the space between

It Takes A Forest

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Rogers) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:36:00 +0000

During a recent conversation, someone expressed dismay to me about an organization in Oklahoma City. This organization works directly with startups, yet doesn't appear (at least to the outside viewer) to be particularly keen on working with other similar groups. Anyone who has been paying attention to some of the dialogue in the tech entrepreneurship world knows that a networked community is pretty critical for any locale to foster a robust startup ecosystem.

The more I tried to put myself in this (young) organization's shoes, however, the more I found understanding and appreciation for what they were trying to accomplish. Those of us who work within "the community" ask everyone to contribute into the group in various ways for the good of the ecosystem. That's all well and good, but who said that everyone's contributions have to be of the same nature or the same level or degree? Just because one party's business model allows it to partner with everyone under the sun with little regard for competition or strategy, other parties may not have the same capabilities or goals.

As I looked at this group again, I saw that they were doing things in an open manner, and inviting anyone and everyone to join them. Now, they were only extending invitations to some of their activities (every day's not a party), and they were reaching out on their own terms (I don't see them taking a lot of market feedback at this point). Still, they ARE making an effort.

I'm reminded of the Shel Silverstein book, The Giving Tree. Not everyone - individual or entity - can give without regard. It takes a forest of trees, a community of people and businesses, agencies and advocates, looking for needs and filling them as they can. That's what makes for a healthy startup environment.

So, when you ask why someone isn't contributing to a community effort, ask instead how you can help all the potential players in the community contribute in their own way. Then ask yourself what opportunities exist that you personally could grab and create an impact, either alone or with partners. Then do it. Help out, and help each other. Be a forest of Giving Trees. And be happy.

The Long Road of Startups

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Rogers) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:32:00 +0000

Jeff Greene is a man with a message and a mission. He truly believes that his company, MedEncentive, can revolutionize health care. Many other people are inclined to agree with him in theory, but few were willing to put their money up to validate his thesis.

Until now.

Seven years after starting MedEncentive, Jeff's company has been adopted by their first major medical carrier. There are so many lessons in this story - being ahead of the market; the battles of hearts vs. minds vs. wallets; and so on. The story that inspires this post, however, is Jeff's unwavering commitment to his company and his idea that doctors and patients, when provided a system based on evidence and outcomes, could produce superior health outcomes while being paid to do so. I encourage you all to dig into Jeff's story. Not every startup will succeed, and MedEncentive still has plenty of ground to cover. Still, the story is so instructive about committing to a vision for the long haul.

Congrats, Jeff. Best wishes for continued stamina and success, in that order.

Validating MedEncentive’s ‘Answer’ | i2E – Innovation to Enterprise:

'via Blog this'

The Boulder Thesis | Startup Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Rogers) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:30:00 +0000

For anyone who missed hearing Brad Feld during his OKC visit, here's the nutshell of his new book, Startup Communities.

A Three Minute Explanation of the Boulder Thesis for Startup Communities | Startup Revolution:

'via Blog this'

Loud City

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Rogers) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 02:30:00 +0000

(image by Greg Burns courtesy of Steve Lackmeyer, aka OKC Central)

I love Oklahoma City. It's my birthplace, my home, and the place where I'm building my family history and (hopefully) my legacy. It's been blown up (both figuratively and literally), and has recreated (and is still recreating) itself.

Why the lovefest, you ask? Because I spent the past 24+ hours recharging my batteries, in large part with the help of Brad Feld, mentor par excellence. Brad agreed to come speak to various groups within our fair city: entrepreneurs, IT folks, and investors/policy influencers. He's got a new book out called Startup Communities. If his previous works (Do More Faster with David Cohen and Venture Deals with Jason Mendelson, as well as his blogs Feld Thoughts and Ask The VC) are any indication, it's be valuable reading. Brad believes that startup communities can exist anywhere within the constraints of the Boulder Thesis (buy the book and find out). As an OKC resident who has invested a considerable amount of time, effort and resources into the startup community here, I know we fit the bill.

There have been some recent events that have threatened to damage what momentum and strength has already been built. Respected advocates have been slinging arrows at one another, and sides have been drawn by many members of our community.

