Welcome to PointForward Ventures!
November 1st, 2010PointForward Ventures partners with start-ups and other growing companies to create and execute winning business strategies, develop their teams’ leadership skills and build frameworks and processes to scale their businesses. We take a coaching approach, helping companies and their employees successfully navigate periods of rapid growth or transformation.
New Business Innovators Radio Show Launches with MapQuest Interview
September 14th, 2011One of the partners here at PointForward Ventures, Wendy Hanson, just launched a BlogTalkRadio Show “Business Innovators.”
MapQuest’s GM – Christian Dwyer
During her first show, she interviewed Christian Dwyer, GM of MapQuest. He provided insight on business innovation and its challenges. He also talked about how MapQuest tools have blossomed to help small businesses and enable folks to embed great maps on their blogs and websites.
MapQuest’s New Tools
Yes—MapQuest is great for mapping and navigation. It’s grown to include alternate routes, live traffic feeds as well as transit and pedestrian routes. With Business Center and Map Builder, the tools to embed maps along with photos, text, annotations and videos, you are only limited by your imagination. Hikers can document hiking trips; moms can point out events for children; and business owners can market multiple locations of brick and mortar stores and restaurants.
Mobile Apps, as we all know, is the tool of choice. Voice-guided navigation is so cool on a smart phone. For business owners, the future lies with location-based advertising and drawing folks into your store as they walk by…hmmm. We’ll keep an eye on this trend!
MapQuest’s Innovation
Christian Dwyer also reinforced the organization’s vision and communication, start-up mentality (even though the business is 15 years old), human consumer service options and usability lab in Denver that strives to know more about what a consumer wants.
Start-ups have a hard job. Start-overs who want to transform their businesses have to work even harder. MapQuest is modeling great practices in this area.
To hear the interview go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/businessinnovators1/2011/09/09/business-lesson-listening-to-consumers
The Magic of “Real Teams”
June 15th, 2011Three of my big passions in life are movies, sports and business. Success in any of these areas requires a group of individuals to come together with one purpose and one goal above all. That type of single mindedness is easier said than done.
Success is not achieved by having the most star power – that often gets in the way. The Miami Heat is a great example of that. The team has the greatest stars in the game, but they do not equal the teamwork of the Dallas Mavericks. The Miami Heat lost because great teams will always beat a bunch of stars thrown together.
Whether we’re talking about business, basketball or movies, star power is not what delivers results. Those who are about the team named on the back of the jersey more than their own number will be the true champions.
“Super 8″ illustrates perfectly what I am talking about. This is a movie that created a sense of awe and magic with little star power but great heart. It reminded me why I love movies: They’re all about talented people coming together to create a moment I will always remember.
The difference between a great team and a bunch of stars is huge. Ask anyone in business.
Will Corley
Make Your Team Project a Success: Write the Press Release
May 31st, 2011If you are working on a project with a team, one of the most
important things you can do to guarantee success is to begin with the end in mind.
A great way to do that is to pull your team together and write a press release as if the success has already happened…
- What would the heading be?
- What would the first sentence be?
- How do you put what you are doing out in the world in a very succinct way so that it is worth reading and celebrating?
As Stephen Covey always says, “Begin with the end in mind.” A press release is the way to make that real. Whether you are an engineering team, a product team, or a group of consultants trying to get a business started, write the press release of what is going to be said about you, the impact you have made and the quotes from people you have worked with. Post it in a place where everybody on your team can see it, so that you understand your North Star.
Writing a press release at the beginning of a project provides a concrete way to work out what you want to be known for and what your team wants to accomplish that is going to put your company on the map.
The Culture of New York City versus the Culture of Your Company
May 18th, 2011
Last week, Will and I were walking through New York City after taking the redeye from California to work with one of our clients. It was the end of the day, and we were heading through Union Square trying to find our hotel. Will had a backpack filled with our electronics including laptops, iPads, etc., and we both were trolling suitcases.
As we stood on the corner, looking around, not moving, someone stopped us and said, “Hey do you need to find something?”
“Yes, we’re looking for the W. Do you know where it is?”
The guy gave us directions and went on his way.
Not more than a minute later, while waiting at the light, another guy gestured to me that the back of Will’s backpack was open. Just a gesture and a smile. I gestured and smiled a thank you and closed the back of Will’s backpack.
So, what does that say about the culture of New York City toward strangers? Maybe it was just that place and time in Union Square, on a Thursday afternoon. But, boy, it was a good feeling.
What happens when people walk into your company? What’s the first good feeling they get? Who meets them at the door? Who says hello? How is the reception area set up? What type of culture is reflected? Those first impressions really make a big difference.
As a New Yorker, I wasn’t surprised by being treated that way, but it reaffirmed my belief that New York City has a culture of kindness.
Moving the Needle
May 10th, 2011In business, it’s all about moving the needle. What are the metrics that you run your business by? How do you make progress on that every day? The challenge that we’ve seen for so many entrepreneurs is how do you move the needle and balance building your organization, getting obstacles out of the way for your people, and creating the future.
Moving the needle means that every week you need to have goals related to getting more customers, getting more UV’s, and bringing in more revenue. At the same time, if you are a CEO or in any type of executive-management position, you need to be figuring out how to help others succeed. The higher up you are in the organization, the more connected you are to indirectly making those things happen, but making them happen for your teams. Always try to keep the decisions closest to the work.
Balancing moving the needle and supporting the troops is vital. Otherwise, you’ll feel like you are just moving deck chairs on the Titanic. Make sure that you are able to be moving ahead on the metrics, which your company depends on, while also helping members of your team get in the best position to succeed.
Work-Life Balance: Is That Possible in a Start-Up?
April 13th, 2011
We found this Dilbert comic strip very amusing. It’s a corporate vision of work-life balance and work-life integration, and we thought of it from the eyes of a start-up.
