Now’s the time to Kick Ass!

Every now and then a comment you say or hear just hits you… I was tweeting away on Twitter and said the following comment:

“Small” is the new “Big” in the global economy. Big is slow, small is fast!

Now I realize that this is a hugely gross generalization etc, but there was some depth to it. Many of the people I talk to in the software realm (many are CEO’s of small/med co’s) are massively feeling the pinch. Sales are down, traffic, expenses up etc.  But there’s one thing that stands out. Few of them seem to realize that they have a competitive advantage in being small.

They are able to rapidly change product development, marketing approaches, simplify and automate admin and processes etc.

They’re not so big that reviewing expenses is a a chore, ie: Now’s a good time to review hosting providers, communications providers as they’re not ‘pinned down’ by the administrative and bureaucratic weight of 100,000+ customers.

This is a fantastic time to tweak product or brand focus, trim expenses or change strategic direction. The big players in the market can’t make such changes easily due to the huge bureaucracy, process and resource headaches that follow.

The small can move faster and position themselves better in the market, and the market is definitely changing. Those who don’t adapt will be affected. Small and fast is good!

Anyway, then I got this reply from a fellow tweeter:

“Know the feeling – this is ass kicking time!”

And that got me thinking about recent conversations I’d had with other software CEO’s and another thing became apparent. Almost all of the ones I’d talked to were on the defensive rather than the offensive with their businesses. The world economy is hammering them and they’re standing in the corner protecting what they have.

Where’s the fight? This is a time to take the offensive. Don’t just ’stop doing stuff’, rather have a good think and do ‘more stuff’ and ‘different stuff’! This is your business! your passion! your life! You may have staff depending on you or a user base that depend on you. These people need you to not just pay their wage or keep the service going, but you have to do more! You need to push forward, build the business, get it financially healthy! Work late! Make smart decisions! Try new things!

If you don’t fight for your business in this economy, nobody else will, and there is only so long you can keep up a brave front before the stamina runs dry!

So, in a business sense, this is not ‘Defensive’ time, but rather it’s an ‘Offensive, Ass Kicking!’ time. Have fun and grow in the face of adversity!

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About the author:
Julian Stone, CEO – Project Management Software visionary for:
ProActive Software, ProWorkflow, ProWorkflow Blog & Julian101
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ProActive Software’s CEO, Julian Stone designed the www.proworkflow.com solution about 5-6 years ago with help from Co-founder Alan Barlow (his surf blog). I (Julian) tend to keep a fairly low profile commercially although can be occasionally found being social on Twitter, LinkedIn, FaceBook the ProWorkflow blog and of course my personal blog Julian101.

Here’s a few random facts you’d never have known about me.

1. I’m a ‘Workshop Guy‘ and spend many hours a week tinkering in my shed building awesome toys and gadgets! I built this years Christmas presents, a rechargeable paddock stereo for Sarah and boat/trailer for Jackson as well as Cookie cutters for the family!
2. Fly fishing is my real passion and I love nothing more than stalking a fat trout up a back country river or lake!
3. My background is 15 years as a creative in advertising, design, 3d and multimedia. This is where I originally saw the need to the ProWorkflow solution.
4. As a fussy creative, I still to this day do ALL of the creative and branding work for www.ProWorkflow.com and always plan to.
5. My dog ‘Daisy’ is a Golden Retriever (fat and blind) and she spends most of the day keeping us company in the office.
6. I’m an avid boatie and last week nearly landed my first 360 on the wakeboard out in the harbour last week. I vow to land one soon!
7. I’m a handyman and have done all renovations to our rural property (fences, kitchen, bathroom, french doors, decks etc) as well as built the single-handedly built and fitted out the ProWorkflow office (including building building all desks and an outdoor area)!
8. I’m very blunt when giving advice – I tend to just tell it as it is.
9. I never start anything unless I am prepared to see it through and never give up once started.
10. I love my wife Sarah and boy Jackson (2yo) and we live on a few acres in the country just outside Christchurch with 2 horses, 6 peacocks, 7 chickens, a dog, a cat and as of last week a pet magpie that adopted us!

So you can safely say that as a CEO of a high tech global software company, I don’t fit the ’standard assumed profile’ as such of an inner city, slick, tradeshow and network attending, VC chasing whiteboard sketching, high profile entrepreneur, however, we are doing well and the fairly relaxed life I lead allows me to spend time coming up with smart solutions and investing in customer relationships.

