in the back of my head, but have never really taken the time to put them into an essay… until now.
Two questions (and I will republish your answers to the list with your name, title, and url if you provide them!):
a) What was the best conference you ever attended and why?
b) Who was the best conference speaker you’ve ever heard and why?
Now on to Jason’s tips for a great event:
1. Every conference must have a purpose. A mission statement. A reason to exist. If you can’t clearly say why your event exists, there is a good chance it is not worth attending. If you look at the top technology events out there, they all have fairly clear missions:
a) TED is a conference about ideas (worth spreading). It was previously
about technology, entertainment and design.
b) Foo Camp is based around informal discussions about technology (by friends of Tim O’Reilly).
c) TechCrunch50 is designed to launch 50 brand new companies (for free with a $50,000 grand prize, as opposed to DEMO which is almost $20,000 for startups–sorry, couldn’t help myself).
d) WSJ’s D conference is a place for the most senior executives in technology and media to talk business.
e) The WEF/Davos is a conference for people to discuss issues impacting the global economy.
f) Web 2.0 is focused on the second wave of internet companies (i.e. Web 2.0 companies).
f) Le Web 3 is focused on the second wave of internet companies in Europe (i.e. the Web 2.0 of Europe).
g) Burda’s DLD conference is essentially TED + WSJ D conference–but in Munich and for Europeans.
h) Blogher is a conference for female bloggers.
You get the idea. The further away from a purpose you get the harder it is for everyone–sponsors, attendees, and speakers–to know if they should get involved. Be clear about your mission and make your conference *essential* for some group of people. If it’s not essential for some core group to be there, you will fail.
2. The best editorial format is a 15-20 minute solo presentation followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. The reason this is the best format is because individuals will perform on their highest level when they are out there alone on stage. When you put two to five people on stage there is massive diffusion of responsibility. Very few people need more than 15 minutes to get their point across, and very few people can be entertaining for more than 15 or 20 minutes (some can, of course).
3. The best way to handle Q&A is to make a general statement at the start of the Q&A session as follows: “We are going to the question and answer session now. If you would like to ask a question please raise your hand and someone will come to you with a wireless microphone. We ask that you please ask a concise question, not a statement or commercial for your company.” I’ve done this at all my conferences and it works *very* well. Also, I’ve added–in a joking voice–the following: “The audience should boo anyone who does a commercial for their company instead of a question!” This typically gets a big laugh and scares half of the self-promoting idiots who use the Q&A session as a back door for marketing.
4. You must NEVER hand the microphone to someone during the Q&A. You should hold the microphone in your hand like Phil Donahue used to so that you can move it away from the person’s mouth if they drone on and on. Alternatively, you can have two stand-up microphones and work out a deal or signal with the audio folks so that they watch for a sign from you to turn off the microphone if someone drones on and on. Remember as the host of the event it is YOUR responsibility to keep things moving along and if some jerk-off wants to waste 500 to 1,000 people’s time with a commercial for their startup you are WELL within your rights to cut them off.
5. The best way to cut someone off is to say “Let’s give another person a chance to ask a question.” This gives the person trying to monopolize the Q&A a chance to be graceful. If they keep talking they are basically saying, “No, let’s not give someone else the chance to ask a question.” The best way to keep people focused is to say, “Your question?” or, “Another question?” before putting the microphone in front of them. This keeps everyone focused on asking a question.
6. Conference producers must–I repeat must–take 100% ownership of what people present on stage. Most conference producers spend so much time on logistics, marketing and sales that they don’t watch the presentations of the people who are coming on stage. 90% of conference bombing presentations could be avoided if the conference producers asks for a run through one to two weeks before the event.
If someone is not willing to run through their presentation, they shouldn’t speak at your event. I’m constantly shocked by conference producer who ask me to speak at an event and never talk to me about the audience, what they might expect or what the goals of the event are. Now, sometimes these folks have seen me speak and trust me, and I understand that. However I would make high-end folks like Doug Rushkoff tell me their plans ahead of time. The way you can get away with this is to say to them, “I’d like to make this the best conference presentation you ever give… if we go over it once or twice we might be able to make it 10-20% better each time.” No one will give up the opportunity to get 20-50% better.
7. Fireside chats are only appropriate for very opinionated, blunt and insightful speakers. Do not put just anyone in this format, because if they are not absolutely entertaining and insightful it will fail. Barry Diller and Mark Cuban are fantastic fireside chats because they don’t filter themselves like most people do–they just talk like real people.
