Foundersight

The Heart of Teamwork

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:39:35 -0700

Let’s face it, you think you’ll remember what you’re reading in 5 minutes, but try to write it down and you’ll see the glaring differences: in life, we hardly know what each other is saying. How is it then that we ever get anything done together?

Consider that Relatedness is an essential, often ignored, ingredient: who am I for people? who are you for people? what is the stand we take together that is larger than each other? Divorce would never come up if the couple had a shared sense of the contribution the marriage makes to the world.

One can establish such affinity by my getting in the other person’s world, by recreating in conversation what he/she is up to. If we both stand for the same vision, that’s all that will be needed for joint progress. No love is necessary; actually, it’s only a nice to have. I’ll get your back, and you’ll get mine.

This is what the French expressed when they gifted Lady Liberty to America. We still find them weird, but we did save their ass from the Nazis. And they did take a stand for our values after 9/11, more than our populous comprehended.

The Truth about Politeness

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:06:03 -0700

Polite, was the first word I looked up in the English dictionary as a 7-year-old, after my grandparents came back from their trip to the UK; curiously it does not have a direct translation into Spanish.

My hat goes off to the ancient British that come up with this lens for what is in a conversation. In essence, politeness is a call to let go of our egoic trips that have us absent to what is being really said to us.

The wag of my finger to the British for not living up to their Politeness Enlightenment, reducing it to fake reproductions of “after you”. Even worse, politeness is the currency that distinguishes the good guys--some version of “us” the in crowd--from the rest. Thus, England endures a class-divided country.

The Purpose of Life

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:41:33 -0700

If you Get this, give me a call as I’d like to salute you--in the Inner Game of Tennis, Timothy Gallwey summons:
Life “...becomes an interesting device in which each player, by making his maximum effort to win, gives the other the opportunity he desires to reach new levels of self-awareness”

Lance Armstrong’s Coach of Little Help

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:50:59 -0700

Speaking with Lance’s coach Chris Carmichael, it became clear that he is of “little help” in getting Lance in-the-zone.

Lance’s inflection point triggering his second comeback occurred in Beach Mountain; yet nothing had changed: same bike, diet, coach, knowledge. But that day, Lance’s lonely training ride in the rain had an intensity of none other before. And Chris couldn’t explain what made all the difference. There was already nothing left for Lance to achieve for himself at that point, with 3 Tour de France’s wins.

Upon some further digging, U2’s Bono had created Lance in conversation as the possibility that LiveStrong, his cancer foundation, make a big difference for millions of people in the world.

Consider that this intention alone is what gets Lance into Excellence.

America’s Collective Consciousness

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:52:26 -0700

This summer I joined the Portola Valley Softball League, and for the first time experienced the country’s consciousness, when a teammate excitedly congratulated me: for a great play, the team performed--in which I had no role whatsoever.

One wonders why such unity of purpose is hard to see around healthcare.

Where are You From?

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:18:28 -0700

Sandy Kreisberg, who helped me get into MIT Sloan and University of Chicago MBAs some years ago put it best: when they read your essays, they want to see themselves in the mirror.

Such is the spirit behind the most typical question asked between new acquaintances, no matter where I’ve traveled in the world, from cab drivers to CEOs.

The expected answer: place of birth, city of residence, company of employment--all reflections of the past.

Consider that a stand for a possible future is as rare a commodity among us humans, as life itself.

Do you Like Me?

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 18:51:54 -0700

For entrepreneurs looking for angel investment, the answer to this question casts the future of their companies and lives. In an attempt to close the deal, what comes out them is totally counter productive behavior: convincing that the vision is right, resisting feedback to the contrary, prevailing in disagreements, controlling what and when should be known about the company, and of course trying to force the investment to happen.

Consider that you have no ability to impact whether people like you or not. In four seconds, one is cast within a pre-existing point of view that the investor took a whole life to build. And even, that one’s own view of what the investor will like is cast in one’s own history as well. (Nerds think of “malloc”, all memory allocation that enlivens a software program shows up within the oft implicit coding for this function).

