Comments on: Focus on Things Under Your Control

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

Certainly good advice for those who are debilitated from the distraction. However, despite the fact that one can't affect the macro-economic factors themselves, it's still important to be aware of them, because sometimes they affect things you *can* control. A simple example in the current situation: where are portfolio companies keeping their cash? It's not just about "curiosity" or "trying new things" but awareness of the environment in which you make decisions about that 2% you can affect. Predicting, understanding, or affecting Microsoft's behavior is equally difficult, yet ongoing awareness of their activities is important to most technology companies. I think the same holds true of the broader economy.

By: Chris Selland

Chris Selland — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

great stuff Brad

By: Matt_Cullen

Matt_Cullen — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

Readers of Epictetus? This is almost the same as his first rule, which is to understand what you can control and what you cannot.

A simple concept, but it can lead to some profound changes in your outlook.

By: nbauman

nbauman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

That's a nice post Brad. Thanks.

By: nabeel_hya39461

nabeel_hya39461 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

can you post this every couple weeks? thanks brad.

By: steve_bergs2127

steve_bergs2127 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

Stephen Covey talks about the difference between the "Sphere of Influence" and the
"Sphere of Concern" in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. There's a lot of (probably ancient) wisdom in that book.

By: msitarzewski

msitarzewski — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

Hey Brad, that is exactly what we're doing. We're going to look at houses with a realtor Friday afternoon… moving ahead with plans to buy . Now is a GREAT time to buy.

By: Rahul Pathak

Rahul Pathak — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

Great and timely post Brad. Thank you.

By: derek_scrug1878

derek_scrug1878 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

I've been really puzzled about what to think about all this bailout talk. I don't lose sleep at night about it, but I do wonder if it's going to affect our business. On the day the first bailout collapsed, I closed on a refinance of our house without any hiccups, and September was a record revenue month for us. Dunno if those are trailing or leading indicators, but we haven't made any fundamental changes to our operations beyond reminding ourselves not to let expenses get out of whack with revenue,

By: Ian McAllister

Ian McAllister — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:55:56 +0000

I feel the same way about collecting data or creating new metrics for web apps. Don't spend a bunch of time generating data unless you expect to make business decisions based on the data.

You can't measure everything, so focus on gathering data that will help uncover what's going well (that you may want to invest more in), what's not going well (that you may want to invest more in or shift focus away from), or what's shifting (e.g. referral sources, conversion rates, product line mix shift).