Most CEO/founders are so on message that fireside chats turn into bad infomercials. When you do a fireside chat format be honest with the subject about this fact and ask them if they are “ready to bring it!” Get them pumped up. Ask them what they are really inspired by or pissed off about in your pre-interview. Ask them what the biggest mistake they’ve made is and ask them the hard questions in an upfront way. If they don’t answer the question, you are within your right to say “I don’t really feel like you answered that question fully… can you drill down a little more?”
8. Panels are the weakest form of conference editorial. Only one out of ten panels I’ve been to are interesting, and they are typically interesting despite the moderators and because there is some conflict on the panel. Conflict equals both drama and that there is something at stake. It’s hard to manufacture drama–it either exists or it doesn’t. So, if you must do a panel, talk to prospects early about what topics they’re passionate about. Then, after you have a list of what they’re passionate about, ask them, “Who takes the opposite view on this and why?”
A panel full of bloggers talking about how great it is to blog is pure death. A panel with five journalists talking about the problems of blogging is also death. A panel with bloggers, journalists, bloggers turned journalists, and journalists turned bloggers? That’s going to be interesting.
9. Most panel moderators are self-aggrandizing lightweights who do more damage than good. The best moderators *pull* information out of the panelists, cut people off, and move the conversation on. To be a good moderator you only need 3-4 questions to get things going, the rest of your questions should come by *listening* to the answers and asking follow-up questions.
You can ask folks to expand upon their ideas by saying things like, “You mentioned blogging as a public relations tool–could you unpack that a little bit?” or, “I’m not sure I understand what you mean by blogging being dead–can you expand that a little?” These types of follow-up questions are typically the best. Also, address each question to a person–never say, “Anyone on the panel want to respond.” That’s lame. You should know which panelist is best suited for a question, and if they are all equally suited pick the person who has participated the least thus far. Say their name clearly: “Jason! What are you thoughts on blogging and PR?” Short questions are best. You don’t have to explain the question in detail–you’re no Charlie Rose and this is not PBS. Say it quickly and let them speak.
10. NEVER let panelists introduce themselves, that is the job of the moderator. Lazy moderators don’t take the time to research their panelists and memorize their introductions. As a result people introduce themselves and that leads to two horrible things: a) modest people understate their background and b) losers talk about themselves for five or ten minutes.
If I’m on a panel I say, “I’m a serial entrepreneur. My first project was a magazine, my second was a blog company, and my current company is a human-powered search engine.” That’s it. To the point and done. When I ran my conferences in New York and Los Angeles, I introduced *everyone* in tight bullet points then got right to it. News flash: No one cares about your bio–it’s in the book/on your website. Let’s get to the discussion!
11. Not having a Q&A period is almost always insulting to the audience. If a speaker will not do Q&A, then tell them not to come to the event. The converse of this is that you can’t let the folks go wild in the Q&A asking stupid questions or doing self-promotion (as I mentioned above).
12. Unconferences are generally filled with 80% weak/bad content and 20% good/fascinating content. If you’re considering doing a conference where the audience self-organizes and makes the content you have to take the time to have anchor presentations. If you don’t have some ringers setup ahead of time, you risk having a lot of boring/inane stuff.
The value of an unconference is that more non-traditional folks get to speak and that leads to some diamonds in the rough. If you host one, make sure you lower people’s expectations and do everything you can to keep the presentations very short: 10 minutes tops, unless you’re a ringer.
13. Turn off the backchannel: its so distracting for everyone and typically devolves into making fun of the person’s appearance. For those of you who don’t know about the backchannel at a conference, it’s typically an IRC chat room where folks hang out and respond to the speakers. It can be fun and informative when it’s good: folks post links, challenge statements with data they find on the web, and riff on what they are hearing. However, chat rooms quickly become inhuman, and I’ve seen folks make fun of people’s accents, their weight, and other such things.
When the backchannel first started, folks would put it on the projector–now most folks understand that’s a bad idea because typically the speaker is the only person who doesn’t see the comments. So, folks laugh at something, it throws the speaker off and they turn around and say, “What’s everyone laughing at?” It was a neat idea at first, but most of the time it’s a distraction. I suggest skipping it, or just don’t endorse it.
14. Classroom style seating with power and ethernet cables is the best setup. Folks sitting at desks pay attention and have room to settle in. There is room behind them to walk in and out typically, and since they can have their laptops open, they tend to camp. Theater seating (without the desks) is great to pack folks in, but typically you have folks knocking into each other and spilling coffee all over the place.
15. Have water and hard candy in the room–preferably on the tables. This will keep people in their seats and keep them from coughing.
