29 March 2008
What defines an entrepreneur? Wikipedia says, “An entrepreneur is a person who has possession over a new enterprise or venture and assumes full accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome.”
Technically, this is true, but its also meaningless. I think that a true entrepreneur is someone who is able to see a pain that is shared by a lot of people, then identify and deliver a solution to that pain. Entrepreneurs are motivated by creating value and serving people.
Most companies start off being entrepreneurial, but plenty gradually become the opposite – exploitational. Exploitational businesses (and people) are interested in their own gain above their customers. They are looking to make money without necessarily creating value and without serving people.
I’ve seen some companies where the culture was exploitational (and culture always comes from the top) and this came through in every facet; the way staff were treated, the way sales were made, the way priorities were set, the way customers and suppliers were treated. No value was created – it was only taken.
Xero is a good example of a company that is led by an entrepreneur and has a culture of entrepreneurialism. Everyone at Xero, whether they’re building the software, selling it or providing service (or most likely all three) are all entrepreneurs in the sense that we’re motivated to find, solve and deliver solutions to the pain that small businesses and small business owners experience today.
We know that we can’t create value for our customers and shareholders until we deliver innovative software and exceptional service and actually resolve that pain. Its a pleasure to be part of a team that is so motivated by creating value for the ~25% of the work force whose life revolves around their business.
BTW: Xero are currently hiring.
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Business, Software, Vision, Xero | 
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Posted by Andrew
5 March 2008
Another interesting point from Mary Poppendieck’s talk on the role of leadership in software development is about identifying what motivates your team.
The question Mary asks is,
When a team member is annoyed by their job, do they:
- Complain (I’m cutting stones – I just want to do my job)
- Ignore it (I’m earning a living – I just want to go home to my family)
- Fix it (I’m building a cathedral – I’m passionate about the vision of the company)
Its obvious what kind of person you want in your team and this question highlights the motivation and attitude of individuals, but it also reflects a lot on the leadership of the team … since it is a leaders #1 job to impart the vision. Leaders also need to move responsibility and decision-making to the lowest possible level to empower people to have a ‘fix it’ attitude.
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Posted by Andrew
5 March 2008
I just got around to watching a 90 min presentation by Mary Poppendieck on the role of leadership in software development.
Mary talks a lot about lean manufacturing, using Toyota as an example and relates this to software development. Its well worth a listen. Next on my must read list is The Goal by Eli Goldratt, a book I’ve been meaning to read for a while now.
One of Mary’s comments was about establishing work standards and procedures and how these should be written based on how the job is done today and then improved consistently. “The purpose of standards is to provide a baseline for the team to change.” Mary quotes Taiichi Ohno from Toyota:
“Years ago, I made them hang the standard work documents on the shop floor. After a year I said to a team leader, ‘The color of the paper has changed, which means you have been doing it the same way, so you have been a salary thief for the last year.’ I said ‘What do you come to work to do each day? If you are observing every day you ought to be finding things you don’t like, and rewriting the standard immediately. Even if the document hanging there is from last month, this is wrong.’
I like this, because it emphasizes that procedures exist to achieve better results and are never written in stone, but are constantly changed (ie broken!) in the name of higher efficiency and bigger goals.
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Posted by Andrew
