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What if it turns out that the customers have decided they don’t want the product? Which process would allow a company to find this out sooner?

Lean manufacturers such as Toyota discovered the benefits of small batches decades ago. When I teach entrepreneurs this method, I often begin with stories about manufacturing. Before long, I can see the questioning looks: what does this have to do with my startup?

But the theory that is the foundation of Toyota’s success can be used to dramatically improve the speed at which startups find validated learning.

Toyota discovered that small batches made their factories more efficient. In contrast, in the Lean Startup the goal is not to produce more stuff efficiently. It is to— as quickly as possible— learn how to build a sustainable business. Think back to the example of envelope stuffing. What if it turns out that the customer doesn’t want the product we’re building? Although this is never good news for an entrepreneur, finding out sooner is much better than finding out later. Working in small batches ensures that a startup can minimize the expenditure of time, money, and effort that ultimately turns out to have been wasted.

Based on FBI crime statistics for 2010 and Mexican government data released early this year, Mexico City’s drug-related-homicide rate per 100,000 population was one-tenth of Washington’s overall homicide rate – 2.2 deaths per 100,000 population compared with 22. (Drug violence accounts for most murders in Mexico, which historically does not have the gun culture that reigns in the United States.)

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E-mail Etiquette: The Finer Points Part 1

Sep 6th, 2011 by Andy Epstein

The following is reprinted courtesy of Robert Half International.

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Although most professionals are well versed in using e-mail, many still struggle with the finer points. It’s commonly known that typing in all CAPS is equivalent to “cybershouting” – but here are some other protocol points to consider:

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• Be kind. Don’t use e-mail to say no, argue, criticize or deliver bad news. Pick up the phone or deliver the information face to face.

• Make every e-mail fight for its right to be sent. The less you send, the more likely your messages will be read. Don’t copy others unless they really need to read it.

• Be considerate, not cryptic. Don’t expect others to decipher what you mean by reviewing an entire e-mail thread. Just because you are on the go doesn’t mean you should expect others to piece together what’s being requested.

• Use only one account for work. Keep work-related e-mails coming and going from your work account only. Having a single address makes it easy for people to find your messages. And it will prevent business messages from getting tangled with your personal e-mail – and perhaps neglected as a result.

• Consider your e-mail account when job hunting. It may go without saying, but don’t use your current work e-mail to send resumes to prospective employers. Also, avoid using overly personal e-mail handles when job hunting, such as “partyanimal@ .com.” Not everyone will appreciate your sense of humor and “too much information” can be a turn-off.

• Respond in a timely manner. Try to respond to all messages within 24 hours, but don’t say you’ll reply with a more detailed response at a later date unless you really intend to follow through. If you’re in consecutive meetings or away from the office, put an out-of-office message on so people aren’t left wondering when you’ll get back to them.

• Be crystal clear. In your subject line (and you should always have one!), explain what you want: Do you need someone to review or approve something, or is the message simply an FYI? In the message itself, get to the point and use bullets, which are easier to scan than large blocks of text.

Steve Jobs’s Patents

The 313 Apple patents that list Steven P. Jobs among the group of inventors offer a glimpse at his legendary say over the minute details of the company’s products — from the company’s iconic computer cases to the glass staircases that are featured in many Apple stores.

Print’s October 2011 Issue: Table of Contents
by Print staff
We expanded our usual focus, moving, as Metahaven writes, “to the fringes of the design world.” You’ll find stories on the “design” of geopolitics, the artist behind M.I.A.’s unusual websites, Experimental Jetset’s grappling with modernism, and the masks that comic-book artists wear in their own work.

How do You Use Twitter? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Written by Jeff Bullas – http://www.jeffbullas.com/?p=14776“>View Comments
Categories: Social Media, Social Networks, twitter

Twitter was never meant to be a social network. In fact it was created as a message service at a private podcast company just over 5 years ago.

Today with over 200 million users and serving up over 1.6 billion enquiries a day, Twitter has evolved into a real time social network that spreads news, messages, links  and multimedia with energy saving 140 character bursts.

It is also maybe the most efficient social network in the top five and that is part of its unique charm. It is simple and doesn’t overcomplicate things….. that is why texting and SMS is still popular even with teenagers in a world of tempting rich multimedia.

Twitter is still working out its business model with its only apparent revenue being “sponsored tweets” which are expensive and only make sense for a major brand to implement as part of its marketing plans. Google, Facebook and LinkedIn provide cost effective self service advertising that provides an easy to use marketing platform that can be capped and is readily available for all companies to use.

Twitter is also maybe the most misunderstood social media platform with people often asking “why would you want to use it?” or “what’s it all about?”

3 Key Reasons I use Twitter

For me Twitter is worth joining and learning how to use for 3 key reasons.

1. Promote my blog and brand  to a targeted global audience
2. Obtain feedback in real time that helps me adjust content and headlines
3. Network and communicate on-line so I can connect face to face off-line

It has surprised me with its marketing reach and even today it is the largest referrer of traffic to my blog.

Lab42 has surveyed 500 people over the age of 18 and asked a series of questions including, why did you join Twitter,  how may brands do you follow on Twitter and where do you access Twitter from most often?

So what is the major reason you use Twitter?

More Reading:

• How to be Contagious on Twitter
• How to Create a Twitter Marketing Strategy that Rocks
• The Marketing Secret about Twitter that Most People Don’t Know
• Do People Share More on Facebook or Twitter

Image by Irish Typepad

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Tags: 140 characters, communication, face to face, Global, Networking, Offline, Online, Reasons, simple, SMS, Social Media, Social Networks, Targeted, texting, twitter

Most management gurus focus on strategy and innovation as key elements to success, but what about being “liked”? Likability is an indefinable quality, and in the world of business you definitely don’t have to be liked be everyone, just those who count.