FountainBlue

Corporate Governance: What It Means for the Average Exec

2007-01-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

FountainBlue's November 17 Connections Event was on the Topic of Corporate Governance: What It Means for the Average Exec Corporate Governance is at the center of all investors' minds as decision-makers for companies of all sizes are charged with mitigating the risk of high-profile business failures, such as Enron and WorldCom. In order to reinforce investment confidence and protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosure, executives today are adopting Sarbanes-Oxley compliance standards, proactively managing board communications, and, in general, building corporate infrastructure and processes to automate reporting and accounting practices.

This Month's Facilitator was Richard Brenner, CEO of The Brenner Group, http://www.thebrennergroup.com/services/corpgov.html, and chairman of the audit committee for the fastest growing bank in the United States. Rich helps small and mid-market public and emerging private companies proactively plan for corporate governance practices, but also assists in harnessing the positive impact of financial reporting and disclosure activities throughout the organization. Rich facilitated a prestigious panel who will share their knowledge and insights on proactively developing and managing corporate governance plans. Mark Leahy, Partner, Fenwick & West Leinani Nakamura, Partner, Mohler Nixon Tom Sa, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Bridge Bank

Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice for your reference, drawn on the wisdom of our facilitators and each of you as participants. With the recent corporate scandals, there is a public outcry against the behavior of coporate executives There was a similar outcry against the behavior of the banking industry in the 80s, and federal mandates helped to reform that industry. The Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance requirements might do the same for corporate America, and may be worth the administrative and financial burden for complying with these requirements.

Boards are more involved as the duty of loyalty and the duty of care (to meet frequently, to understand the issues) is enforced through SOX.

With more involvement and participation and ownership from leadership, the 'tone at the top' may be better, with higher integrity, better accountability, better communications, better transparency, etc.,

The requirement for independent auditors and an audit committee helped ensure better run companies with better internal controls, cleaner partnerships with independent auditors, more proactive ownership of issues, earlier notifications of problems, earlier preparation

The code of conduct for CEOs, CFOs, Directors and Staff has helped ensure clear guidelines for behavior and encouraged consequences for breaches in conduct

The disclosure requirements encourage transparency of communication, proactive management, etc.,

The certification requirements encourages planning, process, validation, etc.,

Companies are encouraged to take some early steps to prepare for 404 Compliance, prior to the start of the documentation and testing process, even before they become public.

However, there are tremendous time, money and loss-of-opportunity costs for complying to these standards above

As a result there are fewer finance professionals, particulary at the senior level, just at a time when we need them more

As a result, fewer companies are deciding to go public, and more are going through M&A exits

As a result, CEOs in smaller public companies are opting to merge with another company rather than accepting the legal, fudiciary and other requirements demanded for senior executives.

As a result, companies may choose _not_ to go public due to the additional SOX requirements.For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Funding Options for High Tech Entrepreneurs

2006-11-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

FountainBlue was pleased to host a High Tech Entrepreneurs' Forum on Alternative Funding Options for High Tech Entrepreneurs on Monday, November 13, 2006. Featured panelists included Dirk Michels, Partner, KLN&G; Jake Schwarz, Partner, KLN&G; and Ed Lambert, Senior VP, Bridge Bank.

Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice for early stage, pre-Series A, seed funding, drawn on the wisdom of our facilitators and each of you as participants.

There is a lot of venture money right now, but in general entrepreneurs need to have a beta test, prototype or product launch in order to be fundable.
To achieve the beta test, prototype, product launch phase, entrepreneurs need a first level of funding. Alternative funding options include: Credit Cards, Friends & Family, Home Equity Loans, SBA Loans, Purchase Order Financing
If your company survives that level, the next lefl of financing includes: Grants, Forums, Contests
At all times, encourage organic growth and bootstrapping to continue to grow the business. Not only will your successes in organic growth and bootstrapping successes look good for your fundraising efforts, your very successful efforts might even overcome the need to raise money
One option for raising money is through customer orders. If choosing this option: 1) Make sure that you don't become a contract engineering firm rather than a product development and distribution firm (e.g. don't let the customers get in the way of delivering your business objectives), 2) Protect your IP
Leverage your connections and previous successes. Your track record and connections will increase your likelihood of getting funding.
When you're ready to seek outside funding from angels and other sources, have a concise executive summary: See Bill Joos' (previously from Garage.com) Nine Points on creating a compelling summary

http://www.brendonwilson.com/projects/the-art-of-the-start/the-art-of-positioning-and-presenting/ or Visit http://www.svase.org/index.php?option=com_elist&Itemid=249 and select the 10-slide PowerPoint slide template, courtesy of SVASE

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Fostering Women Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

2006-11-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

FountainBlue is pleased to produce a When She Speaks session on Fostering Women Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries featuring facilitator Linda Alepin, head of the Global Women's Leadership Network, panelist Remi Matsumoto, Founder and President of the Hina Coral Restoration Network and panelist Praveena Varadarajan, Director of Engineering at Sun Microsystems.

Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice for your reference, drawn on the wisdom of our facilitators and each of you as participants.

We in Silicon Valley are sheltered from the realities of the difficulties of others in developing countries

Men and women from around the world life for under $2 a day
There is a gender gap in entrepreneurship, over 1 in three entrepreneurs are women. Visit http://www.genconsortium.org for more information
Women entrepreneurs are more likely to share their wealth and experience with their families and larger community.
Where women are empowered, the country's general economy benefits

Companies and leaders benefit from fostering entrepreneurship

It builds a larger target market
It encourages partnerships
It stimulates and rewards results-oriented entrepreneurial thinking
It encourages and supports innovative thinking

As leaders, we need to foster entrepreneurship

Encourage hard-working, committed, resolved and focused entrepreneurs - the drive is imperative to success
Expose potential entrepreneurs to hear great leaders speak. This can spark a vision, drive, and the entrepreneurial spirit and also help budding leaders to build connections.
Encourage respectful debate - it stimulates critical and innovative thinking and building of bonds and connections between like-minded people
Provide support structures and educational opportunities
Work with technology organizations to encourage providing technology solutions to entrepreneurs around the world
Encourage compassionate dialogue between countries, organizations, leaders, to develop empowering, collaborative, win-win solutions in support of successful entrepreneurial ventures, providing tangible results
Encourage the creation of social treaties, alongside the political treaties
Look for opportunities to encourage more women participation in entrepreneurial ventures
Encourage the sharing of women's stories; leverage technologies for easy distribution of these compelling stories

Take Action

Social entrepreneurship - innovative solutions for one of society's pressing problems coupled with action. Includes a model, an approach, a strategy for proliferation.
Identify the many groups in the region and in the world support the cause of women entrepreneurship:
Global Women Leadership Network: Whole Woman, Whole Leader, Whole World, http://www.gwln.org
One World Children's Fund, http://www.owcf.org/
Global Fund for Women http://www.globalfundforwomen.org
Anita Borg Institute http://www.anitaborg.org/index.php
E-mail us at info@FountainBlue.biz if you would like to join us in an ongoing effort to collaborate between technology companies in Silicon Valley in support of fostering women entrepreneurship in developing countries

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Outsourcing Challenges and Solutions

2006-10-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice on Outsourcing Challenges and Solutions, provided by the facilitators and the audience in general at our event on October 20, 2006.

Comments from facilitator Dave Gardner, Founder and Principal of Gardner & Associates Consulting, DGardner@Gardnerandassoc.com:

At the edges, outsourcing relates to the ever present dilemma of "make or buy"—should a company do something itself or find another company to do it for them. For years and years, American companies have outsourced. Why? It simply didn’t make sense to "do everything yourself" or "vertically integrate" as it was once described. What’s changed during the past generation? Today, we not only outsource tangible goods but also intangible items such as information technology management, software development, product development, etc.

