Comments on: The Illusion of Progress

By: replcia handbags

replcia handbags — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:46:30 +0000

Such a good article, caught my sympathy!

By: Scott Smeester » Blog Archive » If You Believe It, Is It True? - Helping Startups and Small Companies Create “Good Problems to Have”

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:53:46 +0000

[...] blog post from Feld Thoughts, The Illusion of Progress, got me to thinking about the power of our beliefs. Brad wonders if he is being blindly [...]

By: Pablo

Pablo — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:11:24 +0000

"No news is good news" and the other way around: "good news is no news", so mainstream media picks the bad ones. We are probably in a transition period were some industries disappear and some are formed. A critical period which make crisis seem much worst than they are.

By: ClizBiz

ClizBiz — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:55:14 +0000

I was also in Chicago over the weekend – had taken Amtrak from Denver. (Take that airlines!) I was there for a massive blogging convention, BlogHer, so if you noticed an extra amount of opinionated women walking around Chicago, that might explain it.

Also, to your point, there was more entrepreneurial spirit in this year's conversations – tons of new business ideas floating around amidst all the economic rubble. Ironically, the sponsors were noticeably bigger (Wal-Mart, Pepsico, H-P, McDonald's, etc.) and completely showered us with free products. Seems they've finally woken up to blogger power. I remember when the expo hall was just a few card tables and this year, it started to feel like CES – but with more cupcakes.

By: JChauncey

JChauncey — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:49:48 +0000

My uncle is president for a nice size bank in my hometown and they seem to be doing fairly well. He says that business is doing good and thinks all of the recession talk is just a hype. I dont know if I completely agree with him, but I dont think it is as bad as people think.

By: Brad Feld

Brad Feld — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:33:07 +0000

Both. The companies in my portfolio did their cost reductions (whether people or other) in Q408 and have been managing to a tighter cost structure the past two quarters. Most of these companies saw quarter over quarter revenue growth from Q408 to Q109 and then again to Q209.

By: Mike Soucie

Mike Soucie — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:17:40 +0000

Brad- Just curious to know whether your portfolio companies that had solid Q2’s is due to cost reduction strategies or from increased revenue and growth from spending? Cost savings hits the bottom line just as revenue does, but the question as it relates to an 'illusion' is whether folks are spending again.

By: Brad Feld

Brad Feld — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:23:05 +0000

As a big contributor to a bunch of the urban charities, I know the stresses they are feeling. I’m also not of the “don’t worry be happy” mentality, but I’m definitely of the “take stock of current reality, make decisions, and drive forward”.

By: Bubba

Bubba — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:03:04 +0000

Well, it sounds like you have a charmed life, and I'm happy for you. However, life continues to be very difficult for way too many families – unemployment, foreclosure and healthcare costs all continue to rise. We have a long way to go before "life is wonderful" for the mainstream. I think we can do our part by expressing our perspective and working for positive change. We've had too much "don't worry, be happy in the last few decades." Take a look at many of the urban charities and you'll see that they are desperately working to provide services for more people with fewer dollars.

By: Boris

Boris — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:42:32 +0000

"You have to accept your current reality as you can’t go change the past" – this phrase resonates very strongly with me. I've used it in both relationships and business for many years.

On current reality, I always see better instrumentation / analytics as a way to actually find out what "current" reality is much sooner.

Relatedly, I also find that in all of Canada, there is a much higher level of optimism, in part because a) we never flew quite so high in the first place and b) we haven't experienced quite the same real estate crush as parts of the US.