Relentless resourcefulness: the What, Why and How

 Reposted from my new Blog, The Business Co-Founder

The most important quality of an Entrepreneur is relentless resourcefulness; even Paul Graham agrees. In this post, I will cover
1. What is relentless resourcefulness?
2. Why is it important?
3. How do you build it?
So let’s start.

What is relentless resourcefulness?
The dictionary defines resourceful as ‘Able to act effectively or imaginatively, especially in difficult situations.’ Relentless resourcefulness is simply resourcefulness + perseverance - or applying resourcefulness continuously, without giving up.

Why is it important for Entrepreneurs?
In startups, you will continuously come across situations that pose novel, difficult problems, for which there is no easy, obvious solution, and which force most people to give up. Only if you are relentlessly resourceful will you overcome these challenges, and not give up. This might take various forms e.g., your funding round did not come through - how do you become creative and bootstrap for another three months? OR your customer development interviews showed that your target market has no need for your product - how and where do you pivot?

How do you build it?
This Life Hacker article gave me the following equation, that makes complete sense
Resourcefulness = Necessity + Creativity + Persistence
So the only way to build resourcefulness is to build each of the constituent qualities.

Necessity
Though not a quality, necessity signifies that you are most resourceful when you need to. This is why people often tell Entrepreneurs to quit their job; when you have no fallback, you become more resourceful.

Creativity
You might not consider yourself very creative, but there is a big difference in the different kinds of creativity. As a blog post I wrote a while ago, Conceptual Creativity is what you need to be successful in Business. There are several interesting books you can read on this topic (list below). But here are my favorite tactics:

• Question everything - try to look at the underlying assumptions and see what happens if you reverse them
• Look for outliers and anomalies
• When generating ideas, start with one idea - any idea, no matter how stupid. That gets your mind going
• Think of ideas alone before and group sessions - group sessions encourage group think
• Have fun and believe that you are creative

Persistence
While there are several ways to be persistent (and tons of articles and Quora Answers on persistence/perseverance), I believe in one way more than any other way: Invest in the process, not the Outcome. No matter how much we believe in our qualities, our ability to change the world, the truth of the matter is that several circumstances are outside our control. ‘Luck’ plays a part - a huge part - in the success or failure of any endeavor. Market dynamics change, unforeseen things happen. The idea is the be emotionally tied to the process, and not the outcome. That way, you will not give up when you are faced with obstacles, because you did the best you could, and be truly, persistently, persistence


Further Reading: Creativity
The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators
Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity
The Riddle: Where Ideas Come From and How to Have Better Ones
Further Reading: Persistence
Are You Ready to Succeed? Unconventional Strategies to Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life

Lessons I learned in Business School

I recently read a blog post by Rob Go of Next View Ventures called My Top 3 Lessons learned in Business School. The post inspired me to reflect and write about my own top 3 B-School lessons.

Lesson 1: What Strategy is

Before Business school, strategy was this buzzword that I saw used around me all the time. The phrase "What's your strategy for getting the Milk from the fridge?" might be an exaggeration, but not a big exaggeration. At Kellogg, I learned a lot of tools that help understand industries dynamics and judge whether a firm strategy would be successful or not. Most of all, it helped me get a simplified, clear cut definition of strategy. Strategy, according to me, has 3 steps:

1. Decide what you will stand out for? What will you differentiate in?

2. Validate that customers value your point of differentiation

3. Allocate resources to achieving the point of differentiation

Let's take an example. Zappos - known for customer service, not shoes. So their resource allocation is in culture and in giving people in the call centers leeway to make customers very happy. Do they have the lowest prices always? Not quite - if you look hard enough, you can find the same shoe for cheaper elsewhere. But while buying something like a shoe, which you can't make a decision on until you wear it, would you rather find the cheapest upfront price, or rely on a retailer like Zappos, that will take your shoes back, no questions asked?

Another example is Apple - known for innovation and design, not low cost and operational efficiency. They do happen to have a very efficient supply chain, but key decisions are not made with Supply Chain being the determining factor. Case in point - when Steve Jobs decided to make iMacs of different colors, it created havoc for their supply chain. What if you wanted your iMac in pink, and the store had it only in blue? Now the store had to carry multiple colors per iMac. But it didn't matter - Steve realized that your computer was becoming a fashion statement; having colors was more important than supply chain efficiency.

Lesson 2: The "Soft stuff" can be learned

Before Business School , my vision of an ideal leader was charismatic, outgoing, and visionary. Through case studies, class exercises and observing speakers and my classmates, I realized that the "soft stuff" can be learned. This includes leadership, teamwork, negotiation, influencing others etc.

The fact of the matter is that the soft stuff was the most valuable part of Business School. I began to understand what were my leaderships strengths and weaknesses, what company culture actually meant, and how simple things such as where you sit in a room mattered. 