At one point in our economy, we talked about a company having "core competencies"—those things perceived as their value-add in the market place—those elements that you could never remove without ruining a company’s value proposition.

Today, we are finding that we can establish outsourcing "core competencies" heretofore considered unthinkable.

Entrepreneurs no longer have to hire a staff of engineers to commercialize their innovations.
Companies that design products do not have to manufacture them
We have fabless semiconductor companies
We no longer simply have to outsource the manufacturing of key components and sub-assemblies—we can go to turn-key outsource manufacturers who can drop ship complex capital goods directly to customers
Need a software application but don’t want to spend a fortune? Outsource it!

The U.S. competes in the global economy for both market share and capital. Investors want to know what a company is going to do with their capital to create a return-on-investment.

If a start-up company commits to outsourcing from the outset:

This strategy reduces the risk to investors and improves ROI
Makes a company more agile
Allows company to focus on those things it does best and avoid the things it doesn’t want to do
The company doesn’t expend nearly as much capital on plant, equipment, inventory, people, employee benefits—the outsource company does that

Conversely, many companies are looking to migrate to an outsourcing as a way to reduce costs and improve their capital utilization. Outsourcing can be employed by start-ups as well as established companies. We’ve assembled a panel of experts who’ve "been there/done that" to give us insights about how to successfully outsource manufacturing, information technology, software development, product development and what you need to do to have legal agreements in place that protect you, your company and your intellectual property.

Manufacturing/Supply Chain, Comments from Dave Gardner with reflections from Lila Dormishian, Director of Global Supply Chain Management, Lam Research

This past month, a study produced by the National Institute of Manufacturers stated that U.S. manufacturers now suffer a 31.7% cost disadvantage—the equivalent of $6 per hour worked—over other countries including Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Germany, U.K, South Korea, Taiwan and France.

The overall calculation takes into account corporate tax rates, employee benefits, tort costs, natural gas prices, and spending on pollution abatement.

Advice and Comments from Lila:

Be strategic about your outsourcing decisions:

Consider your core competencies and bring those competencies in-house. Don't outsource them. Does outsourcing help you focus on your core competency?
Consider materials sourcing for your short term and long-term needs. Where is the best place and who is and will be the best providers
Leveraged model for volume purchase, sourcing, and manufacturing capability
Efficiency of operations if DF is used
Does it improve your ability to sell in the region (PRC local content mandate)?
Does it bring you closer to customer base

Consider the Risks

§Communication
§IP infringement Risk
Adequate top level management skills
Engineering change management
Systems/Tools
Quality control
Capacity management control
Social and Political factors

Consider long-term and short-term costs for your outsourcing decisions.

Cost reduction for high volume manufacturing
Cost reduction if localized material is used
Lead time and inventory increase (based on FOB terms)
Transportation costs and delays
Weigh in the infrastructure setup and maintenance for any outsourcing relationship and ensure that the value outweighs the costs in time and money and resources.

Information Technology Comments from Dave Gardner with reflections from Usha Sekar, CEO of CriaTech, usha@sekars.com

Is outsourcing IT overseas past its prime? According to a new survey, some think it is. Consider this:

Two years ago, 84 percent of the respondents to a Global IT Outsourcing Study sponsored by a Chicago-based consulting firm said they planned to increase their level of offshore outsourcing.
In October 2006, that figure fell to 64 percent.
Meanwhile, 47 percent of respondents said they "abnormally" ended at least one outsourcing deal in the past 12 months—up from 21 percent in 2004.

There are several reasons why the bloom is coming off the outsourcing rose-- the largest factor is cost. The claim is, "New tools are making it easier to manage and measure projects in-house, so many firms are realizing that it's actually less expensive to bring certain IT functions back."
Meanwhile, companies have learned that getting outsourcers to deliver to specifications requires far more oversight and management than they bargained for. And then, of course, there's the security issue. All these factors, the study claims, make outsourcing IT overseas "grossly inefficient."

Usha's Thoughts and Advice:

Companies in general are more comfortable with outsourcing in general and outsourcing to countries like India for example.
There has been a history of success working with outsourcing companies.
In addition, there is a trend for Indian entrepreneurs and executives to return to their native India and providing development and support services there. These outsourced services are attractive to corporate executives in Silicon Valley for example because the former-Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and executives in those companies better understand the corporate and cultural expectations for Silicon Valley technology companies.
Be strategic about your outsourcing investment
Similar remarks to Lila's comments about long-term and short-term needs for the company.
Identify the best of breed for your outsourcing needs.
Accept that there might be a drop-off in service in the second and third year of an outsourcing relationship and plan around that/anticipate it.
Understand what needs to be outsourced, why it needs to be outsourced. What needs to be done in-house - e.g. a company's core competencies and why it needs to remain in house. Then plan accordingly.

Legal Advice around Outsourcing: Stephen Gillespie, Partner, Intellectual Property Group at Fenwick & West, Sgillespie@fenwick.com

Stephen's Thoughts and Advice:

Provide detailed and specific descriptions, deliverables, milestones and consequences prior to an engagement.
Manage the relationship based on those agreements
Consider consequences for cost overruns. Be specific about budgets and caps.
Be clear on IP ownership agreements prior to project engagement
Everyone involved should have an NDA signed and a release form
Be clear about who should have access to your data, and involvement on your project.

Product Development/Software Development Comments from Dave Gardner with reflections from Yogen Upadhye, Omnivant, yogen@omnivant.com

Yogen's Comments and Advice:

For IT services or Business Processes in general, the industry has learned about many hidden costs in terms of continuous oversight of the process and the controls needed to enforce agreed SLAs. Therefore, after factoring the company's own compliance and oversight costs and costs of onsite vendor resources needed for success, savings are significantly less than what was/is touted by vendors. Again, the savings depend on the type of engagement model actually being used and the skills and location mixes involved.
Consider the business and technical risks when making outsourcing decisions, such as Loss of IP. Unless proper controls are put in place and thoroughly tested first, losing customers due to perceived lack of quality of service or product is a very real possibility. Litigation and consequences of a less than ideal break in relationship with an outsourcing partner if such a break is desired. Other risks include information security, unclear communications due to cultural and other differences, etc., Even if business continuity plans are in place, managers should check whether the plans are sustainable, scalable and easy to implement.
When managing technology risks, consider the architecture, design, quality and maintainability of final product. Understand the software development process and its limitations and opportunities and gauge the expertise level and process maturity of the vendor's team.
Formal communication and formal documentation are critical factors to success. Over-communicate to begin with and then pull back as both parties learn what's the optimal level. Be prepared for initial setbacks. It will get better over time.
Have well defined and agreed SLAs and Acceptance Criteria at different points throughout the delivery process - not just the final point. Have controls to monitor them and remediation process defined.
Don't put all eggs in one basket and have a good plan to pull back gracefully with minimal impact on your operations.

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Preparing Your Company for Outside Investors

2006-10-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

As entrepreneurs advance past the idea stage, and into the friends-and-family funding stage, questions arise about how and whether to prepare for outside investors. On October 16, 2006, FountainBlue convened a life science entrepreneurs' roundtable to cover that question.

Our facilitators were Ken Macrae, senior executive for a series of small and large lifescience corporations, Geetha Rao, former CEO of Norgren Systems and partnerwith venture catalyst, AuxoGlobal http://www.AuxoGlobal.com, and SergioGarcia, Life Science Co-Chair for Fenwick & West http://www.fenwick.com/attorneys/4.2.1.asp?aid=617. Ken, Geetha and Sergio shared their extensive experience working with life sciencee ntrepreneurs and companies in preparing them for outside funding. The discussion at the meeting focused on what entrepreneurs need to do to optimize your chances of being successfulin closing the next round.

Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice on Preparing Your Company for Outside Investors provided by the facilitators and the audience in general.

Know and Articulate Your Message and Strategy: Think through your business plan

What do you do for whom, value proposition over competition? Etc.,
What is your exit strategy and how will it affect the different threads of development?
Create documents which concisely and compellingly communicate what you do
Envision, describe the value of your organization; Present a picture of real success for your business in concrete terms

The importance of team

It's inadvisable to hire senior people who are friends too early in the company development. It can lead to unnecessary growth pains as you grow, cause barriers to growth, and damage a relationship
Hire experienced executives for your team, board, scientific advisory board, etc., Proven people will not only draw on their experience as they plan and execute, but will also have the connections to the right people to get the stakeholder support you need, be it in funding, in customer sales, in partnerships, in getting new board/team members, etc.,

Validate your business, your plan and your market

Validate your business with your plan - market size, product/IP, team, etc.,
Customer validations are important. Even if they are only non-paying beta users, from customers, you can get testimonials, feedback, data, suggestions for improvement, QA support, etc.,

Create an operational plan: Bridge the overall business plan and the operational plan -

What is the process and timeframe for getting from where you are to where you would like to be for: Team building, market penetration, patent/IP protection, board/leadership development, etc.,?
How will the individual strands be intertwined?
What are the implications for your funding, product delivery, team-building needs?
This will show investors how, when, why, where their money will be leveraged with what anticipated results

Why are investors charging a premium for investment in life science companies?

It generally takes a longer development time to reap benefits of an investment, due to longer development cycles, heavily and more rigidly enforced regulation, etc., (Average time to get a patent is about 14 years.)
There are fewer life science entrepreneurs as many of them have post-graduate degrees and deep experience in research (for example).

It Takes a Village: The Case for Collaborative Leadership

2006-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

The 'It Takes a Village' concept of successful, cross-cultural, cross-role, cross-functional support of critical societal and business issues are a fundamental requirement for making sustainable progress and changes. This month's 'When She Speaks' event will profile women who have successfully taken a stand on a key issue of critical importance, coalesced a following around the initiative, and forged ahead in making real changes for people in need.

Our facilitators and panelists for this event included:

Rosemary Straley National Coordinator of the HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON SUPPORT NETWORK
Facilitator Katharine Fong, Deputy Managing Editor for the San Jose Mercury News, www.mercurynews.com
Panelist Patricia Burbank, psychologist, community activist and co-founder of One World Children's Fund http://www.owcf.org/
Panelist Dyan Chan, partner at communication and community relations consulting firm Lighthouse Blue http://www.lighthouseblue.com
Panelist Mona Hudak is the Women’s Action Network and Diversity Program Manager for Cisco Systems http://www.cisco.com/

Below are comments from the facilitators as well as input from the attendees for the October 13, 2006 event.

Qualities of Collaborative Leadership

Engagement and Empowerment, Belief in a common mission.
Open you mind to perspectives different than your own
Be part of the village - help others, seek help yourself; Grow your village
Engage people of diverse talents and perspectives; Draw out the best in others, be around people who bring out the best in you
Develop Shared Values and Shared interest in getting common results
Consensus/Collective voices heard
Rally people to a common cause
Relationships with Trust, Honor and Integrity, Loyalty. These are not negotiable.
Direct, clear, honest, open communications
Humility
Let the best ideas win, not just your idea - Park your ego for the greater good!
Avoid having your ego too closely tied to your position
Continuous Improvement
Be better tomorrow than today
Recognize that there will be a time when you don't have to compete with yourself
A measure of success is whether the problems you're solving today are the same problems as yesterday

Be a Collaborative Leader!

Seek Leadership Opportunities
Share your stories. Listen to the stories of others.
Involve others in decision-making.
Get along first. Nobody will go along if they don't get along!
Provide consistent, gentle, persistent nudges in the right direction
Build a community of support, encouragement and engagement to a common purpose

Obstacles to Collaboration

What they say (be collaborative) is not what we get rewarded for (individual performance)
It takes time to create successful relationships
The foundation of every collaborative effort are deep relationships based on trust and openness, focused on common values and common goals

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Networking for Entrepreneurs

2006-10-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

FountainBlue conducted a Special Workshop on Networking for Entrepreneurs, which addressed one of the greatest challenges of any successful new venture: meeting the right people and developing relationships and partnerships with those people.

Sometimes the difference between a successful venture and one not so successful is who you know! Entrepreneurs, particularly those who would prefer the comfort of coding and managing in front of a computer screen, and those who don't have connections here, and/or are not yet integrated into the Silicon Valley culture, need to proactively manage their networking activities to ensure the ongoing success of their organizations. Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice provided by Linda Holroyd, the event facilitator and everyone in attendance.

Working Definition: Networking is: An Active process of building and managing productive relationships with all of your contacts (Professor Wayne E. Baker from his Networking Smart Book)

Networking for Entrepreneurs can lead to

Better Traction for Your Business
Greater Likelihood of Attracting Leaders, Sponsors, Advocates, Customers

The Art of Networking:

Everyone has his own style
Reasons for a successful connection vary depending on who you’re working with
Random chance is a factor
Sometimes you find your connections in the strangest places!

The Science of Networking:

Understanding your objectives and developing a plan will increase your probability of success
The more you build your network, the more likely your network will continue to grow
The larger your network, the more likely you can leverage it to serve your needs, and that of others in your network
The better you plan and prepare, the more likely you are to succeed

Why is Networking with Executives More Important Now?

Resources are Scarce
Access is Limited
Credibility is in Question
Difficult to Build Relationships at the Senior Executive Level
Rapid Technology Advancement
Fast-Paced Work Environment

Networking Tip: Know Your Objectives

What is your networking objective?
Why is this the most important challenge right now?
What are some past successes and challenges?
Who would be some strategic partners for you?
What are some metrics for success and their timeframe?

Networking Tips:

Your Reputation Matters: Be professional, Be courteous and gracious, Be thankful, Be helpful
Develop a Strategy and a Plan: What would you like to happen? How will you leverage your partners? How will you present your challenges and opportunities in the most attractive way? What individuals or organizations do you need to connect to and what is your plan for getting the introduction?
Follow Through: Plan your work, Work your plan, Be prepared to take advantage of serendipity
Build on Successes: Networking is for life, not just for the objective you set for today
It’s Not All About You: Just as important as what’s in it for you is what’s in it for the other party

Tactics generated by the group:

Conversation Starters - Suggestions for breaking the ice and join a discussion comfortably and professionally

Focus on the event theme/partner/sponsoring organization: What brings you here? How long have you been a member?
Compliment
Direct introduction
Ask a third party to introduce you
Ask questions about the other person or get them talking in other ways
Offer a business card early
Start conversation on news of the day
When entering into an existing conversation: Ask questions about the topic, Listen and then respond with a relevant comment, Ask if you can join, Offer and ask for business cards

Linda's Bottom Line:

Focus first on the other person. The more you get them talking, the more interesting they think you are.
Focus second on what kind of connection or information could help the other person.
Then focus third on how developing a relationship with this person can help you.

Elevator Pitch Topics - Suggestions for communicating your value-add passionately and flexibly to a wide range of audiences

Practice, but sound natural
Be concise and short
Be memorable
Tell people what you do, what you want, what you're looking for
Make it relevant

Linda's Bottom Line:

Follow this suggested format to make a 2 minute, 30 second and 10 second introduction
For _____ (target customer)
Who ____ (the need or opportunity)
The _____ (your product or service)
Is a _______ (product/service category)
That ____________ (statement of key benefits or compelling reason to buy)
Unlike __________ (primary competitive advantage)
Our service _________ (your key differentiator)

Frame your introduction to the needs of your audience and their needs
It's best to hear what the other person does first so that you can frame the discussion and focus on them.

