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Table of Contents
(This article was prompted by reading Clicks and Mortar: Passion Driven Growth in an Internet Driven World by David Pottruck and Terry Pearce and from a recent chat program where we had Terry Pearce as a guest. For an edited transcript of that chat session see www.samizdat.com/chat131.html. For links to all the transcripts and the schedule of upcoming chat topics, see www.samizdat.com/chat.html.)
As Terry put it, the world is changing so fast that the ultimate competitive advantage is to institutionalize the ability to change. This is done by building commitment from people, by building a culture based on values that do not change. This is primarily the responsibility of leaders, who inspire commitment rather than merely requiring compliance. The entire organization has to be aligned behind this idea, and the business practices, from measurement to compensation to marketing, have to be consistent with that culture.
My take on that from the employee's perspective is that you only have one life and you want it to mean something. If the company you work for is striving to accomplish goals that you believe in, that's more important as a motivator than cash and perks.
Internet startups face the problem that they must build a "culture" extremely fast, from scratch, and motivate a team that is probably geographically dispersed and that consists of people who have been recently thrown away by big companies or are coming for other startups where they stayed for less than a year. That's not easy.
Terry noted that if the entrepreneur starts with the right stuff, then he or she can draw people to the company who share the right values in the first place.
But, from what I've seen, the founders typically have great business ideas and passion, but may not have lots of experience running companies. Hence they may not appreciate how difficult it can be to strongly motivate employees over long periods of time and hence may not value the concept of corporate culture.
In any case, in today's tight labor market, you can't cherry-pick your employees. It's extremely rare that the founders will be able to recruit significant numbers of people who they have worked with before and who already understand and trust them.
The founders are moving very fast, and have no time for courses on culture building and leadership. Typically, they have 6-9 months from when they got their angel money to recruit dozens of skilled people, develop product, and find early customers, so they'll be in the right position for the first round of venture capital. They work 30 hours a day, eight days a week.
My sense is that the business plans and prospects get close scrutiny, but that corporate culture gets short shrift, if any shrift at all. In the first weeks and months, when everyone is running on adrenalin and dreams of fortune, and when the company is small enough for the founders to know and talk to everyone, the value of culture may not be evident. But when the founders get wrapped up in making customer and partner contacts and trying to raise the next round of money and don't meet face-to-face with the team for weeks at a time; or when much of the team is dispersed; or when critical elements of the team are not "employees" but rather are contractors and consultants and partners, the gears may start to grind.
To move as quickly as they must, the founders have to inspire and motivate a work force that, in recent years at other companies, has been treated as "disposables." And they have to make a strong and clear impression right away, while they still have the luxury of being visible and accessible to employees. They have to pay attention to the corporate culture that they help shape -- either knowingly or inadvertently -- by their every action -- how they treat their people and respect them and give them responsibility and reward them for team behavior. Building a culture is as tough as building a brand -- it's not the words that count, but rather the actions that people perceive and remember.
(This article is based on a speech which Richard delivered at a SCORE seminar in Roxbury, Mass., for Internet entrepreneurs, on May 24, 2000. For other articles on a similar theme and more details about how to design your Web pages and Web site so that you can be found, check www.samizdat.com, and in particular www.samizdat.com/report.html).
What belongs on a Web page and why?
The simple answer is -- words.
Why? -- because of search engines.
Why? -- because of the free traffic they can bring to your site.
Static, searchable text drives Web traffic -- not graphics, not expensive design effects, not constantly renewed content.
Web designers typically focus on the user experience at a Web site. Hence they pay close attention to the look and feel. They go out of their way to personalize the experience. They like to use databases so pages can be created on the fly to match a visitor's profile, or to be able to add new content and new graphics to a site with the greatest of ease.
But they often ignore what is far more important -- what it takes to draw traffic to a site. And the techniques they use that look so wild and wonderful, and that even outshine the great sites of your competitors, inadvertently lock out search engines, reducing the traffic to your site without you even knowing it, and lead to your incurring advertising expense, again and again, to bring in traffic.
Ask them about search engines, and they'll give you well-meaning and wrong-headed answers. They'll say that search engines use metatags -- give them the keywords that are important to you, and they'll make keyword metatags for you, and for just a few bucks they'll sign you up with a search engine submission company; and you're all set. They sound confident; you're impressed; your beautiful site goes online, and nobody comes.
In fact, metatags do not matter, and search engine submission companies typically submit just your home page, when, at least at AltaVista, you should submit each and every page.
In fact, search engines pay no attention to "key words" except for advertising sales. For full-text search, every word on every page matters. The more content -- static HTML text -- the better.
