Make Quick Decisions: Lessons from an MBA

One of the very best lessons my business school has taught me is to make quick decisions (by the way, I go to Indiana University Kelley School of Business). Why?

First and most important: There is NEVER enough information. You have to accept this. You will always miss an angle, a report or key metric. Once you can accept that you can't get ALL the information to make a decision, you do the next best thing: get as much information you can in a SPECIFIED time frame.

Two: Time is money. Literally. The more time you spend deliberating, the less time you have to execute. While some may say its not wise to rush headfirst into an endeavour you know little about, I think that there comes a physical point in time where you just wont find any extra data.

Three: You need to execute first. There are advantages for executing first whether it is a product or an internal project. You get first strike.

Four: Good ideas with bad execution never succeed. Bad ideas with good execution sometimes succeed. If you are not firm and resolute in your decisions, things will just never happen.

What is your experience with quick decision making versus slower deliberation?

Venture Club of Indianapolis Meeting April - Dannar Mobile Power Station

This April, I had the pleasure of listening to an exciting presentation from Gary Dannar, the CEO and founder of Dannar. His company plans to enter the industry of maintenance of public structures like roads and natural resources.

He described their mobile power station which is a machine that looks much like a mini-tractor.

This can be attached to several multi-tool attachments.

This makes it one machine that can be adapted to several different applications. The kicker for me is that its also a mobile power station that acts like a hybrid, off-grid generator. Several of these puppies can be linked up to power a small grid. Best part is... they are designing it so that it can drive at highway speeds so there is limited need for flatbed transport.

With the recent craziness in the weather, i can see how this can be SUPER useful. Imagine after Hurricane Sandy, these roll in, clear the roads of debris, demolish a few obstacles and, at night, power up a few homes so folks can have a hot meal and some electricity. And to think that we get at least a dozen of these weather crises every YEAR.

My church does a lot of weather-related help and I could see them either purchasing or partnering up with a few non-profits to purchase one.

Okay...I'm jumping way ahead of myself. Right now, they have 2 prototypes and plan to test and validate in summer. So lets see if the thing actually WORKS first.

My fellow MBAs are skeptical because the big boys like CAT and John Deere may decide to enter this space. I don't think so. Its a small niche market. CAT is doing well in the construction business and makes machines that do only ONE thing. This machine is for smaller operators like National Parks and City Works people who would prefer one machine that does everything rather than buying several different individual machines. Dannar also plans to market to defense like the National Guard who respond to emergencies.

Check them out at http://dannar-pressrelease.com/ and tell me what you think!

My first Verge - Indianapolis

I went to a Verge where Gusto was being pitched by Shawn Schwegman at the Mavis. Being a member of the Indy Venture Club, I was not expecting the vibrant and energetic environment of Verge. Folks were pumped, talking and generally having fun. Because this was a very informal setting, it was also much louder.

Shawn came up and launched his new mobile email upload app, Gusto. A few other folks came from Elevate Ventures, 

One thing I noted was the businesses were more inclined to be tech or IT in industry. This is not really my industry but I definitely suggest checking it out if you want to find out more about Indy's tech scene or if you want to meet young, new entrepreneurs.

Here's the Verge blog about what makes the Indy Tech scene so cool here

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Quit Applying for Jobs Online...Waste of Time

So here’s the deal. Globalization is here. Which means you can get cheap clothes and shows from China to fill your closets. YAY!! Which also means that jobs are disappearing from the US at a rate of 400% (yes, for every job that is created here, 4 leave the shores). Which also means that you are competing for the same jobs with not just fellow Americans but the best and brightest from China, India and Brazil. And I don’t mean guys like you. I mean the stereotypical guy who has an IQ of 140 and has 3 college degrees.

So how do normal guys like you compete? Quit applying online for jobs. Huh? You heard me. It’s a blessed waste of time. 

Here are some statistics:

• 5%-15% of jobs are landed by applying for them on job websites.
• 10% were headhunted.
• 5% were filled internally within the company.
• 65-80% were filled by networking and personal referral.

So if you want to strike lucky, go apply online. I'm actually the ONLY person I know who got a job from applying on a website after 2007. Everyone around me got their jobs by a college buddy, a former coworker, a parent who pointed them to a manager that hired him. The only exception are my engineer guys who mostly got recruited out of college. 

So get to know people. And do informational interviews. I hate to say it...network. Right now, that looks like the only way to land jobs.

Lessons from an MBA: Failure is a very viable option

Have you had a great idea, wanted to start a business but stopped because of the possibility of failure? I think we all have. My newest lesson in MBA for you is to embrace failure.

We met with Michael Cloran of DeveloperTown in Broad Ripple who shared his remarkable story of the several businesses that he started, several of which failed and one or two struck gold.

The more you get comfortable with failing and making mistakes, the more emboldened you are to learn from your mistakes and go out there and try again. the key here is learn from your mistakes and keep repeating the same mistakes. I like the motto " Let us make better mistakes tomorrow."

If you quit walking the first day you stumbled, you never would have learned how to walk. Let us not dampen or lose the curiosity, courage and learning of a child.

If you want to learn more about Mike's lessons on failure, check out Lessons from an MBA: Mike Cloran on failure.

Share your lessons and experiences on failure, picking yourself up and trying again.