Rapport Building Ideas - Suggestions on how to build deep relationships

Listen
Identify common interests
Sincerity
Empathy
Be knowledgable
Be helpful
Say what you'll do; do what you say
Make connections to others in your network
Maintain your professional reputation
Communicate your value-add well (see elevator pitch)

Linda's Bottom Line:

It's all about relationships. The business strategy, technology, operations, everything else is secondary. Act accordingly.
When you network, decide early how deep a relationship you would like to have with each person, but don't cast it in stone. I have five layers of relationships I develop. Your strategy on relationship-building from follow that objective.
Nobody's perfect, if you've botched a relationship, work to repair it. If you relegated someone earlier as a superficial relationship and they turn out to be someone different in a positive way, you always have the opportunity to deepen the relationship.
Never burn bridges.

Disengaging Professionally - Suggestions for disengaging a discussion during an event

Diversion
Focus on doing one thing for the other person
Summarize the conversation
Say that you'll follow up (and do so if you say you will!)
Address their immediate needs

Linda's Bottom Line:

During networking events, people generally expect to 'circulate'. Don't feel bad when you need to do that.
Always be professional and respectful. The other person may not be someone you want in your network now, but people change.

Following Up - Suggestions on how to efficiently and effectively follow up

This is rapport, part 2
Follow up quickly and effectively; using templates help
Most people don't follow up. You stand out when you do, and you're more likely to get a positive response even months later if you follow up immediately following an event
Creating marketing materials like web site, blog, etc., will help you efficiently follow up

Linda's Bottom Line:

Always follow up, unless you consciously choose not to
Prepare your materials ahead of time to ensure efficient follow-up

For comments and follow-up, visit
http://rainmakerslive.nusea.org/2006/10/23/fountainblue-networking-workshop/.

Building an Effective Executive Team for Your Early-Stage Startup

2006-10-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

Our theme for the October 9 meeting was Building an Effective Executive Team and our guest facilitators were Linda Usoz, Partner in Corporate and Employment Law at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart http://www.klng.com and Kurt Amundson, a consultant who has served as COO and CFO for a series of high tech firms across the Silicon Valley. Linda and Kurt and the entrepreneurs in attendance offer the following suggestions on Building an Effective Executive Team for Early Stage Companies.It's

About the People

Do the research to ensure that people are who they seem to be/say they are
Work with a successful team with positive history working together is a good indicator for success and will more likely get the funding and support sought

Create clear milestones, roles and objectives with related consequences/options

A detailed job description may help you with your negotiations and communications and help you before more flexible in signing on and growing your executive team
Invest the time to create the right executive team member for your start-up
It's about competence, passion, culture and fit
It's about having the right people on your team at the right time, preferably people who can scale with your organization as it grows
Communicate your expectations on roles, milestones, rewards, responsibilities clearly and in writing and up front
Every start-up needs business expertise as well as technical expertise
If someone objectives to the thorough due diligence in investigating a fit in the organization, perhaps he/she is not the right person for your organization

Strategies for hiring the right person at the right time

One way to plan for the growth of the organization is to not give inflated titles to people who sign on early. This way you have the option of promoting them or hiring someone over them as you grow the company
Hire an interim executive to cover immediate needs while also investigating executives' long-term fit in the organization
When you're faced with founders who need to be re-assigned within the organization, it's best to be clear up front about milestones, roles, objectives while communicating clearly the needs of the organization. Get board involvement. Get everyone invested in the long-term success of the business, de-emphasizing the inevitable ego-struggle it would take a founder to step down from senior executive positions.

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

The Art and Science of Networking for Executives

2006-09-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

Networking at the senior executive level is a lot about building the connections with the right people, at the right time, for the right reason. Whether you are a senior executive in transition or considering a new opportunity, a professional happily employed or consulting and looking for new partnerships and clients, or a recently re-employed businessperson after a challenging job search, it is increasingly more important for senior executives to build and nurture senior-level connections when considering your long-term career objectives and financial goals.

The thoughts and advice below were offered at the September 28 ExecuNet Silicon Valley meeting facilitated by FountainBlue CEO Linda Holroyd, with comments by Al Hulvey from Greetings Manager and the event participants.

Working Definition: Networking is: An Active process of building and managing productive relationships with all of your contacts (Professor Wayne E. Baker from his Networking Smart Book)

Networking during transitions leads to:
Paid better, promoted faster, new jobs quicker (Networking Smart, How to Build Relationships for Personal and Organizational Success, Wayne E. Baker)

http://ohcm.gsfc.nasa.gov/career/book05.htm, http://www.amazon.com/Networking-Smart-Relationships-Personal-Organizational/dp/0595007864

64% of jobs found by networking (Drake, Beam and Morin, http://www.DBMCareerServices.com)

68% startup money found by networking (same as above)

How is Networking Different for Executives?

There are fewer events for executives only
Successful executives have built a network for a lifetime; this could work for you, when someone favors you because of a relationship, or against you if someone else who may be less qualified gets chosen for a position because of a relationship
More sense of reciprocity for executives
Senior executives sometimes find it awkward to network with less junior people
There are fewer executives in general.
The executives are really busy and time is more valuable for them

Why is Networking for Executives More Important Now?

The world is a more complex place. Having a extensive network helps busy executives better understand the trends and keep up with the times.
The tenure for jobs is now 3.8 years, less for senior executives. This means that as many as 15% to 20% of qualified executives sit on the sidelines

The Art of Networking

Everyone has his own style
Reasons for a successful connection vary depending on who you’re working with
Random chance is a factor
Sometimes you find your connections in the strangest places!
The Science of Networking
Understanding your objectives and developing a plan will increase your probability of success
The more you build your network, the more likely your network will continue to grow. The larger your network, the more likely you can leverage it to serve your needs, and that of others in your network
The better you plan and prepare, the more likely you are to succeed

Five Keys to Executive Networking

Your Reputation Matters - Be professional, Be courteous and gracious, Be thankful, Be helpful
Know Your Objectives and Make a Plan to Achieve Them
Follow Through
Build on Successes. Networking is for life, not just for the objective you set for today
It’s Not All About You - Just as important as what’s in it for you is what’s in it for the other party

Advice on Bringing a Product to Market

2006-09-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Below are comments from our facilitators for the September 18, 2006 Life Science Entrepreneurs' Forum, Michael Shuster from Fenwick & West and Melinda Richter from SJ Biocenter and others in attendance at the event.

Get Market Clarity: Know Your Target Market
Make sure you understand which slice of the market you'd like to target, who your competitors are targeting, what your edge is over those competitors, how you will attack that market, etc.,
Make sure you understand your target customer - it may not be the person you initially thought it would be

Be flexible
If your target market, customer, team, product, etc., changes, respond accordingly
When working with angels, VCs, etc., be flexible about your control of the company and the product and trust in their experience and wisdom, but use good judgement in selecting a funder who is compatible with your business and professional style. (Rarely do companies succeed with the entrepreneur's original product idea.)

Run a quality organization
IP, product, team, market, etc., are all important for the success of an organization.
Get quality legal and business advice (for example from Fenwick & West) to protect your IP and business interests. They can also offer introductions to the right investors.
Have your own vision and line up your partners who are in support of that vision. (This can help align supporters and investors.)

When seeking funding:
Consider all the funding options: High net-worth individuals, angels, angel funds, dedicated funds, foundations, banks, institutions. VCs are also an option, but they can be 'expensive and painful' money.
When seeking funding, do not stop focusing on building the business. The funding itself is not the exit path.