Let me be explicit where I stand:

Fuck that.

Oklahoma City and the legacy we produce within it matter much more than any immediate dispute. I count both parties as friends, and hope they stay that way. The support of the community is far bigger than this incident.

Within the next week, you'll start to see some momentum around bringing a unified voice (or at least an attempt at unification) in OKC. I'll try to help however I can, and I encourage you to do the same.

Ladies and gentlemen, shit happens. Keep your eyes on the prize. Our city has too much to offer to everyone, and stirring up nastiness, quite frankly, is not how we roll. What makes OKC special is that everyone roots for everyone else to succeed. Let's don't stop that sentiment now.

If you want to be part of positive action moving this forward, sound off on hub.startuprev.com, sound off at #startuprevOKC, or hit me up in private through jrr2ok at jrr2ok dot com or twitter handle at jrr2ok. This doesn't have to be hard.

Our city has the will, the talent and the guts to do this.

City Is One. Loud City.

Melody of Love

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Rogers) — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:05:00 +0000

Without going into great detail, the Fall/Winter of 1996 was one of the roughest times I experienced in my life. I was dealing with a mess of issues (many, even most, of them of my own making). One day while I was driving, I started playing a mixtape I had just purchased. Nothing extraordinary, until a track began with words that struck a nerve:

I always
Stayed away from love
Afraid of what might
Might happen
Till I thought
I heard a sound above
Singing through my very
Own heart
Was a melody
I never heard
Like birds singing loud
To the sky

Suddenly, chord progressions I had heard a hundred times or more, but this time they were different.

Never dreamed that

True love would help me

Find my way

Didn't know how deep I'd fallen

Until you rescued, rescued me

Something inside of me just broke. All of the expectations I placed on myself and everyone else were revealed as nonsense, and I felt absolutely helpless, powerless, and clueless.

Suddenly

Strings began

I heard the melody again and again

The sound of music

Flowing through my head

So rare

I'm walking on air

At that moment, I felt something different than I had ever felt before. I felt aware of everything I had ever done wrong and thought wrong. And I felt loved anyway. I experienced Grace.

Melody of love

Sing that song for me yeah

I want to hear somebody sing

Melody of love

Oh take me away

Today, we lost the voice that sang that song. The voice that spoke to me. The voice that make my life tolerable, and gradually better. Today, she leads a different choir.

Lest you ever doubt, God Is A DJ. And God spins Donna Summer.

Factors of Production In The Social Age

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Rogers) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:15:00 +0000

In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith identified the "factors of production" as land, labor and capital. Land can be expanded to include anywhere things can be produced (farmland, factories, or cubicles); labor can be expanded to include expertise, skill and knowledge; and capital may include other properties with value (things like money and ideas) that can be either exchanged for materials (money for iron or wheat) or synthesized with land and labor into something more valuable than the individual components (think of a raw idea that, over time, gets shaped into a product or service by scientists and engineers, then gets produced and sold).

Throughout the industrial and post-industrial era, there has been a tension between landlords, workers, and financiers. Standing in the middle of that tension is management. Management typically does the bidding of landlords (by collecting rent) and financiers (by maximizing the return on the financiers' investments). It doesn't take a Nobel Prize in economics to figure out that workers might often feel (rightly or wrongly) that their interests weren't being represented. The perceived devaluation of labor by landlords and investors provided the basis for Marxist theory, and set up the economic struggle for power that continues to this day.

My friend Jessica Miller-Merrell of XceptionalHR (aka @bloggingforjobs) recently shared a story with me of an organization that used a website's social tools to register their displeasure with an (admittedly) misguided policy in a big way. I mean, a REALLY big way. Big enough that it caused serious management headaches and got the policy changed.

This story really resonated with me, because it illustrated how today's workplace and economic environments have changed. I would also argue that they've changed for good. Much of the pricing power of "the market" for land or any other resource comes from the ignorance of the buyer. It's what's called "assymetric information", and it's the reason anyone who's taken an economics course knows at least one Latin phrase: caveat emptor, or "let the buyer beware". Actually, they probably also know ceteris paribus, but that'll be another post.