A simple story - one of the first classes we had in Business School was called Leadership in Organizations. Shortly after this class ended, I went to compete in the MIT Sloan Sales Competition. My first case was individual - selling investment services to a rich individual. I prepared hard, established rapport, listened to the client etc., but I think the one thing I did mattered more than anything was choosing where to sit. You see, when you sit on the opposite sides of the table from each other, its like you are having a face-off. If you sit on the same side of the table, it's like you are solving a problem jointly. In order to be able to sit on the same side, I actually made sure that the proposal I was presenting was not printed. Instead I had to drag my chair over on to the same side, sit next to the person who I was selling to, and walk him through the proposal on the laptop. The result - 2nd place in that round :)

That was one example. Another major leadership lesson was on leadership styles. We all think that we have one leadership style, but the fact is that we all have a combination of multiple leadership styles inherent within us, and we can change how much of each we use depending on the situation. 

Lesson 3: Mindset, not skill-set

This was not a lesson per se, but a revelation. People often ask me what skills I picked up during my MBA that is useful in my consulting job, in startups etc. I can hardly point to one or two skills that are super crucial; instead, it is more of a change in mindset; in how I analyze any issue, business or otherwise. Things such as approaching problems with a hypothesis, quickly figuring out how the hypothesis can be proven or disproven, digging deep into understanding the root cause of most issues, and being able to take a much broader view of the different aspects of the issue.

If this sounds vague, it probably is; I do feel that there has been a marked change in the way I think about things.

The ROI

Now let me tack on to the post and answer this very important question that I get asked all the time - what is the ROI of an MBA? Is it worth the financial trouble? Is there a ROI analysis that shows that?

If you take on a job that pays more than your pre-MBA job, and stick there for a while, you will have a clear justification; especially if you intended to just stick in your old job if you did not go to school. If you have a zig-zag career path - which is the norm, not the exception - you might never be able to clearly explain with an excel model how your career path would have been different. What if you had quit your job and started a company which sold for a billion dollars? There are so many options, and too much variability.

But if you come out a changed person, and think and act differently - now we're talking. That might be more than worth the financial trouble. Of course, the tons of fun and the number of friendships you build during Business School helps :) I had an amazing time at Kellogg, and would not give up the experience for anything.

Kellogg Class Gift 2011

I am working on the Kellogg Class Gift team for the class of the 2011. The class Gift is a pledge that the graduating class makes for monetary contribution. The actual payments are made over a period of two years.

Why am I working for this cause? There are several reasons:

1. I hate the fact that I am graduating. I would rather stay in school for another 2 years. But given the fact that I am going to become an alum, I would rather take the first step in giving back and contribute towards the class gift.

2. I feel passionately about Kellogg - it has blessed me with great friendships, awesome knowledge, and helped me develop personally and professionally.

3. The class gift makes it easy to give back. One can decide the payment schedule, so I am giving a minimal amount this year, and more next year, when I will actually have money

4. I benefited greatly from alumni who have contributed in the past, and I feel that it is my responsibility to give back to the incoming classes.


So dear classmates, please do make your pledge now. We are counting on you.

Nota Bene II

Kellogg is hosting the Nota Bene series for graduating second years.Last week we had the second event in the series called 'Nota Bene II: Applying MBA Lessons to Your Life.' It featured some amazing Kellogg professors, Professors Tim Calkins, Daniel Diermeier, Kathleen Hagerty, Victoria Medvec, Derek Rucker and Florian Zettelmeyer. The panel was moderated by Professor Adam Galinsky. The event was amazing; particularly for some comments from Professors that I cannot post on this blog. However there were some great quotations that I noted down. All quotations have to do with failures that professors have experienced in their lives:

"Sometimes you have to fail on purpose, in order to progress further." - Derek Rucker, on having a terrible meeting with his colleagues on his way to establishing a center for marketing practice at Kellogg

"Over time, the things that you regret most are your inactions. You hardly ever regret your failures" - Victoria Medvec, on not negotiating enough when it counted, even though she loves to negotiate always (e.g., at the grocery store)

"Go back to the basics. Even negotiations professors fail at negotiations when they mess up the basics" - Adam Galinsky, on messing up a negotiation for his twin brother (an example he mentioned in class as well)

"Management by analogy is dangerous. Extract commonalities, but remember to understand what's different in the situation" - Florian Zettelmeyer, on overestimating market potential, when he ignored the fact that people, after a certain age, tend to die with increasing probability

"In your first post-MBA job, stay till you get promoted. This way, no one looking at your resume will be in doubt that you were fired" - Tim Calkins

"I like the professor, but not as much as the professor likes himself" - quote from TCEs that Professor Galinsky got from the class of 2011. He realized he talked a lot about his successes, and not much about his failures.