As any of you know who are entrepreneurs or start-ups, it’s not for the faint of heart. Start-ups require so much passion and usually it’s how you identify yourself as a person. This business is you and you are this business. So, having integration or balance is often impossible.
It’s a good thing to think about, though. When you walk away from your passion, your work or your start-up company, go someplace different, get a different perspective, you’ll be able to see things in a clearer light. Often, we have to pull back to move forward; we have to slow down to move fast.
There’s a great book called A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. In this book, he talks about how having people who have an artist background is so important in today’s business because they look at things differently. He talks about going to an art museum and looking at your business differently.
That’s today’s recommendation. Go somewhere different. Step away from the edge. Forget having balance or integration, and just take a breath. Get a different perspective. It will do you and your company good.
What do you do that helps you step away?
Questions for Getting the Most Dialogue Out of One-On-One Meetings
April 5th, 2011A March 12, 2011, article in the New York Times titled Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss talked about a study done by Google regarding managers. The company study found that a manager’s technical skills were far less valued by employees than people skills.
As we have talked about in previous posts, one-on-ones are critical. When you are stuck in a rut, try a few of these questions to encourage out-of-the-box dialogue with your people or your boss.
- What’s been your biggest success in the last 2 weeks?
- What’s been your biggest challenge?
- What’s the one rock in the road that you feel you have to keep stepping over?
- Where are you taking your foot off the gas in the business?
- What’s one resource that we could provide you that would make your job 10% better?
- If you had the last quarter to do over again, what’s one thing that you might do differently?
- For you to become more effective in your role, what’s one thing that you would change?
- What’s the difference between your best day and your worst day?
- How do you keep your energy up on your worst day?
- What’s the most important thing to you about your job?
- Five years from now when you look back, what will be most memorable about this job?
- What kind of impact do you want to have on the business?
Please share your ideas on how to make one-on-ones more effective. What do you need to be an effective leader or team member?
Check Your Coachability…
March 29th, 2011We’ve talked about feedback… the other side of the coin is coachability.
Which of these statements are true for you and to what extent?
- I usually allow my manager and others to complete their sentences before responding.
- When I’m given feedback/criticism, I usually think about it before responding (a small gap of silence).
- When I’m given constructive feedback/criticism, I rarely find myself defending a position or action immediately.
- When I’m given feedback/criticism, I ask questions about it in order to try to better understand it.
- I feel my work’s purpose is to serve my clients and customers.
- I feel my work’s purpose is to serve my internal customers (managers, colleagues, other departments).
- I’ve changed/revised my position/approach because of the advice of another individual.
- My manager/supervisor invests time in my professional development. (If s/he doesn’t, it may be because of a perception that you are uncoachable.)
A quick habit to improve your coachability…
After you’re given feedback/criticism, before responding, ask a question…
- How do you mean?
- What would that look like?
- Can you tell me more about that?
- Can we talk that through so I understand it better?
- Can we set up some checkpoints so I know we are on the same page?
What do you think makes a person coachable?
How to Give Feedback
March 22nd, 2011A big challenge in business and sometimes in our personal life is being able to give people feedback and make our needs known. Here are some guidelines to giving effective feedback that can be heard by the other person.
- Ask for people’s impression of their own performance. Before you give feedback, ask the people to give feedback on their own performance, their own skills, etc., i.e., “How do you think you did?”
- Ask permission to give feedback. If you have something you want to
tell someone that is feedback about their performance or about something they did, say, “May I have your permission to give you some feedback on …?” or “Do you mind if I give you some feedback on that?” Then, the person will have an opportunity to be more open and receptive. - Give specific feedback. Personal and specific feedback is much more effective than general feedback. When you are giving someone feedback and you want to be constructive, try very hard to make it specific. A good way to frame that is to say:
- This is what I liked about what you did.
- This is what I wanted more of.
- Make eye contact. When giving feedback to people, making eye contact causes them to feel like they are being heard. Make eye contact both when you are listening to them and when you are speaking to them.
- Offer feedback often. Feedback is most effective when given frequently.
- Ask Edible Feedback questions. Use the following Edible Feedback questions to prompt self-assessment and then offer feedback:
- What worked?
- What didn’t work?
- What might you do differently?
- May I give you my observations?
- Do you agree with my assessment?
What are some of your ideas for giving feedback, managing up or working with peers?
We All Need Feedback
March 15th, 2011There is a theme we’re hearing around companies these days, and it has to do with feedback. Doing an annual or semiannual staff evaluation is “old-school.” People need to be constantly challenged, celebrated and know where they stand.
It’s the job of the manager to grow their people and to build leadership. As we know from all the studies done by the Gallup Organization, people leave managers not companies.
The way a company gives feedback and the way managers keep up with their “one-on-ones” has a lot to do with the culture in the company. Whether you are reading this through the lens of a manager or as a member of the team, there are few things that you can do.
- As a manager, take your “one-on-ones” seriously.
- If you are a team member and you’re not getting enough time with your manager or not getting the feedback you need, take action. Set up your own meeting with your manager and clarify what you need. Make it easy. “Script the moves…” as Chip and Dan talk about in Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard.
- Expand the conversation. Expand from project-oriented feedback to how you can get or give support in order to grow professionally and use all of your skills. What opportunities would you like? What’s ahead?
I had a few more NYC cultural experiences….I was in Starbucks and a woman had spilt coffee down the front of her dress. One of the staff brought out a wet towel, provided moral support and empathy and brought her into the Ladies Room where she could blow dry it under the hand dryer. It was lovely to watch.
I was going out the side door and I had my hands full. A guy walking by saw me and opened the door. I thought he was coming into Starbucks–but was just passing by. Another NYC culture moment that warmed my heart :’)