Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
Friday, October 8th, 2010
 Everyone is talking about “The Social Network,” as well they should be. The movie is dramatic, incisive and exquisitely well-written. It’s one of the few Hollywood productions in recent years that actually makes people think and discuss and debate. Unless you sleep the whole way through the move (and who could do that?), you’re bound to come away with pretty strong feelings about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Putting aside the question of historical accuracy, I think it’s fair to debate whether the Zuckerberg character, as portrayed in the movie, is a good guy or a bad guy. Most of us have never met the real Zuckerberg, but we’ve all met the “type.” Tim Berry puts it best in his blog:
He’s brilliant, obsessive, extremely productive, abrasive, selfish, and driven. I’ve known some people like that. They get things done. They bump people around on the way, more from blind obsession with their goals than on purpose. They’re not real good at seeing two sides of any question. They build empires.
So, is that a good thing or a bad thing? The genius of the movie is the way it allows the viewer to make judgments. It’s a kind of celluloid Rorschach Test, and your feelings about the Zuckerberg character reveal a lot about your priorities as an entrepreneur. Drive, vision and execution are all admirable traits, but if you see the film as an inspiration rather than a warning, it’s probably safe to say you’re not a lifestyle entrepreneur.
Every business has a story, though most of them never get the Aaron Sorkin treatment. Still, I can’t help wondering how my character would be portrayed on-screen. I’m pretty sure reviewers wouldn’t use words like brilliant, obsessive or empire-builder.
And you know what? I think I’m okay with that.
Tags: Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, movie
Posted in Business, Life | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
I’ve been trying for three days now to ignore this Q-and-A with Gloria Feldt, but I just can’t do it. Basically, the former head of Planned Parenthood argues that women have an obligation to remain in corporate jobs, whether they like it or not. When women leave the corporate world, she argues:
They make it harder for the rest of us to remedy the inequities that remain. We have to make young women aware of how their choices affect other women. It should be acceptable criticism to point out that, although everyone has the right to make their own life decisions, choosing to “opt out” reinforces stereotypes about women’s priorities that we’ve been working for decades to shatter, so just cut it out.
Just cut it out? Really? Feldt goes through all sorts of mental and verbal contortions to prove that she’s not criticizing a woman’s right to choose, but it becomes clear that “the lady doth protest too much.” At base, Feldt seems to believe that only two choices are truly valid and worthwhile:
- Stick it out on the corporate ladder, no matter how much you hate it; or
- Start your own business, but only if it’s focused on “creating wealth and entirely new ways of doing things … I want to see a female Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.”
That’s right, corporate climbing or entrepreneurial empire-building are the only valid definitions of success. A woman who chooses to seek her own happiness with a family and/or a home-based business is somehow betraying her sex or wasting her potential.
It’s that kind of narrow, reactionary thinking that pressures too many women — and men — into pursuing a career path they don’t really care about. Welcome to the 21st Century, Ms. Feldt: More power, more money and more growth are not the only definition of success. Thanks to new technologies and evolving social mores, entrepreneurs of both sexes can set their own priorities and pursue their own agendas.
True empowerment doesn’t come from getting the key to the executive washroom, but from having the freedom to say, “Small is beautiful” or “Enough is enough.”
In other words, maybe it’s time to stop obsessing about the glass ceiling — the thatched roof might be a better goal.
Tags: home-based business, mompreneur, small business
Posted in Life | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
A German university professor says his studies show that “morning people” are more proactive and take-charge, while “evening people” tend to be smarter, more creative and more outgoing.
 Smarter and more creative? Sounds to me like evening people have the edge over early risers who are “just” more proactive. But biologist Christoph Randler tells the Harvard Business Review that evening people may still be at a disadvantage in the business world because they are “they’re out of sync with the typical corporate schedule.”
That’s right: You might be smarter and more creative than the woman in the next cubicle, but her career could go further simply because her biorhythms happen to be more in tune with those of the boss. Maybe HR people should just dispense with all the questions about experience and skill set, skipping right to what really matters: “What time do you wake up in the morning?”
I’m exaggerating, of course. But smart, creative people who peak later in the day are bound to chafe at the chronological conformity of the business world. Maybe that’s one reason that 43% of entrepreneurs in our latest SmartBrief poll described themselves as “evening people” — why conform to someone else’s schedule when you can find success on your own time?
Tags: health, lifestyle
Posted in Life | No Comments »
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
High-growth, high-potential, “disruptive” businesses are all the rage. The whole venture capital industry is premised upon a short company life span: Start it, scale it, cash out. Anything else — any ongoing, stable, sustainable company that makes money year in and year out — is dismissed as a “lifestyle business.”
Well, from here on out, this blog is all about reclaiming the term “lifestyle business.” How did it get to be a pejorative? A business that let’s you live your life in the style that suits you — what could possibly be bad about that?
Prost! Productions is a lifestyle business, I’m proud to say. It lets me be creative and productive and fulfilled without disappearing into some soulless corporate bureaucracy. No venture capitalist will ever invest in us; we’re not “disruptive” enough. But I’m perfectly happy with that, because I wouldn’t give up control, anyway.
I’m not birthing this baby just so I can sell it. I plan to nurture it and care for it and watch it grow.
I know there are millions of other business owners just like me, and from here on out, this blog’s for you: Thoughts and questions and ramblings on life and style and business. I hope you’ll join the conversation.
But the conversation will have to wait. Right now life is calling. Her name is Sydney, and she needs to go to the park.
Posted in Business, Life | No Comments »
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Everyone is talking about “The Social Network,” as well they should be. The movie is dramatic, incisive and exquisitely well-written. It’s one of the few Hollywood productions in recent years that actually makes people think and discuss and debate. Unless you sleep the whole way through the move (and who could do that?), you’re bound to come away with pretty strong feelings about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