"First, I want to be as nice as possible. Second, I like to be straight with whoever I am negotiating with " - Kathleen Hagerty, on hiring some of Kellogg's brightest faculty as Associate Dean

"I love talking about depressing things." - Daniel Diermeier

"I love Stata" - Florian Zettelmeyer, on Stata

"You will be fine at McKinsey" - Florian Zettelmeyer
"I am not going to McKinsey" - 2nd year student
"Oh crap (not said, but implied)" - Florian Zettelmeyer

Why you should register for bone marrow donation

Look at the video below - I am registered as a marrow donor, and it literally takes 1 minute to fill out a form, and a cheek swab.This is especially important for minorities as the match is largely based on a genetic match.

If you are matched, you save a life. And they don't cut you up! It is similar to stem cell donation; just like donating some blood! If you are @ Kellogg, do checkout the facebook page here

The most important thing you should know before B School

Recently I was talking to some of my classmates about one of the most important concepts everyone should know before coming to B-School. To my surprise they did not. If you are going to B-School, are at B-School or a B-School alum, you must watch this clip. It explains what you need to know about the fundamentals of business. Cause if anyone knows business, the Gnomes know business.

Gnomes
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

6th on Clear Admit Student Bloggers!

I was number 6 - super happy!!

Congratulations to the winners. Here is the list of the top 10 student bloggers, 4 of which were from Kellogg (AWESOME!), including #1 and #2. Full post is here

Top Student Bloggers
1. Orlando http://www.kelloggmbaclassof2011.com/
2. Jeremy http://www.jeremycwilson.com/
3. Miltary to Business http://militarytobusiness.blogspot.com/
4. Rocky http://babsonmba2012.com/
5. Praz http://columbiambaclassof2012.blogspot.com/
6. Shobhit http://shobhitchugh.blogspot.com/
7. D.G. http://blog.dinogane.com/
8. Darden Poet http://dardenpoet.wordpress.com/
9. Paul http://mitlgo.tumblr.com/
10. Nistha http://nisthaonweb.com/blog/

Public Speaking topic

Dear Readers,


I need to do a persuasive speech on a controversial topic this Monday. I need some suggestions on what topic I could do the speech on. Any ideas? Please do leave comments.

Thanks
Shobhit

Once again considered for Clear Admit Best blogger award

http://blog.clearadmit.com/2011/04/best-of-blogging-nominees-2010-2011/

Glad to be in the company of Dino, Jeremy and Orlando!

Special K is here!

Great marketing example

Hilton just showed Kellogg a brilliant piece of marketing. All graduating students get free five years of Gold status for Hilton Honors. 40% of Kellogg students end up in consulting => lot of high paying customers. Extremely good targeting Hilton!

Another great Kellogg video

Wondering if you should come to Kellogg? A current student explains why he chose the school, and why you should too.

Music video produced for DAK 2011 (Day at Kellogg)
Written and performed by John DiGiovanni
Directed and edited by Chris Reynolds
Audio mixed by Ben Estes

LipDub video created by Kellogg Students!

Well played KSA. Well played

IBM buys Yelp. Feefighters raises $41MM. Etc. Etc. The internet has been full of April 1st jokes. I thought nothing would faze me. And then it did.

This afternoon Kellogg Student Association president Brian Van Wagener sent out an email - that TG (which stands for thank goodness its Friday) will be moved to Mondays (71.2% of students voted for that apparently). Also, because its a class day, no alcohol will be served.

Now those of you who don't know about TG - all you need to do is to read this post by Orlando. The very thought of this tradition being scrapped in favor of a monday morning coffee get together was absurd. I was puzzled and angry at the same time. Apparently so were 150 other Kellogg students who replied to Brian within an hour. And then, just before TG began, Brian sent out an email clarifying the intent of the KSA joke.

Wow, well played guys. Well played.

All types of creativity are not equal

Just started reading 'The Riddle' by Andrew Razeghi, a renowned Kellogg Professor. Already came across two key insights:

1. There are three kinds of creativity: artistic creativity, scientific creativity and conceptual creativity. They are very different from each other.

2. Conceptual creativity is the creativity we associate with solving problems and with business creativity. Prof. Razeghi's definition of conceptual creativity is what makes a dog paddle; once the barking stops, the swimming begins. When we have to figure things out, we do.


So far, the book is exceedingly interesting and useful at the same time.

Do More Faster

If you are an entrepreneur or a wantrepreneur (want to be entrepreneur), please read the book 'Do More Faster.' Especially if you want to do a web startup. I have ready 1/10th of it and I am already so inspired by it, and have learned so many great lessons, its amazing. One of the best books I have read ever, by far.