When bringing a life science product to market:
Don't change the doctor's actions
Don't require changes in how reimbursements are processed.

Life Science Success Stories

2006-09-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Silicon Valley is world-renown for its technology, its business success stories, and its innovative and entrepreneurial culture. While we're still reaping the benefits of the age of the personal computer and the age of the internet, the new buzz in the last few years has been on the convergence of bio, nano and information technologies. This month's panel will focus on life science success stories and consider how life science companies differ from more strictly high-tech companies, which key success factors for life science companies, and other thoughts, while sharing stories of how individual companies managed to succeed in this challenging new industry

The facilitators and panelists for the September 15, 2006 Connections meeting on Life Science Success Stories were facilitator Ken Macrae, Ed Amento from Theracos, Sergio Garcia from Fenwick & West, Geetha Rao, and Dave Whitman from Pharmadyn. Below are some words of advice shared by the facilitator and panelists, as well as the collective wisdom of the audience.

Define success
Venture Funding?
Delivery of product?
Merger/Acquisition Event?
Great Team?
Grasp and communicate the market opportunity and trends
VCs can work with technology challenges and even leadership challenges, market challenges are much more difficult to address

Get support

IP and corporate attorney from established, well-respected firm like Fenwick & West has many advantages
Protect what you have, build the fences;
When working in partnerships, attorneys can help develop an understanding of who owns which IP
Attorneys from established firms are better positioned to negotiate with VCs as they have more leverage
Finance professional
Business Development professional
Management professional

Don't have a one-man team
Management Team should be able to speak candidly, manage conflict, build consensus
Corporate Board
Scientific Board (not just the big names): Technical advice and cross-checking; Represent product to professional environment, users, evangelists; Regulatory pathway; Put investor's minds at rest

Company qualities
Must have a balance of vision, passion, discipline and risk management
Senior management must be able to balance the business people (rewarded for teamwork, collective problem-solving, seeing beyond the data) and the scientists (rewarded for facts, being #1)
Senior management must have the ability to manage the tremendous cash-burn of R&D activities while sustaining the enterprise and growing

Trends in Funding:

Pharmaceutical companies are funding earlier stage companies
Consequently, VCs are looking for funding opportunities before pharma companies fund them
As a result, entrepreneurs may have more latitude in the negotiations, both in seeking funding earlier in development and also negotiating governance agreements through the funding process.
Mergers and acquisitions are a more common exit path.

Education is Fundamental: How Executives and Entrepreneurs Can Support the Push for Quality

2006-09-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Access to quality education is the key to a strong business and cultural infrastructure as well as a healthy and sustainable economy. Few leaders would contest that. Yet the data below provided by the National Education Association is disturbing at best. (See http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/welcome.asp and click on the Compare California link.)

California is one of the wealthiest states, but the personal income per student, (the sum of all residents’ personal income divided by the number of K-12 public school students) is just below average (ranked 19th in 2002), a little less than $100 below the national average of $187,122, because California has a higher proportion of young people compared to most other states (ranking sixth in the percentage of residents under 18 in 2002). (More recent numbers are not yet available.)
In 2001-02—for the first time in more than 20 years—California was above the national average in per capita expenditures on K-12 schools, but California still consistently falls below the national average in per-pupil expenditures, ranking 31st in 2001-02, according to the National Education Association (NEA) Rankings & Estimates 2004-05. In 2003-04 the state moved up to 29th in the nation. At $7,584 per student, California was at 92% of the national average and ranked in the middle of the five most populous states.
California has higher-than-average pupil-teacher ratios. In 2003-04 teachers were expected to handle about 35% more students and principals/assistant principals, district administrators, guidance counselors, and librarians even more. In 2003-04 California ranked 3rd in the nation with the largest pupil-teacher ratio (20.6 to 1) except for Arizona and Utah, according to NEA.
In addition, California was last in librarians and next-to-last in guidance counselors and principals/assistant principals in 2003-04, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The state also ranked 48th in the nation in officials and administrators per pupil and last among the five most populous states.

FountainBlue's September 8, 2006 panel on the topic of Education is Fundamental: How Executives and Entrepreneurs Can Support the Push for Quality featured facilitator Usha Sekar, Geoff Ainscow from the Sunnyvale School District Education Foundation, Hillary Aitken from BUILD, and Paula Wasowska from Cisco. Their candid stories, concrete data and detailed descriptions of successful programs have sparked an overwhelmingly positive response. Special thanks to Usha Sekar, who has commited to follow up and create the ability to compile data, coalesce energy and drive, and present concrete concepts so that we can follow up on our passion to forge concrete change on behalf of our children! Below are some notes from our discussion.

Facts About Our Schools

Schools can be resistant to change and innovation.
Schools lack resources and funding: See

http://www.eddata.com for the details

We as a culture need to have a greater interest in the needs of our children. The most dominant factor in a child's education is the parent, the second most dominant are teachers. Class size is a distant third. Yet we as a culture do not support our teachers as well or as much as we should.

California schools rapidly went from being the best educational system in the US in the 1970s to the worst in the nation in 1998.

What Executives and Entrepreneurs Can Do to Support the Push for Quality, Despite the Challenges

A public-private partnership with clear leadership, direction, and focus on results is not only necessary but urgently needed.
Get educated and involved. Research online and other resources already available
http://www.mathscore.com; http://www.discoverychannel.com Discovery Channel Resources, unitedstreaming.com
Believe that you can make a difference acting locally, impacting globally, sharing your time, talent and dollars.
The problem is immense, so break it down into smaller pieces. Develop a clarity of path on specific actions to be taken; Focus on the big picture, what really matters; Join forces with like-minded, passionate individuals who are committed to make changes and with the knowledge, skills, resources to make a difference.
We can learn from how others how other cultures Countries that invest in their children are investing in the economic future of their country. Example: although Ethiopian children may not have shoes, there is an investment in computers at their schools because the community leaders recognize that the education of these children will allow them to meet their basic needs and well beyond that.
Do not compare ourselves to ourselves, look cross-culturally success stories and emulate the working models. Example, in Sweden, schools are well funded, they are the hub of a community. There is cross-age tutoring where children teach their grandparents computer skills for example.
Influence policy to make sustainable changes for our educational system. (FountainBlue will have a follow-up event on this topic.)

We invite your comments.

Managing Organizational Change for Today’s Leaders

2006-08-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Notes for FountainBlue Presentation 8/24/06
by Pat Obuchowski

How can we, as change leaders, manage change and what skills do we need to make the change smooth (as much as is possible)?

According to William Bridges, author of Managing Transitions, when management introduces change, it needs to provide employees with the four P’s: the Purpose (the reason behind the change), the Picture (what will the expected outcome look like?), the Plan (how will we get from here to there), and the Part (what part will the employees play?).