Today's social world makes it harder and harder for sellers to make profits based on the buyer's ignorance. Some would argue that's a bad thing, but in the end it ensures that people get the most for their money, and that's generally a good thing in the eyes of many.

The real game-changer with social media, however, is happening with labor. Jessica sees it. I see it. And any company that doesn't see it (especially since human talent is at a premium) is on thin ice. Companies no longer can simply make up rules according to their own wishes and simply for the benefit of their investors. The workers of today are too savvy and, increasingly, too connected. Tools like Change.org and sites like Glassdoor bring together worker interests and put management on notice. Smart companies recognize that their workforces produce tremendous value (in some cases, in this information and service-based economy, all of the company's value), and they treat them with respect and as partners. Antagonistic management practices still exist, and many an investor thinks that their money is more valuable than someone else's sweat (and vice versa, to be fair). The Social Revolution, though, pulls the curtain back and reveals the truth. And the truth, in this case, will set many free.

The Smart Bet...?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Rogers) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Those who know me know that I tend to be a bit of a political junkie. I'm not sure whether that stems from my appreciation for good archetypes, high drama, or some Quixotic quest to see a sensible solution served up to the masses. Regardless, the GOP primary race has been intriguing for some time.

The following post from Noreen Malone over at New York for some reason reminded me of gambling. That idea probably crops up from the recent attention I've been paying to game theory and behavioral economics. Malone seems to think that mere spoiled mindsets are behind the GOP donor base's attempts to find somebody to run whom they can stomach. Some gambling concepts might cast their actions in a different light, while also underlining some of the risks they run.

Pot Management

When poker players first start out, many have a tendency to fold after their initial card draw. Multiple reasons exist to at least play through some of the hands (setting up bluffs; the possibility of a positive outcome), but perhaps the most important reason is pot management. If you're in the game, folding hands is a great way to burn through your reserves while ensuring that you have nothing to show for it. You must take a strategy into the game about how much you are willing to spend and under what conditions. Otherwise, you may as well leave.

Know When To Fold 'Em

Not to go all Kenny Rogers, but sometimes you have to question whether you should be in the Poker Room at all at certain times. I don't think the majority of GOP donors have reached this point yet, but the time will soon come when they start having those conversations.

You Don't Have To Bet Every Race

This concept is near and dear to me, as I received it from my friend Tom, a horse trainer turned bartender who was legendary at both. Tom explained to me that his track record in terms of betting was far into the black over time, because he understood the importance of identifying advantage. There's a long list of analogies you could draw from this point, but politics definitely fits. Don't be surprised if, at some point, the speed of donations made to one side or the other slows dramatically.

Losing The Battle To Win The War

Known in less scrupulous venues as the long con, contests can be lost for the sake of producing long term advantage. Resting your best player in a meaningless game, running a contest at less than full speed to hide capabililites, throwing away good hands, bluffing with bad hands, or running lackluster candidates to avoid placing your "A" team into difficult circumstances (like a protracted period of economic flatness) are all examples of thinking for the future (despite how cynical some of those actions may appear).

Evangelical shift on gays: Why 'clobber scriptures' are losing ground

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Hope springs eternal. It must.

Evangelical shift on gays: Why 'clobber scriptures' are losing ground

Tax Expenditure of the Week: Accelerated Depreciation

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:21:00 +0000

This one goes out to my Capital Budgeting students at Oklahoma City University (represent!). See, depreciation DOES matter...

Tax Expenditure of the Week: Accelerated Depreciation

JR: Shovel Your Sidewalk

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:29:00 +0000

Looking for a silver lining in the snow clouds over at the Journal Record:

Shovel Your Sidewalk

JR: Dining On Sacred Cows

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:32:00 +0000

From my Journal Record blog, commentary on entrepreneurship, tax policy, and being critical.

Dining On Sacred Cows

JR: How to Make Someone Else’s Problem Yours

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:57:00 +0000

I'm back in the saddle for the New Year over at the Journal Record. Enjoy.

How to Make Someone Else’s Problem Yours

Positive Attitude

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:34:00 +0000

Positive Attitude: ""

Mutual

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:50:00 +0000

Mutual, via xkcd.com.