Speaking of Entrepreneurship, I am learning Ruby on Rails right now, and might code and launch an application soon to test an idea. What, learning coding in B School? Yes. Life has a way of going around in circles.

Business school lingo

I am working on a video on Business School lingo. It is spring break, so I am lazy and so it is taking forever. Till then, enjoy this related video I found on youtube

Feedback and Rypple

A few days ago, I was talking to some of my Kellogg friends, and we were discussing good ways to give feedback to each other. Kellogg does have a standard survey that any student can send out to his/her group mates for that quarter, but the rates of people filling out the survey are dismal; I have tried sending it out for two quarters, and have gotten a grand total of two responses.

My Leading and Managing Teams class taught my Professor Apfelbaum was a completely different experience. Professor A mandated that each member of the team think of five positive and five negative pieces of feedback for each team member, type them up in a template that he provided in a font that he specified, and then tear each section apart and put in the person's envelop, thus making the feedback anonymous. The feedback I got from this exercise was invaluable. Thinking of ten pieces of feedback for each member of the team wasn't fun, but it was a very valuable exercise in the end.

So back to what I was thinking - I thought why isn't there a way to give anonymous, constructive feedback in companies? Why cannot people recognize each other for a job well done? After all, aren't we giving each other feedback in some way via Facebook likes, Twitter retweets etc?

Enter Rypple. According to their Crunchbase entry, they were founded in 2008 in Toronto, and raised 7 million dollars in Series A funding in 2010. The software promises to get rid of performance reviews that "suck" and instead brings a culture of constant feedback and learning to employees. I can see such reviews and feedback items being extremely helpful, and bringing in a useful perspective on yearly performance reviews. I love the idea. However, I see some issues with this product as it is right now:


1. First of all - Rypple up being another social network for the enterprise; and there can be just one. Yammer and Chatter (from salesforce.com) are going head to head against each other; Rypple needs to find a way to work with them rather than standing alone.

2. I think that the product is missing an initial hook to bring in users. It uses a Yammer like go to market approach, where anyone can sign up for a free account, and the organization can 'claim' the network later for $5 per user. However, if I was in Rypple's place, I would try to provide value right out of the gate; for example, what if I could sign up for Rypple, then send a feedback request to anyone in my company, and they can give me anonymous feedback without needing to sign up? I get immediate value, and people who give me a feedback get an opportunity to sign up for an account. As they hear more and more about rypple, they eventually sign up and there you have people up and running on it!

3. The name - why is the name Rypple? Don't get it.....

4. Last, but not least, implementing Rypple will involve a sea change in how a company works. I guess others - like Yammer - have made that change in companies, but I would argue that Rypple involves an even greater change in how we give feedback to each other, how public we make it, how often we look for/want feedback.

On the positive side:

1. Love the inbound marketing approach. They already have videos with several customers up and running

2. Product design is fairly good, though a lot of features do make it somewhat confusing

Good luck Rypple. Excited to see where this goes...

High Level Rypple Demonstration from Rypple on Vimeo.

Career Leader

One of the key tests students take to understand one's suitability to different careers is called 'Career Leader.' I have taken this test several times; once a long time before B School, once in my first year of Kellogg, and once in my second year. The test is supposed to help decide which Career is a good match for you, and which is not.

While I found the career leader to be a great point of starting the self-reflection process, I did see that my suitability to various careers seemed to change significantly over the years. Here is an example:

2007:




















2nd year after my summer internship in consulting: Notice that Management Consulting is now near the top of the list



























A key determinant was my interest in 'Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking.' I believe that Business School education has changed this significantly; I have really enjoyed learning frameworks, thinking about Business Strategy through the frameworks learned in courses such as Business Strategy and Competitive Strategy. So will Management Consulting continue to be the perfect suitable career for me? We will find out in a few months...

And now, three things to improve @ Kellogg

Wait, what? I am complaining about this wonderful place? Really? I believe that everything can be improved. So can Kellogg. There are some small but important things that the school can do better. Read on...


1. Less teamwork: Yes. Less teamwork. Teamwork is Kellogg's biggest strength. Yet forcing teamwork into almost very assignment and every course does not work. I feel that some courses like accounting, some types of accounting courses etc. do not have to have a team component. Let everyone master these hard skills on their own. Often teamwork is a distraction to these courses.

2. More debate and dissent: Kellogg people are nice. Super nice. I would say, sometimes too nice. In the real world people are ready to passionately debate your point of view, not just say 'Thats a great point, but....' We should encourage students to voice opinions openly, to call out a classmate when his/her comment adds zero value. We should encourage them to let the professor know when a group member is not contributing. So should the professors. Some of my favorite professors have told me point blank in class "You are wrong."

3. More study rooms and better food: everyone's favorite complaints


That's it. Three things at Kellogg that can be done better for sure.