The most powerful weapon is to move somebody emotionally…so if you send out a signal as love, you will receive the same signal back.

Free money.

In 2010, according to Dow Jones, there were 522 venture-backed exits with a combined exit value of $53 billion – implying an average exit price of around $100M. ~ Borrowed from Chris Dixon

It’s simple really…just be one of the top 500 start-ups.

Pinterest drives more traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn COMBINED

~Mashable http://mashable.com/2012/02/01/pinterest-traffic-study/

I try to live my life where I always say 100% what is on my mind. I rarely hold back and, although I try to be polite about it, I’m sure I piss plenty of people off. ~Brad Feld

me too

It just goes to show there is no right way to do things.  If a billion dollar, brand name, B2C company doesn’t spend a dime on consumer research, should your negative cash-flow start-up spend money on this?

Today, it’s easier than ever to start a company, but building a company will always be as hard as it’s ever been.  ~Michael Karnjanaprakorn is the CEO/Co-Founder of Skillshare

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been around extremely selfish individuals . . .’’ he said on 97.3 The Zone. “There were people within our locker room that didn’t care whether we won or lost as long as they … had good games individually.’’

“Quite frankly, if you go down the roster this year, there’s no reason we shouldn’t have made a Super Bowl run.’’

“The disappointing thing is . . . it doesn’t matter how much talent you have. If you don’t come together as a group and just figure things out and kind of withstand difficulties of the season, you’re never going to amount to anything.’’

Wow. Just wow. The guts Greg McElroy had to say this publically about the Jets, a veteran team, is remarkable to me.  He basically just called out everyone on the team, literally all of which are currently ahead of him in job security.  Wow.

So besides having a “brass set”, why would he do this?  I think it’s for two reasons.  He is a QB so by his very nature he is a leader. I think one way to contribute to making your team better from a 4th string QB’s perspective is by doing something brash such as this. I think he wants his team to get better and I think he knew what he was saying.  He was trying to light a fire for change and thus far it is working. Secondly, and more importantly,  McElroy has a case of the “don’t cares”.  He went on that radio program with the attitude that I’m going to do my part and I’m going to say what needs to be said and I don’t care if there are reprocussions.  He figured the worst case is he loses his roster spot on the team….who cares.  (Incidentally, the reason I think this was very calculated and the reason I think he can have the “don’t cares” especially as a rookie is because he was a candidate to be a Rhodes Scholar at one point.  Football is not his only outlet to being successful…and he knows it.)

I say congrats to him. He is the exact type of guy you need to have on your team and in your company.  Why?  Because you get his educated opinion…unfiltered.  There is no office politics, there is no kissing up, there is no hesitation.  That person is going to tell you what they think whether they think its what you want to hear or not.  That doesn’t mean you need to listen.  That doesn’t mean you are going to be happy about it or that the rest of your team is just going to accept it and move on.  But it does mean you know you have at least one person in your camp who is going to challenge you at all times and keep you honest.  He is going to force an conversation to be had.  You say one thing and do another…guess who is going to call you on it.  You made a tactical error in a critical marketing vertical by overriding your Marketing VP and now you are weighing another override?  Wrong, because I’m going to let you know about it.

I say “I” because I I can relate to the “don’t cares” as I try to live this mindset myself.  The longer I’ve applied it, the more powerful I think it is.  If you can go into a situation, work or otherwise, with the “give it your all” attitude and don’t worry about being PC or the amount of panties you are sure to bunch up, your message is more powerful and true.  Most people can’t fathom this and frankly, disagree.  I say, make people think differently, play devil’s advocate…if that makes people uncomfortable then so be it. Comfort is the root of all trouble in companies. You must constantly challenge and reinvent.

The one caveat I have learned along the way is that this maverick way of conducting business ONLY works if you have the company’s best interests at heart at all times.  That must be what’s guiding your thought process.  If you are just a hot air spewer, like to hear yourself talk or are simply trying to impress the boss, it doesn’t work.  Your intentions must be pure.

The best teams are the most diverse teams. I’ve written about championship teams having ”glue” guys to make them better.  Hiring someone for your team who has the “don’t cares” but has your company’s future at heart, is one of the best things you can do.  Resistance to this idea is most likely rooted in comfort….comfort to underachieve.  Just ask Rex Ryan and the Jets.

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan

So let’s look at the number one argument from people who hate this hire. “If you can’t do it at Notre Dame, how are you going to do it at Kansas?” I think that is fair statement but let’s take a closer look. I will grant you Notre Dame typically has a top 25 recruiting class coming through the door each year before anyone even leaves South Bend to recruit. That’s the beauty of the Notre Dame job. But have you considered over the last 20 years, they have only 2 ten-win seasons? Same as KU. Weiss was just one of many high profile coaches who have found it more difficult than billed to build back up the tradition rich program. Also consider, they aren’t playing a brutal schedule either…with the service academies annually on their schedule so that’s not an excuse. Personally I think Notre Dame is just a different animal. No other program in the world is like it, for many reasons, and I think that contributes to the lack of success they’ve had. The program has just not adjusted to the current landscape.

The other thing that popped in my mind when I heard Weiss was hired was “recruiting”. Recruiting is a grind, for any coach. It is one of the primary reasons most really successful college coaches jump to the pros…because you don’t have to recruit. It takes a toll on everyone and it seems odd a guy who was last seen walking with a cane or scooting around on a Jazzy would want to jump back into the grind. But the more I think about it, I think this is really a positive. It’s hard to argue Weiss couldn’t have landed an O-Coordinator job in the NFL next year….it’s probably a standing offer from a few teams. But he didn’t do that. He wants college. He wants to clear his name and make sure everyone knows how smart he is and how good of coach he is. He’s been at multiple college programs before and he knows the recruiting grind firsthand, yet he willfully stepped up and accepted the challenge at a university that currently might be one of the hardest places to recruit to. I like it. College is all about hussle and I think Charlie just got his second wind. Plus, make no mistake, he is just the closer…the assistants do all the really tedious recruiting. The key to Charlie’s success will come down to hiring great recruiting assistants and a great D coordinator. The rest he’s already got covered in his bag of tricks.

Last thought…”if he is successful or is not successful, he’s out of here in 3 years.” That’s another common comment I’ve heard. First, that may be true, but that is not the main consideration for KU right now. We have to get this thing turned around. We had to take some risk on who we hired. The “safe” play was already made with Gill and we know how that turned out. If Weiss has success, and wants a ridiculous contract in 3 years to stay, then we cross that bridge but right now we need help. Second, if he does leave, we are in a great position to make another great hire. Third, I don’t think you can assume he leaves. He is getting older and yes I am biased but I can think of only a handful of programs in the country that would be as great of place to put your mark on if you were able to turn this thing around. KU has tradition, they have moxy, they are waiting to crown someone king. It can be done and if you are the one to do it, I think it’s real hard to leave a place that will make you God for the rest of your life. We’ve already proven that the money will be right if you are successful (and even if you are not). People think Weiss has been a quitter every place he’s gone. That’s not true. He was fired once from the program who just a couple years before re-upped his contract big-time in fear he would go back to the NFL or has taken a promotion. Can you blame him for taking a promotion? This is his shot, maybe his last as a head coach. He knows what’s involved and he knows the Kansas program from a close distance.

I like this hire…a lot. Welcome Charlie Weiss and congratulations Zenger…you just made a great hire and I, for one, am once again proud to be a Jayhawk football supporter.