16. One track conferences are best because people have a shared experience. People typically have multiple tracks because they are trying to pack in more speakers. Then folks have to decide between conflicting panels, all of which are lowered in quality on average because you are doing so much. Most conference folks have three tracks packed with panels so they can have 15-20 folks speaking at a time–this is death. Again, diffusion of responsibility. Your job is to curate the event and have only the top 20% of the speakers you could have. As an exercise take the last conference you were at and cut the weakest half the speakers and leave only the best speakers and ask yourself, “How much better would the conference have been?” That’s the job you need to do BEFORE the event.
17. Have fresh fruit, drinks, and energy bars available all day long. Having only cookies, coffee and ice cream is a really bad idea. Folks get wired and then tired–plus they get fat. People appreciate healthy choices, and you’ll have a more lively audience.
18. If you want people to listen to a speaker, make sure that they have a seat and take their alcohol away. I’m always shocked by junior conference folks who think that you can put 500 folks in a hall with no chairs and an open bar and then get them to pay attention to a speaker. If you want folks to listen give them a seat and close down the bar. If you want them to network and drink, don’t force a speaker on them. Cocktail hours are for networking–not for speeches.
19. As the conference host you *must* stay in the room the entire time and ensure that things are running smoothly on stage. I’m always shocked when I go to an event and I see the host running around the registration desk, the green room or the lobby. GET BACK IN THE ROOM and make sure the audience is having a good experience. At my Silicon Alley events and TechCrunch50 last year, I didn’t leave the room at all. Even when I wasn’t moderating or speaking I stayed in there so I could have the experience of the audience. If something went wrong, I would get on it (i.e. audio problems, spilled coffee, a broken projector).
20. Follow your muse. The best conference are the ones where the host(s) put things on stage that matter to them. When I host an event, the first thing I do is make a list of the 20-30 things that I’ve found fascinating over the past year or two and try to figure out how to share that fascination with the audience. This is the model that Esther Dyson, Stuart Alsop, Richard Saul Wurman, and countless others have followed and it works. It’s *your* event and *you* are responsible for the content. Focus on it and be the best curator you can… if you do, everything will work out.
Note: Folks can still sign up for the email newsletter, but all subscriptions are reviewed to make sure the person uses their real name, etc. You can signup here: http://www.tinyurl.com/jasonslist or you can email me at jason<at>calacanis.com
All the best,
Jason
Why is Amazon Going Offline?
Christel, who loves her new Kindle, told me that Amazon is encouraging Kindle owners to meet offline with people who are curious about the devices.
Sometimes, Amazon realized, you have to see something in-person before you buy it.
There are times, before going to an event, when I wish we could just do it all remotely. Most people I know have Skype and web cams. So I wonder why we can’t just step into the digital age already.
But, as Amazon is discovering with their Kindle, you need to see some things in-person before you connect with them. I read recently that Apple sold more Macs after they opened their stores because it helped people try Macs in-person. I know that helped me switch to a Mac.
If these digital experts have seen the need for face-to-face meetings, I think there will continue to be a need for in-person events.
But technology can still play a role. The invitation site that tells you about an event, needs to say more than when and where it is. It needs to tell you who’s going to be there, help you figure out which of those people are good connections for you, and it should help start your conversations.
That’s what Mixergy.com is trying to do now. Let me know how we can do that better.
William Quigley of Clearstone Teaches SoCal Startups
If you sent a VC your pitch, William Quigley told us, and you didn’t hear back, it’s not because your email was somehow lost in transit or because no one had a chance to look at it. VCs look at everything. You didn’t get a response because your pitch wasn’t compelling enough.
That’s the kind of straight talk that William dished last night. He was frank, educational and helpful.
We started the evening with a short conversation with Rahul Sonnad, an entrepreneur who founded thePlatform, which was sold to Comcast. Rahul is working on his next startup, Geodelic Systems, out of Clearstone’s office in Santa Monica. William invited him to talk about the VC process from the entrepreneur’s perspective.
Before he went up on stage, I thanked Rahul for coming to speak to us. He said, “I’m always happy to pitch.” And that was one of his messages when he got up on stage. Pitch your idea to anyone who’ll listen because it’ll help you practice explaining your business and selling your ideas.
Thank you William and Rahul for presenting last night.
A few people emailed me about a copy of William’s PowerPoint. Here it is:
Right click here to download William Quigley’s PowerPoint presentation.
This event was sponsored by:
And thank you to our media sponsor:
The Sarah Lacy Interview
Sarah Lacy came as a guest to an event that I did at Mixergy. So I interviewed her for Tech Zulu about her new book, Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good. Here’s Tech Zulu’s video: