Your marketing plan…on one page Your strategic plan…on one page Your business plan…on one page Your operational dashboard…on one page Your income statement…one one page Your resume…on one page Your home page…on one page Your bank account…on one page Any one of these posts…on less than one page. Refreshing concept, eh?

I was early in my career when I blurted to our CTO over lunch, “There are too many processes! We’re a startup…we should move more fluidly. I work better without a process!” With many years of experience on me, he responded, “Sam, everything is a process. Even when you don’t think there isn’t one.” That was only one of a few memories that stuck with me after working blurry hours at a dot com in San Francisco many years ago. Why did this stick? Because it changed my paradigm. A

Be Direct. This is Dell’s previous tagline that I’m going to borrow as a personal philosophy (I also like Nike’s “Just Do It”). What it is: You and I get to the point. Answer first. Honest feedback prevails. It means having dispassionate conversations on controversial issues, but mutual respect. The point is to do and say the thing that moves us towards the point. Go as the crow flies to the result. If it’s a sensitive issue, be prefacorial — give context to the comments. Use

Sam’s list for The Ideal Startup Defendable and differentiated Competitive cost structure Attractive partnership Repeat customers Word of mouth Memorable product and name Potential for PR Attractive to be bought or merged Scaleable staff and systems Build product once, sell many times – scaleable product Uncomplicated Focus Niche market or fragmented industry High perceived value Product can be accessorized – revenue synergies Healthy cash flow – margin x veloc

A good house is built on a strong foundation. You don’t build a house on sand, unless you live in a tent. A tent on the sand is fun and comfortable, as is a company with no metrics. But you can’t spend a lot of time in either of them. A business with a bloodflow of metrics will grow and outlast the competition and sustain growth. Build a business and culture that captures metrics, that ensures their accuracy, that looks at them often, and holds them to accountability at all l