More content does not affect your ranking for queries that involve single generic words -- like computer or photography or database -- which may appear on millions of Web pages. But it does on unexpected searches -- when people enter a series of words and phrases that match just what's on your pages, people who really want to find what you have.
Designers typically prefer small Web pages -- no more than you can see on a single screen; they don't like the visitor to have to scroll down.
But search engines, like AltaVista, give more weight and relevance to large pages than small ones. And people seeking real information prefer it all in a single page that they can easily search and easily print, rather than having to load page after tiny page.
Designers typically use tools that automatically generate directories inside directories inside directories.
But search engines give precedence to pages in the topmost directory; and sites with a flat structure do far better than those with an elaborate and deep directory tree.
Designers typically use tools that pay no attention to the HTML title or generate it automatically.
But to search engines the HTML title is the most important part of the page. That is what appears as the linking words in a list of results, and when words of a query match words in an HTML title, that page typically goes to the top of the list.
Designers routinely remove old and stale and obsolete content and replace it with what's current.
But, on the Web, old content is far more valuable than new content, because it has had time to become a part of the overall Web infrastructure -- included in search engines and directories, included in the bookmarks and favorites of individuals, and linked to by other Web sites. You should never remove a Web page or change its directory or its file name. Simply add text to explain what has changed and provide links to the new pages that have the latest and greatest info.
In other words, if you are responsible for marketing or for the overall business of a Web site, you should not abdicate responsibility for Web site design to professional designers. You need to know what matters to you -- which in many cases is traffic, new visitors, new prospects. And you need to know enough about the value of content on the Internet and how search engines work that you can make your priorities clear and lay down clear guidelines for the designers.
Tell them you want traffic-oriented Web design, not design for its own sake.
Let them know you want to build a successful business, rather than collect design awards to decorate your walls with.
A friend recently asked -- "Not working in an office everyday, I find that I sometimes get lazy and procastinate about the things that have to get done. I think this is a common problem. In an office, we have to meet the expectations of the boss and co-workers. That usually is enough to motivate a person. Being alone now I have to keep finding reasons to make progress and move forward with goals/plans. I have to be able motivate myself to get things done on time. Could you share your experience with me? How do you maintain your focus? How do you keep yourself motivated?"
I use "creative procrastination" and lists galore.
At any given moment there are dozens of things that you could and should be doing. Make a list of them. Keep adding to that list.
Typically, the item at the top of the list -- the task that is most important to get done -- is something you just don't want to do, at least not now. Your mind is interested in something else. So work on the "something else." It should be on your list too.
All the time, in the back of your mind, you're remembering the thing you really need to do now. That gives you guilt-generated energy to do what you want to do faster and better.
If, in the normal course of events, you aren't likely to ever get the urge to do that task that's at the top of your list, try to think of another task that you need to do eventually and that's even more of a turn off for you. Put that really abominable task on the top of your list. Convince yourself that it's important. The more you think about that one, the more the one that used to be at the top of your list and that really needs to be done now -- won't seem so bad afterall; and you can do that one to procrastinate having to do the one that's now on top.
Over time, try to discover your natural rhythm. Categorize the things you need to do on a regular basis, and get a feel for how often you get the urge to do such things. For instance, Web site updates, paying bills and keeping track of finances, cleaning the house or yard, doing creative project work. For me the cycle is about a week. If I try to pay bills and balance my check book on a day when I feel like working on a creative project, that's like pushing rocks uphill. Likewise, working on a creative project when my mind would prefer the relaxing tedium of a repetitive task, is laborious and unproductive. In other words, do the things you need to do when they feel natural to you.
Once you find the rhythm, try to schedule; but be loose about it. For instance, say your rhythm is a week and one of the chores is finances. Aim to do that on Saturday. Try to make that a habit. But if your mood isn't there that day or something else comes up, don't worry about it. Over the course of a week or two, you should cover what needs to be covered, by just following your natural inclinations. And since you're doing this stuff when you are in the right frame of mind, it goes faster and you do better.
Also, keep lists of accomplishments -- not just to-do lists. I do this for my reading -- when I finish a book, I earn the right to add it to my list.
But you can do it for other tasks as well. You may have half a dozen or a dozen kinds of things that you need to do on a regular basis. Keep a list for each of them, including a category for "miscellaneous." When you turn your attention to one thing and start working on it, continue working on it until you arrive at some logical stopping point -- a point from which it will be easy to start again and that feels like an "ending," so you can addit to your list and get a sense of accomplishment for having done it.
