What do you know about business methodologies? Are you currently using a specific methodology? Is it being utilized successfully within your organization? If not, what isn't working?

Perhaps you see where I'm going. There are many things to consider when choosing a specific approach toward progress within your venture. There are two important things to keep in mind.

1. Using any methodology that lends structure is better than flying by the seat of your pants

2. Holding fast to a methodology that isn't working is worse than flying by the seat of your pants

Great questions are vital to growth and innovation. So you must start asking questions to reach those outcomes. I don't believe in stupid questions (unless someone is deliberately causing problems). Many people don't ask their questions because they fear embarrassment and ridicule. Never stop asking questions.

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Why are questions so important? Read more…

Perhaps you've read some articles that position "scale" to be the ultimate metric of a startup's success. It is especially prevalent along blogs and people that cover technology focused startup ventures. I'm not saying scale is bad. I'm saying that scaling to a billion users shouldn't be your primary business goal.

Your first business goal should be adding value to a specific market. Your second goal should being able to make a reasonable profit while adding value to that specific market. Once you master those to business goals then think about scaling. You may think that scaling before making any profit is advantageous in the long run, however, you aren't considering all the risks.

Scaling Too Quickly Risks

• trusting a business model that may be unprofitable and unsustainable
• spending too much time building something not enough people need or want
• undermining the quality of your product / service
• derailing the quality of your customer service

How to make progress on multiple concurrent projects.

It may seem daunting to attempt multiple projects and/or ventures simultaneously. However, there are some simple things that you can do to make that a reality.

• Set small actionable goals - Be realistic. When setting goals, make sure you've broken them down into things that can be accomplished in no more than 2 to 3 days. If you feel that is too long, break them down even further. The point is, by chunking larger tasks into manageable sizes you can set yourself to consistently achieve small goals. Each small goal reached with bolster your positive energy and outlook.
  
  If you miss accomplishing a goal, don't get down on yourself. Take time and see if you could have broken the goal into smaller tasks than you did. Learn from that by adjusting your future goals.

It is always better to be proactive than reactive, but let's assume the reverse. When you are put into the middle of a situation your reaction says a lot about you (or your company). I'm going to job your memory back to your early self. Chances are if you weren't the one reacting, you were trying to get a reaction out of others.

I want to use an example that many of us will remember all too well, the rest of you can live vicariously through this example. I'm speaking about having your shoes tied together by their laces. Perhaps this is a painful memory to recall (we won't judge you for slip-on or Velcro shoes).

Let's assume you've just had your shoes tied together without your knowledge. You are about to quickly become much more aware of your feet than you just were. Why is this important? It changes your focus and calls you to problem solve the situation. I'm going to cover 5 possible responses (sorry, vengeance isn't one of them).

Your Shoes Are Tied Together, Now What? Read more…