JR: What Type of Customer Do You Have?

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:51:00 +0000

Check out another pearl of wisdom based on insights for this week's National SBIR Conference in Oklahoma City over at the Journal Record's Start-Up blog:

What Type of Customer Do You Have?

OG&E presentation

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:50:00 +0000

I'm giving a presentation today for OG&E's leadership development program on entrepreneurship. The presentation is below.

Oge presentation 10292010

View more presentations from jrr2ok.

Europe As France Sees it

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:20:00 +0000

Second in a series from The Big Picture. Not as funny as the first, but probably more insightful.

Europe as France sees it

The World According to Americans

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:13:00 +0000

I know this is old, but it's still funny.

The World According to Americans | The Big Picture

As I Was Just Saying...About Ignorance...Remember?

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 03:54:00 +0000

From Mankiw via Newmark's Door:

Bill Clinton channels Friedrich Hayek
(with an addition by yours truly)

Friedrich Hayek, The Fatal Conceit: "The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design."

Bill Clinton, 9/21: "Do you know how many political and economic decisions are made in this world by people who don't know what in the living daylights they are talking about?"

Homer J. Simpson: "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers."

Avoid Controversy? How About Avoid Effort?

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 03:07:00 +0000

Seriously? People are even considering voting for this person? The Lost Ogle has more:

Mary Fallin will work hard…but not TOO hard

The money section? "if Mary is such a hard worker for the state of Oklahoma, it makes me curious why she goes relentlessly dodges tough questions. Remember, she refused to debate Randy Brogdon leading up to the primary. What will she do as governor? Delay the “State of the State” address until Joe Dorman and Andrew Rice leave the room (under the current political climate, they may be the only Democrats in congress by the time she is called on to make such a speech)? Pause the TiVo until everyone who doesn’t think her American Idol candidate should win leaves her house? .... I don’t know, but whatever she does, I doubt it will be difficult for her."

Could be sloth...or just plain old-fashioned fear about being expected to take a position. However, Momma Grizz has just the thing for times like that.

"I Don't Know What I'm Talking About, But I Know I'm Right..."

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:40:00 +0000

This is a phenomenon that's moving through our culture, and not just in religion. Try to engage the "average" individual in a discussion about politics, and my point will be demonstrated. Since when did we forsake the obligation to actually have informed opinions and beliefs?

Atheists Know More About Religion

Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:09:00 +0000

My post over at the Journal Record about Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College. It references a really interesting article from Wired.com. Check out both.

RIM introduces PlayBook -- the BlackBerry tablet

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:22:00 +0000

It's official. I covet.

RIM introduces PlayBook -- the BlackBerry tablet

Why Companies Should Insist that Employees Take Naps

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:03:00 +0000

I have LOOOONG supported this idea, and it makes even more sense as I return from lunch:

Why Companies Should Insist that Employees Take Naps

Reagan Tax Cuts & Increases

noreply@blogger.com (JRR2OK) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Reagan Tax Cuts & Increases

Check out the above post via Ritholtz:

Bruce Bartlett takes issue with the all-tax-cuts-all-the-time wing of the GOP.

the space between

It Takes A Forest

The Long Road of Startups

The Boulder Thesis | Startup Revolution

Loud City

Melody of Love

Factors of Production In The Social Age

The Smart Bet...?

Evangelical shift on gays: Why 'clobber scriptures' are losing ground

Tax Expenditure of the Week: Accelerated Depreciation

JR: Shovel Your Sidewalk

JR: Dining On Sacred Cows

JR: How to Make Someone Else’s Problem Yours

Positive Attitude

Mutual

JR: What Type of Customer Do You Have?

OG&E presentation

Europe As France Sees it

The World According to Americans

As I Was Just Saying...About Ignorance...Remember?

Avoid Controversy? How About Avoid Effort?

"I Don't Know What I'm Talking About, But I Know I'm Right..."

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Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College

RIM introduces PlayBook -- the BlackBerry tablet

Why Companies Should Insist that Employees Take Naps

Reagan Tax Cuts & Increases