Involve everyone…especially yourself. Jump in….you must be involved.
Clear sense of purpose and mission. The simpler the better.
Be Committed as the leader
Be the watchdog and fire up people for support
Find Allies and Build ‘Change Champions’ and "Paradigm shifters" in your top managers and others. Do not leave it up to HR to manage this change
Maintain a flat organization team structure. Rely on minimal and informal reporting requirements
Make plans, but hold your plans loosely. Know they may need to change
Build a cross-functional team to monitor the change and to see where the problems are.
Ask for volunteers. You’ll be surprised at who will show up. This team is a great place to put the ‘nay-sayers’ of the change.
Remember resistance is a natural part of change. People fear uncertainty. The questions always arise: Why do we have to change if the old way is working? What will happen to me after the change? What if I don’t fit into the new way? What if I become obsolete?
Deal with questions honestly and if you don’t know…say so.
Acknowledge people’s fears. Let them get used to the new situation and encourage and reinforce them for their efforts. Don’t force acceptance.
Realize there’s a tension between getting ready for the change and implementing quickly.
Don’t stretch out the ‘getting ready’ phase.
Win Employee’s support Provide considerable amounts of training and staff development for those involved. These activities can include everything from skills training to ‘on-the-move’ coaching.
Be flexible and toss out the rule book. You must have the ability to drop what you’re doing and move to something more critical. Treat everything as a temporary measure. During this time, it is.
Find a common language.
Reward ‘problem finding’. (Fred Nikols, Change Management 101) A situation requiring action but in which the required action is not known. (Problem vs. opportunity) Identify and settle on a course of action.
Concentrate dispersed knowledge. Start and maintain an ‘issues’ log. Let anyone go anywhere and talk about anything. Keep communications barriers low and information flowing fast.
Treat everything as temporary. Don’t ‘finalize’ until the last minute and then insist on your right to change your mind.
Be prepared for implementation dip. Know things often get worse temporarily before improvement begins to appear.
Assess. Assess. Assess. Keep assessing the situation. Keep assessing what’s being said and what’s not being said. Keep assessing your effectiveness as a change leader.
Acknowledge the mess. Remember, managing change is about bringing order to a messy situation. It is not a time to pretend that it is already organized and disciplined.
If things look chaotic, relax! Trust they are.
Reinforce the change. Some people may relax back into old ways. Keep the pressure up until you are sure the new habits are well-established.

CONCLUSION: How do you Manage Change? The same way you’d manage anything else of a turbulent, messy, chaotic nature. You don’t really manage it, you grapple with it. It’s more a matter of leadership ability than management skill.
QUOTE by Robert C. Gallagher: "Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine."
QUOTE by Andre Gide "One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Other Words of Advice on Managing Change from the Executives in attendance at the 8/24/06 meeting:

Create Trust and Credibility with Frequent and Honest Communications (needs to happen first)
Look to the leader to drive change:
Leaders Articulate the Vision
Vision comes from the top, tactics from the bottom
Leaders Change course as necessary
Leaders Plan and prepare but are flexible
Leaders Walk the talk
Get Buy-In
Explain why change needs to happen
Consider 'WIIFM', the 'What's In It for Me' Syndrome
Roles and Responsibilities
Road Map
Mutual Benefits
Leaders consider multiple factors when managing change - Consider the size and state of the organization when managing/planning/executing change
There's a difference between collaborative and unilateral change

Sustainable IT Practices

2006-08-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sustainable IT Practices for Today's Executives

by Linda Holroyd, FountainBlue

the Facilitator and Panelists for the August 18, 2006 Connections Event,

Stuart Robbins of CIO Collective, Madhukar Govindaraju, SVP of Engineering for Certive, former VP of Engineering for Hyperion and Usha Sekar, former CIO of Fujitsu America and CEO of CriaTec

and Event Attendees

The executives in Silicon Valley see first-hand how technology is impacting the day-to-day business operations for their organizations. As we evolve from an age of data (a computer science term representing numerical or other information represented in a form suitable for processing by computer) into the age of information (a computer science term for processed, stored, or transmitted data), we will be asked to manage increasingly larger volumes of data: from storing the data itself, to recovering the data as necessary, to proactively planning for the networking infrastructure so that data can be shared efficiently and to securing the data and managing who has access to the data. Indeed, proactively managing who has what type of access to important data and information will become increasingly important not just for CIOs and other technical executives within organizations, but also for senior executives in general.

Below is advice and suggestions from the panelists, facilitators and audience for the August 18 FountainBlue Connections event on Sustainable IT Practices.

Definition of sustainability: ability to meet the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow.

When planning or executing your IT practices, consider people, process, technology and environmental needs (including the global impact of your activities).
Lead your teams effectively: Deal with the people issues!

* Develop consensus on the criteria for success within specific timeframes and continually measure results

* Foster cooperation between people, teams, partners and other stakeholders

* Model the way

* Engage your stakeholders, communicate the reasons for planning and execution, forge consensus/buy-in, manage for success

Proactively develop and encourage a commitment to best practices for today and tomorrow, while efficiently responding to the needs of today.

* Start with the desired and measurable outcome and work backwards

* Consider factors such as reliability, security, inter-operability, etc., and the requirements now and expected requirements in the future based on changing business and technology needs

* Understand the clustering of skillsets, draw out the best in individuals and teams

* Investigate actual results of implementation - did it go as planned, why or why not? Were the requirements accurately reflecting the needs of the customer?

Accountability is important when trying to raise quality standards

* Consider corporate, industry-wide, and other expectations for software vs hardware for example. Consider also how you will hold your team accountable to a higher standard, and how to motivate your team to achieve those standards.

* A culture-wide shift on software quality expectations may be long in coming, but developing a higher quality standard more on par with hardware standards may improve your company's brand.

Be flexible in design and execution

* With the additional complexity and challenges today, flexibility is 10 times more important than it was ten years ago.

* Put the processes, tools, resources in place to change quickly based on changing requirements.

* Measure your responsiveness to change.

Balance bottom-line pressures with sustainable business practices
Remain in touch with the needs of the customer

* Example: take a 'cow's-eye-view' when designing a product for a cow.

* Leverage focus groups for current customers and prospects and partners

Putting it Together: Plan for changing technology and business requirements, based on the needs of the market and the customers, and remain flexible in your IT strategy and execution.

We invite your comments, additions and suggestions. For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz or get Stuart's new book
Lessons in Grid Computing: The System Is a Mirror.

Managing Change for Today's Leaders

2006-08-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

Comments by Pat Obuchowski, CEO of inVisionaria

“After you’ve done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over.”

This quote is by Alfred Edward Perlman (1902-1983). This was a man who knew about change. He is known as one of the 20th Century’s most respected and admired railroaders. He restored the bankrupt Denver & Rio Grande to profitability, held a technically insolvent New York Central together until the merger with Penn Central, spent aggressively on modernizing the Penn Central and positioned Western Pacific for merger into the Union Pacific.

I think if Perlman was to quote this in today’s business environment it would probably read six months, one year and two years respectively.

We all know change is inevitable. We may not like it, but it’s going to happen and we should be prepared for it, especially if we’re the ones to “throw it away and start all over”. So, how can we, as change leaders, manage change and what skills do we need to make the change smooth (as much as is possible)?

According to William Bridges, author of Managing Transitions, when management introduces change, it needs to provide employees with the four P’s: the Purpose (the reason behind the change), the Picture (what will the expected outcome look like?), the Plan (how will we get from here to there), and the Part (what part will the employees play?).

As change leaders we must involve everyone. People must see that the leaders are totally committed before they fully buy into the change. We must be the watchdogs and fire up people to support the change by spreading the word and cheerleading.

Build a cross-functional team to monitor the change and to see where the problems are. Ask for volunteers. You’ll be surprised at who will show up. This team is a great place to put the ‘nay-sayers’ of the change. Some of the most valuable input can be found among these allies and being a part of the change may change them into full supporters.

Remember resistance is a natural part of change. In our current environments, people fear uncertainty. The questions always arise: Why do we have to change if the old way is working? What will happen to me after the change? What if I don’t fit into the new way? What if I become obsolete? Deal with these questions honestly and if you don’t know…say so.

Acknowledge people’s fears. Let them get used to the new situation and encourage and reinforce them for their efforts.

Be flexible. You must have the ability to drop what you’re doing and move to something more critical. Treat everything as a temporary measure. During this time, it is.

Assess. Assess. Assess. Keep assessing the situation. Keep assessing what’s being said and what’s not being said. Keep assessing your effectiveness as a change leader.

Acknowledge the mess. Remember, managing change is about bringing order to a messy situation. It is not a time to pretend that it is already organized and disciplined.