That’s right, my sun does not rise or set on whether you like me or not; actually, I will never really know.

Where that leaves me is totally present to you, and who you truly are, and me, as I veritably am. Able to create any future I imagine, without any fear to enroll you in continuing to materialize it. It will either compel you to invest, or not. I am in peace with that, Ron Conway.

The True Cause of The Crash

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:07:09 -0700

In America, society identifies with capitalism: down with socialized medicine, damn the Europeans with their leftist tendencies. America is about efficiency, it’s about profits, one’s benefits that is. We all ruthlessly strive for higher stock prices, not realizing that almost every one of us is an expense line to the corporation employing us. Where does that leave you in a recession? At best paralyzed in fear, not in the freedom that is your birthright, certainly not at cause in your life.

We mistakenly draw the dividing line between what’s good and bad around ourselves, or at best our core family and good friends. The years of the housing bubble evidence innumerable entities and individuals, in this case in the financial system, at the service of their own profit, ultimately at any cost to others. Clearly, we’re all paying for the crash that ensued. Irresponsible individuals...and surely capitalist maestro Greenspan, empowered by George W. Bush, is to blame: he made it possible for such phenomenal bubble to build and burst. Or are they?

Consider that what really happened is that novel financial instruments allowed people to create new opportunities in their life. As a society, we created, created, and created; and payed the mortgage, until we reached a clear limit and couldn’t anymore. Contemplate that what truly occurred is that the pop capitalist in every one of us carried a disregard for others, that ultimately limited what we saw as possible in our own futures. Each one of those foreclosures is an example of expected income that was not brought about.

Let’s declare into existence that everyone have plenty in their lives, keeping this intention alive as though our own life depends on it; giving up our inflexible allegiance to a stale definition of America.

Jeff Bazos Wisdom

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:48:23 -0700

As crisply delivered by him, around the Zappos acquisition by Amazon:
1) Obsess Over Customers: not competitors
2) Invent: create on behalf of people
3) Think Long Term: be willing to be misunderstood
4) It is Always Day 1

The Limit of Science, Humanity, and Self

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:21:53 -0700

The scientific method, third party validation, is fundamentally limited: only material conditions and results can be conferred by other people. Outside the scope are individual experiences, that may be lived by one or another person, but that can not be observed by others--meditation being one of them.

But even within the external, science can and does have blind spots; Darwin played around with bones of sea animals in the middle of continents for years before he was able to see the possibility of the evolution of the species from sea to land. Today, there is no question about it, besides in the annals of religious dogma.

Consider that such blindness is not unique to Science, but rather that it is intrinsic to humanity. That one may or may not be conscious of the agendas that are driving one. On a level one may be trying to achieve an agreed objective, and on another one may and will sabotage it. Why?

Being right is one, as a species we love to own the truth, which often happens to be agreeable to our peers, and based on past experiences and concepts (say the Biology that Darwin and scientists of his time studied in college). Contemplating the possibility that one may be wrong is not just a virtue that we could all agree on, particularly during a fight, but also a major access to producing results beyond one’s wildest imagination.

The Secret to Venture Success

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:03:57 -0700

Speaking with Savinay Berry of Granite Ventures, the limitations of startups started by top silicon valley entrepreneurs and backed by elite sand hill venture capital became clear. The tell-tale sign: by the time companies reach a Series C, the entrepreneurs’ equity in the ventures is often so diluted, that additional compensation is essential to keep the founders motivated. This leaves investors hesitating on the viability of the company altogether.

Why is this? Stories on failures try to explain it: inexperienced team, immature technology, no market developed, etc. Capitalists often account for this by assuming that maturing a company will take 50% longer and require twice as much cash as anticipated in the business plan. Regardless, entrepreneurs blame investors for ending up dry, too much equity demanded for each installment of cash. The occasional common ground found between, that only big meaningful visions should be pursued, falls short of explaining the scarcity that founders find themselves in--and their companies by extension--even after a few stages of expansion.

