CEO Playbook: If You Want Something, Ask for It

Sometimes, I think the greatest advice I ever heard was, "Never get involved in a land war in Asia", but then I realize no, it's actually this advice: "It never hurts to ask." Sure, it may hurt your pride, but if you have that kinda of pride that then you have deeper issues you better get worked out.

I've made it a habit over the last couple years, that whenever someone, usually salespeople, tell me they don't have any more tickets, Wiis, or monkey brains; I will then ask them if there is any other way I can see the show, find a Wii, or gnaw on delicious monkey brain. Turns out, there usual is.

People like to help other people. By asking someone for help, that person become involved in your problem. They want to find a solution for you. And since they are often the gatekeeper between you and the thing you want, their help is necessary. Sometimes, in fact, they bend the rules, just to help you get what you want. Why? Just because you asked. Crazy, eh?

Anyway, here's the context of this post. John and I wanted to get into the Game Developer's Conference 2007 because Tenuki is, on one level, a games company. The cost of a pass to the meatiest parts of the conference is $1675, if you bought ahead of time. We didn't. So we were looking at paying $1850 each to attend the conference. That's a lot of money for an early-stage startup.

So naturally, I started asking people how I could get into the conference for free. Okay, the truth is that I went around begging for passes, but someone on a mailing list advised me to check out the GDC Conference Associates (volunteer) program. The program stopped taking applications in January, but I figured I'd email the manager of the program and see if they had any last minute dropouts that needed to be replaced. They did, but I guess you figured that or I wouldn't be telling this story.

Now, I'm going to the GDC for free, well actually in exchange for 20 hours of volunteer labor, but the point is, had I not asked, I would be not be attending the biggest games industry conference of the year. And now, I am.

So there you have it folks, the power of asking for what you want.

Now, I'm going to ask all of you a favor, tell anyone you know who might be interested in startups, games, techie garbage, or humorous stories about my night with Britney Spears (a razor was involved) to check out my blog. Then force them to subscribe by offering food, coffee, or monkey brains. That's what usually works for me.

Dealing with Startup Stress: How To Sleep at Night

Founding a startup is quick way to develop insomnia. You often lie in bed at night obsessing over the things you didn't accomplish. I beat myself up for not getting more accomplished in a day. When you running a startup it feels like there's a million things to do and none of them get done. You feel like Sisyphus most of the time, pushing a rock up the hill only to have it roll back down.

A good friend of mine gave me this advice, "You only need two small victories a day. "

I'm sure he stole it from somewhere, but nonetheless, I think it's good advice. So whenever I start freaking out, I get out of bed. I get my notebook. And I write down the two small victories I had that day. It lets me realize that I did get something done that day and I can relax until tomorrow.

After that, I can usually fall asleep pretty easily, even though I know that rock is waiting for me at the bottom of that hill.

Zivity and Tivo: The Importance of an Advisory Board Redux

I had my best President's Day ever!

Yes, shocking I know, since President's Day is fabled for its awesomeness as a holiday so how could any one President's Day be better than another? Well, allow me to tell you.

I met up with one of the co-founders of Zivity for some french toast and to chat about business-y things. Take any opportunity you have to talk to smart people about what they do, especially when it's founding a startup. Zivity was founded a few months before Tenuki, so talking to Zivity's co-founder is like looking through a little window into my future. She had all kinds of advice for me, but at the top of the list was the importance of a good advisory board. Especially, in the early months.

Zivity has managed to assemble a top-notch advisory board through a domino effect. They got a couple of good advisors and those advisors recommended other good advisors. Zivity is smart: they have gotten advisors that cover the different aspects of their business, rather than focusing exclusively on technical advisors, which is a problem, I suspect, in many other startups.

So that was an excellent way to start my morning: tea, toast, and transfer o' knowledge. Then I stopped into a nearby thrift store that having a 50% off sale. I wandered past a stack of old VCRs and lo and behold, on the top of the stack was a Tivo! For 10 dollars! Five bucks on sale!

And it works, and it has a lifetime subscription!

Ah, sweet, sweet President's Day.