And remember, in the words of Robert C. Gallagher: “Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.”

You are cordially invited to an interactive discussion facilitated by Pat Obuchowski on Thursday, August 24 from 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Bay Café Clubhouse,1875 Embarcadero Rd, Palo Alto, CA. To register, visit http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=104191.

Global Perspectives

2006-08-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

We are fortunate to live in the Silicon Valley, a region that rich in diversity in people, in cultures, in economic backgrounds. In the best companies here, we celebrate the diversity in our workplace and leverage our differences to spawn innovation in technology and in our business processes and systems.

We can now reap the benefits of the acceleration of technological development and leverage the established software and hardware infrastructure to communicate quickly to others around the world via voice, computers and videos. Indeed, leveraging the existing communications infrastructure and establishing presences and partnerships worldwide unquestionably gives companies a competitive advantage and it has become a business requirement for success.

The successful global corporation celebrates the up-sides of our global world:

A diverse, creative and distributed workforce
Vendors, partners, customers, ambassadors and other supporters throughout the world
Coordinated roles and responsibilities for all advocates leveraging strength of skills and resources and synergies between partners
Optimal and sustainable output - tangible and intangible results
and other benefits.

But it is a fine line between those global successes and the down-side of having global relationships:

Diversity in the workforce creates factions and silos who compete rather than collaborate
Confusion in roles and responsibilities where people feel threatened by other advocates working for the same cause
Distributed workforce and partner base without the processes and systems and leadership in place to overcome time zone, cultural, management and other issues
Compromised productivity for lack of leadership, coordination and cooperation
Unsustainable successes due to combinations of the above and other challenges.

It is a given that any organization endeavoring a global presence needs to balance the up-sides and the down-sides and optimize for short-term and long-term results. Please join us for an event which explores 'Global Perspectives', which features

Facilitator Catherine Zinn, Client Development Executive, DLA Piper http://www.dlapiper.com, who will facilitate a panel on the topic of Global Perspectives. An accomplished business professional and sales executive, Catherine focuses on developing new business and providing exceptional service to her clients throughout the world. As the facilitator, Catherine will share DLA's perspective on trends and directions in international business in the context of how it will impact the men and women leaders of today and tomorrow.
Panelist Catherine Ngo, General Partner, Startup Capital Ventures http://www.StartupCV.com, who will present her perspective as an experienced finance and management executive. In her current role as a venture capitalist, Catherine focuses on investments in start-ups in Silicon Valley and China. Throughout her career as a finance and operations executive and venture capitalist, Catherine has generously supported the development of leaders.
Panelist Michelle Messina, CEO of Explora International http://www.ExploraInternational.com, who will share her extensive experience consulting with companies both locally and internationally. Michelle takes pride in actively supporting the Silicon Valley business community as they develop business overseas and vice versa. She is optimistic about the synergistic business opportunities in our increasingly interconnected world.

To register for this event, visit http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=112599 by Thursday, August 10.

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Strategic Execution for Today's Executives

2006-07-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Comments by Dave Mathisen, The Virnoche-Frigon Group, a Merrill Lynch Company david_mathisen@ml.com

Inability to perceive the real threat –
An unwillingness to change the plan to adapt to new developments –
Inexplicable failure by those at a critical point to take action without being told to do so –

Do these descriptions characterize any organizations you have been a part of? What would you do if they did?

The Army’s National Training Center, in the deserts of Southern California (only a few miles from Death Valley), is home to some of the most severe and honest critics of tactics and unit performance in the world. Sunburned and leathery from spending countless days and nights in open hmmwv’s bouncing across the desert floor and the arid ridges observing battalion after battalion confronting an experienced enemy in intense force-on-force exercises, these “observer-controllers” have names like “Scorpion Team,” “Tarantulas,” and “Sidewinder Zero-Seven.” They compile “trends” describing negative patterns that they see over and over again, so that tactical commanders can benefit from a long-term perspective and address known issues that are critical to success in the fluid and hostile environment of the battlefield. One of the trends they identified and began outlining in the early 1990s included the shortcomings at the top of this page. If those sound at all familiar to you, then you may appreciate the paradigm that tactical commanders use in the fluid environment of combat and training for combat.

The parallels between the challenges the Army trains for and the challenges a business faces are striking: both require individuals and groups to navigate rapidly changing environments, making decisions with imperfect information, for extremely high stakes. Some of the systems and techniques that evolved over several years out of the intense pressure of the Army’s most realistic training may have applications that go far beyond the barren deserts of California.

One of the paradigms I learned in the military that I think has an incredible amount of utility not only in tactics but also in business in Silicon Valley and beyond is the concept of “Situational Awareness” – having a true picture of the situation (your own unit, the terrain, and the enemy). The concept itself is not a new one, but the ability to have it is so rare that those who develop it to a high degree are often described as having an extra sense (such as Napoleon’s “coup d’oeil” – the “strike of the eye” – or Rommel’s “fingerspitzengefuhl” – “fingertip-feel” for the battlefield). What systems of techniques exist to heighten this ability in ourselves, those we lead in business, and in companies themselves?

Applications of the battlefield concept of Situational Awareness to the business world are virtually unlimited. For example, a company might perceive its major competition to be coming from one source, and be completely surprised by competition that comes from an entirely different technology. Agreement on the true situation is rare: within any group or organization (or market), there will be individuals who believe the situation to be completely the opposite from one another.

· The Department of Justice, for example, might argue that a potential merger between two telecom players could create a monopoly situation, when in fact technology has created alternative business models that threaten the very existence of both of the merging players.
· At $80 per share, some informed market participants will argue that the price of Technology Company X is a terrific bargain, because the company will probably grow earnings by at least 35% per year for the next three years, while other observers will argue that $80 is the best time to get out of the stock, because the real future growth is probably going to slow to 10%, and is further threatened by some political factor that makes the true situation even more hazardous to the company’s business model.
· If you are leading a sales team, your correct vision of the true situation regarding the power structure at a new customer company could lead to success, if you have correctly perceived the situation and taken appropriate action, while failing to perceive the correct situation could result in an unexpected disaster.

On Thursday July 27 from 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Dave Mathisen will be facilitating a conversation on 'Strategic Execution for Today's Executives' incorporating concepts about situational awareness developed through his extensive training in the army. To register, visit
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=104181.

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

An Exit Strategy for the Rest of Us

2006-07-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

An Exit Strategy for the Rest of Us, by Mike Jones, Managing Director with Onyx Associates mikejones@onyxassociates.com.

We’ve all heard the mouth-watering stories of the entrepreneurial dream. A fledgling startup gets acquired by a large tech company for an astounding sum of money. Yahoo acquires Flickr for a rumored $30 to $35 million. Ebay acquires Skype for $2.6 billion.

If you are an entrepreneur or executive with a burning ambition to sell your company and become a legend, by all means, go for it.

But let’s face it, such largesse is not available to everyone. Home run hitters will need a hot technology that stands to make orders-of-magnitude advancements over the status quo. The potential market for your solution needs to be enormous and growing. Customers will gladly purchase your product frequently and repeatedly. Even with all of that, the odds are stacked against achieving a dream buy out deal. And IPO’s certainly aren’t for everyone.

So what about the rest of us? There are loads of solid technology companies with marketable products that solve genuine problems, and (gasp) make good money doing so!

If your company falls into this category, I offer some sage advice for preparing for the eventual sale of your company.

A wise deal maker once told me, “The best thing a business owner can do to prepare to sell a company is continue to run the business the best they can.” Strive to become a dominate force in your market. And don’t forget the fundamentals: Increase sales, manage expenses, and improve the customer experience.