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About the author:
Julian Stone, CEO – Project Management Software visionary for:
ProActive Software, ProWorkflow, ProWorkflow Blog & Julian101
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I’m a fisherman and I think this looks awesome!! I think I’ll have to make one for the fishing kit. Cool name too…

This is a great vid about how little the culture and people of today appreciate technology and the amazing world we live in. The comedian describes youth today as “The crappiest generation of spoiled idiots!”  ha ha…

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About the author:
Julian Stone, CEO – Project Management Software visionary for:
ProActive Software, ProWorkflow, ProWorkflow Blog & Julian101
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Kick-start your motivation with these great quotes!

I’ve talked to many people recently that are letting all the negative media spin get to them. They’ve starting to think the glass is half empty rather than opening their minds to the possibilities and opportunities on the current market. Sure it’s a little tight, but that just means it’s a good chance to optimize, systemize and prioritize!

Few sales? Just focus on other areas of business… Go sow some seeds with marketing, get the accounts done, take a holiday, re-evaluate your focus and products. Just realize that the market is moving and the best approach is not to stand still.

You need to make some changes to succeed in business in these times, but that’s a good thing as it means you’ll build a leaner, more focussed company. When it all picks up, you’ll just have a better, slicker business model to scale.

My Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/julian101 has nearly 1000 followers and many are hard working, smart techos and creatives so I asked them for a quote that motivates them. I figured we could all share our favorite quotes and get motivated.

These are just some of the many responses that came through:
(Click their Twitter URL to find out who they are..)

 

http://www.twitter.com/clarkkaren
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
- Milton Berle.

http://www.twitter.com/segdeha
“It is the tremble of risk which shakes the spirit, confirms courage and reinstates daring.”
- M.A.Hershey, 1994

http://www.twitter.com/marclehmann
“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.”
- Dalai lama

http://www.twitter.com/lmckeogh
“Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1st inaugural address Still true today!

http://www.twitter.com/stevenkempton
“The older I get the less I pay attention to what people say and the more I watch what they do.”

http://www.twitter.com/paulq
“Unreasonablemen attempt to change their environment to suit themselves. Therefore all progress is the work of unreasonable men”

http://www.twitter.com/andreawong_nz
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Albert Einstein

http://www.twitter.com/dunrie
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

http://www.twitter.com/discounderworld
My dad always told me: “if you can’t be good, be good at it.”

http://www.twitter.com/paulq
“Live your imagination not your history”
- Stephen Covey

http://www.twitter.com/bethmrogers
“The most important things are the hardest to say…words diminish them-words shrink things that seemed limitless.”
- Stephen King

“Some folks go through life pleased that the glass is half full. Others spend a lifetime lamenting that it’s half-empty…The truth is: There is a glass with a certain volume of liquid in it. From there, it’s up to you!”

http://www.twitter.com/wombleton
“When on deadly ground, fight.”
- Sun Tzu

http://www.twitter.com/inspiresuccess
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
- Arthur Ashe, Tennis Player

http://www.twitter.com/mishon8
“may you live every day of your life”
- Jonathon Swift

http://www.twitter.com/danfowlie
“My Name is George, I’m unemployed and I live with my parents”
- George Costanza

http://www.twitter.com/zuno
“Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge”

http://www.twitter.com/wigsgiw
“Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”

http://www.twitter.com/stickifrog
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
- Theodore Roosevelt

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
- Helen Keller

“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
- William B. Sprague

http://www.twitter.com/pamelaaa
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
- Albert Einstein

http://www.twitter.com/itgetsmeso
“good better best, may you never rest, until your good is better, and your better best.”

http://www.twitter.com/audaciousgloop
“Make no small plans”

http://www.twitter.com/benkepes
“A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step…”

http://www.twitter.com/lookadod
“All we are given are possibilities – to make ourselves one thing or another.”
- Jose Ortega y Gasset

http://www.twitter.com/bwagy
“…and If you can dream it you can do it”

http://www.twitter.com/marclehmann
“A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week”
- George Patton for biz inspiration

http://www.twitter.com/achievers_lite
“You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
- Zig Ziglar

http://www.twitter.com/farmgeek
“Learn to garden – NOW!”

 

And here is a pile of my personal favorite quotes I keep on my desktop to inspire me. Feel welcome to add  more in the comments section on this post. I’d love to find more great quotes!

Julian Stone, (CEO – www.proworkflow.com):
My Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/julian101

 

“As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.”
- Donald Trump

“We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think!”
- Ernest Rutherford

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration!”
- Thomas Edison

 “You can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and be in business tomorrow”

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
- Henry Ford

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision”
- Peter Drucker

“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”
- Mark Twain

“Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”
- John Maxwell

“If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.”
- Albert Einstein

“The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.”
- John Maxwell

 

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About the author:
Julian Stone, CEO – Project Management Software visionary for:
ProActive Software, ProWorkflow, ProWorkflow Blog & Julian101
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