Consider that none of this is really at the source of the matter. Rather, that making money is the result of one and principally one thing: giving all one can to others. Seeing ourselves giving big is the gateway to seeing ourselves receiving huge.

Has the potential investor given all he can to his portfolio CEOs, boards, fellow VCs in the past? Has the founder given all he can to his family, friends, jobs? A mutual yes would be a smart match no matter anything else.

Destined for Greatness

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 02:22:29 -0700

Fame or Fortune? At the Woodside Junior Rodeo sure looked like neither for this rider. Be a stand for your vision I say, falling looks worse than it actually is. This teenager just dusted off and walked home to plan his next event.

Quantum Clean

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:36:39 -0700

In Clean, a new book, Alejandor Junger M.D. invites us to be in the zone as we de-tox. Providing a complete nutritional program that safely eliminates environmental toxins from one’s body, this month-long program proves that we never have and never will feel hunger in developed society. With all needs met, still one’s mind recalls memories justifying the next meal, as if our survival depended on it. Junger proposes that we meditate and give up the mind’s interpretation of the present moment as hunger. This has transformed me: with a whole new level of energy that I never knew was possible, powered by a profound new taste for organic foods--freedom from the constraints of previous eating habits. Having enjoyed whole foods and consistent exercise for several years, I never expected Clean to make such a big difference in my life.

Grand Entrance

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:39:41 -0700

In one of our most profound conversations, Mr. Scandalous Entrepreneur seen here at his wedding, shared with me the importance of relating to everyone, no matter their stage on the path to Enlightenment.

Achieving Excellence

Sun, 24 May 2009 01:32:06 -0700

Many truths are elusive to me, one that I’ve been playing with is that behind every complain hides the possibility to excel. What I’ve discovered is that it’s easier to complain than to fix what’s wrong, to stay quiet rather than rock the boat, be bothered by somebody else’s point of view without being aware of my own certainty. A new degree of freedom is born out of this consciousness, a possibility to create that was not there before.

Star Gazing in California

Wed, 13 May 2009 13:31:16 -0700

A pathetic new TV ad tag lines “Find yourself in California”, and unfortunately features Arnold Schwarzenegger, his wife Maria Shriver, and Robert Lowe. OK, we get the point about LA, but to watch real stars we need only look at Nature.

Google Being Evil

Fri, 8 May 2009 19:36:11 -0700

It is sad to see this iconic company provide self-serving--and often downright intentionally misleading--advise to its Adwords customers:

“To improve your ad delivery, you may want to raise your daily budget since it directly affects your ad delivery. If your budget is set below the recommended budget, your ads may not receive all possible impressions. Learn more about modifying your daily budget. Another solution is to adjust your delivery settings to standard or accelerated delivery.”

Average Meg Whitman

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:55:08 -0700

Today I run into Meg, right by Shreve & Co. There was a chilly breeze, she walked like a scaredy cat, just like everyone else.

Kill Possibility

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:04:51 -0700

The death of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the guerrilla instrumental in Castro taking Cuba, came by the hand of the Bolivian army, as he tried to combat capitalistic oppression in several underdeveloped countries. Illuminating that moment, when the picture above emerged, Che’s Afterlife takes us into how reality is shaped by our own--and society’s--invention.

While Che foretold his own death, and it was clearly going to come early given his ventures, I can’t help but imagine that he took it with some degree of surprise. As he lived the possibility of a world that does not exploit the poor, he couldn’t have entirely anticipated the absolute fear that this inspires in the mainstream.

Passing the Ball

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:07:12 -0700

Adolfo Cambiasso beams so bright that in this game the competition shied from chasing him closely. In the middle of this aggressive 360 degree turn, he showcases one of the attributes that makes him the number one player in the world. His horse galloping, the ball a split second away, AC turned his head a full 150 degrees off to the right; culminating in a beautiful pass to a teammate, who scored. Critical to this success surely were conversations between AC and his team, where it became clear that his dominance would only lead to the others’ success; easily, they could have felt obfuscated rather than promoted.