Here are some examples for your M&A toolbox:

* Pursue moves that strengthen your core business. Eliminate unprofitable products or lines of business.
* Raise Prices (thoughtfully): Small increases in product price can result in large increases in business value.
* Reduce labor (thoughtfully): Take advantage of lower cost global resources when it makes sense.
* Manage your IP carefully: The last thing a buyer wants is to find out you are selling something you don’t own! Consider open source code - make sure you can document your rights and obligations.
* Eliminate unnecessary expenditures or over-generous benefits: Do you really need that Gulfstream?
* Take action to realize the value of unrelated businesses or under-utilized assets, before the sale! A buyer of your company won’t pay for them, but someone else might.
* Invest in management. Tie in key employees and provide performance incentives.
* Improve key business processes. Help your employees do their jobs better, faster and cheaper.
* Review accounting policies. Buyers, especially public companies, expect your books to be air tight.

Any surprises on this list? Hopefully not. But as any entrepreneur will tell you, the devil is in the details. And execution is easier said than done.

Want to discuss the topic of mergers and acquisitions in more detail? I invite you to contact me at mikejones@onyxassociates.com.

I also invite you to attend FountainBlue's Connections event, Successful Mergers & Acquisitions: What Does It Take? on Friday, July 21, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Fenwick & West LLP in Mountain View. I’ll be facilitating a panel of expert deal makers:

* Ken Gonzalez, VP Corporate Development, McAfee
* Andrew Luh, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions Group, Fenwick & West
* Dave Petroni, Advisor to Valchemy, Inc., former VP Corporate Development, PeopleSoft
* Frank Young, Private Equity Investor and CEO, PsPrint.com

To register, visit http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=104706.

Mike Jones is a Managing Director with Onyx Associates, a mergers and acquisitions services firm. You can visit the Onyx website at www.onyxassociates.com.

For more information about FountainBlue, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Empowering Others

2006-07-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

In my leadership and management experience, I've run across two major types of leaders: those who believe in empowering others who work with you, for you and around you, and those who are less empowering and collaborative and often think that he/she must lead alone.

It does take a confident leader to bring out the best in others, to leverage the strength of those around them, and to keep a razor-like focus on the goal at hand while remaining fluid on how objectives are achieved, and rallying key stakeholders and other advocates around the common cause.

There is little doubt that in today's increasingly interconnected and global economy, the collaborative and empowering leader is better positioned for success. Factors such as the increased pace of the business world, the diversification of the workforce, and the intricacies and complexities of today's business and technology challenges will continue to favor the collaborative and empowering leader.

But if you agree that becoming more collaborative and empowering as a leader is the right thing to do, ask yourself some questions:

How good are you at empowering those around you?
Who has empowered you to reach your current level of achievement and how did he/she do so?
When you lead, how will you strike a balance between empowering, guiding and supporting those you work with in order: to give others confidence and respect, to collaboratively leverage the team's influence and strengths and to challenge the whole team to reach for the next level of excellence?
What specific steps can you take to improve?

I invite you to share your stories about empowering others in the business context through this blog or through e-mail to info@FountainBlue.biz.

I also invite you to attend FountainBlue's next "When She Speaks" Women in Leadership Series which is on the topic of Empowering Others and features Sally Pera of PeraConnect as the facilitator, and Ysabel Duron of KRON and Cindy Padnos of Outlook Ventures as panelists. Sally, Ysabel and Cindy will share their perspectives and insights on Empowering Others as well as their words of advice.

The event is scheduled for Friday, July 14 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at UCSC Extension in Cupertino on Bubb Road. To register, visit http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=110444.

Leaving a Legacy

2006-06-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

When I started the series last month, I thought that ‘Leaving a Legacy’ would be a great topic for women in leadership positions, for it encourages us to consider not just who has made it easier for us to lead today, but also how we are making it easier for the women who follow us.

When I think about women who have broken new ground for women to be successful in Silicon Valley, I consider the first women in traditional male career, like the first certified American doctor, Elizabeth Blackwell, one of the first women pilots, Amelia Earhart, and the first American woman in space, Sally Ride. It must have been so much more difficult for them to overcome the physical and intellectual demands of their positions while facing the doubts, fear and resistance of people motivated to maintain the status quo and people who are fearful of change.

I also consider the work of suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Emmeline Pankhurst, and of course freedom-fighters like Harriet Tubman. They dared to make a stand for the rights of men and women, suffering person hardship, but ultimately changing our policies, our laws and even our social norms.

I am also grateful for Silicon Valley women in leadership today – from the early women VCs to the heads of major corporations, to the senior executives we have each worked with in our career. And to each of you, if I have had a conversation with you, there was something that I took away from that conversation which has impacted the way that I communicate and lead. Thank you.

With the success of yourselves and many other women, we as leaders can stand on their shoulders and see farther, dream bigger and reach higher.

I have invited Ann Tardy of LifeMoxie and Jennifer Rowe of Community Foundation Silicon Valley to help us as we think further about who has broken the ground for us in our personal and professional lives and how we will leave an impression and forge a new path for those who follow us. Below is my advice, along with that of Ann and Jennifer for Leaving a Legacy:

Legacies don't have to be big gifts.
It's the little things that you do that could leave a legacy - The things you do for your spouse, parents, children, co-workers, grocery store workers, etc.,
Consider who you would use for your reference. What would they say about you and what do you hope that they say about you?
Take a leap of faith, a chance to live a tale-telling life, a story worth telling! Don't put on blinders.
A legacy is not always positive. But when it's not, forgive yourself, and forgive others who have left negative impressions on you.
Dare to dream a bigger dream.
Celebrate your progress together.
Share your stories.

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Overcoming Adversity

2006-06-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

There are heroes in our midst, men and women who have the passion, integrity and persistence to make a stand for something they believe in and inspire the rest of us to think that we too can make a difference. FountainBlue’s When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series brings quality men and women in our community together and celebrate leadership, build bonds with fellow men and women in support of leadership, and help us all think critically about how we can communicating and leading today.

This post's theme is ‘overcoming adversity’ – a perfect theme to launch our series. The dictionary says that adversity is ‘A state of hardship or affliction; misfortune’ or a ‘calamitous event’. But the word ‘adversity’ means different things to different people. It could be a physical handicap or affliction, whether it’s a congenital condition or the result of an accident or disease. Worse yet is the physical limitations people suffer as victims of continuing physical abuse. I am personally inspired by the people who proactively meet these challenges and tell a victorious tale.

But more common than physical adversity are the challenges of emotional hardships and misfortunes. Many of us have experienced sub-optimal relationships which are emotionally challenging. Many of us are in a web of ties with people we regularly interact with who are not bringing out the best in us. And almost every woman I’ve ever met are even harder on themselves than others are about them.
My objective for this session is to identify the challenges we are each facing in our everyday lives, and think critically about what we can change in our circumstances and in our mindsets to empower ourselves to overcome emotional adversity, caused by ourselves or those around us, and to come out stronger for the experience.

My personal story is really about overcoming the difficult and challenging circumstances in my life. In my early childhood, I was faced with the challenge of overcoming the extreme poverty and also navigating the language and cultural hurdles of acclimating to the American culture. Through college and into adulthood, I faced the financial, emotional and educational challenges of making my own way in the world: learning from my academic and hands-on experience, succeeding in challenging work situations, and running and building two self-funded businesses.

My words of advice from these experiences are below for your reference.

Follow You Heart
Lead with Integrity
Have Courage
It's All In Your Attitude
Keep Raising the Bar
Leverage Your Strengths
Persistence Pays
Learn from Your Mistakes, Forgive Others for Theirs
Collaboration is Key
Celebrate Your Successes and Enjoy the Ride

I invite all of you to share your stories, your learnings and your advice to others. May we all benefit from the experience of others!