The lists are a way to pat yourself on the back -- it's cumulative. The longer your list of accomplishments gets, the more you'll feel good about adding to it, and even looking back at it.
Also, if you can, while working on projects, divide what you hope to accomplish in a day into pieces -- so you aim to get to this part done by 10 AM, that part by noon, etc. That way, when you work fast, you can reward yourself with breaks. One of the challenges in working alone is that you are likely not to give yourself any breaks, and not to give yourself any rewards or pats on the back either.
In addition to to-do lists and accomplishment lists, make lists of goals and plans. But keep those loose and flexible. Don't make them like New Year's resolutions -- objectives that you will never accomplish and that just make you feel guilty thinking about them.
Make the to-do and accomplishment lists first; and by looking at the patterns, put together some short-term goals and practical plans for moving in that direction.
At least one of the regular tasks you set for yourself should involve working with others. For me, it's my Thursday chat sessions and the segment I do each Sunday on this radio show. For those tasks, I feel an obligation to others, not just to myself. Try to link those social tasks to other deadlines. In my case, the chat helps stimulate me to think about new subjects, to read particular books, etc., and that then provides content for the radio segment, which becomes the basis for an article that I'll post at my site and use for iSyndicate.
Once again, you want to build regular rhythm. Engaging in one kind of activity, thinking about one kind of task can provide the raw material and put you in the mood for something else you need to do.
Keep in mind that, under normal circumstances, we all have times when we feel comfortable doing non-creative, repetitive, mindless tasks -- mowing the lawn, filing, straightening your office, etc. If there is a regular task that you have committed to do that you never have the urge to do, regardless of creative procrastination; maybe you should rearrange your life in such a way that you are no longer required to do this, or else hire someone else to do it and avoid taking on projects like that in the future. You are who you are. Don't fight it.
I got a call yesterday from someone who was indignant that I couldn't see the attachment he had put in his email. Thinking of all the recent viruses that were propagated by email attachments, I couldn't help but laugh.
When it comes to email, I use the most primitive of applications -- plain old text-only pine, which was around well before the Web. And every day I am delighted by how fast it allows me to work, by the flexibility it gives me, and the inherent protection it gives me against viruses.
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution.
Back in the early 1980s working at Digital Equipment, we all used terminals instead of PCs. And when we first started using PCs, we continued to access email in terminal mode. Our plain-text email resided on servers. That meant that when I traveled from one Digital facility to another, I could easily get to my email account from any terminal in the company, anywhere in the world.
In the 1990s, they switched to Microsoft Exchange for email. That meant that it was easy to send formatted files and non-text attachments -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. That also meant that email files became huge. A one line message might take up a megabyte because someone liked to include a graphic signature line. A PowerPoint presentation with a few hundred lines of text might take up 20 or even 50 megabytes because of all the graphics. And your email files all resided on your PC, not on a server. That meant that you needed a more powerful PC every couple years. That meant that if you were travelling, the only way you could access your email was by carrying your PC with you. And it also meant that you were subject to viruses, like macro viruses, that were carried to your PC by email attachments.
Of course, with the Internet, it was easy to post formatted text and graphics as Web pages and simply send the URL -- a one line plain-text email message -- rather than send massive files over large distribution lists. But very few people outside of engineering did that. So email grew to a monstrous system hog, both on individual PCs and on the network that had to carry all the bloated files. And everybody had to own their own laptop and carry it everywhere, and get a new updated one every couple years.
Meanwhile, at home, for my own personal email, I connected to an Internet service provider and used plain simple pine. All my email messages were plain text and were stored on my ISP's UNIX server. I connected to my email by telnet, from any computer connected to the Internet which wasn't blocked from using telnet by a firewall. If I needed to, I could include attachments in my email and could receive attachments from others. But what I received sat on the server until I had an opportunity to determine who had sent it to me and why. I had to make a conscious choice to download that attachment to my PC.
Today all the latest and greatest email programs are PC-based. Yes, they handle attachments with the greatest of ease, but the messages are huge -- eating up network resources and meaning that individuals need to keep upgrading to more powerful PCs with more and more disk space. And, yes, nasty viruses propagate with the greatest of ease.
Meanwhile, I continue to use pine, and continue to delight in its simplicity and efficiency.
This is email so primitive that you don't use a mouse, and that too is an important advantage. With PC-based email, you keep moving from mouse to keyboard and back again -- an awkward and time-consuming process. With pine, simple keystrokes do everything -- and a minimum of keystrokes: there's no need to hit Enter or Return to make something happen. There are far fewer choices and features, but everything I need to do is extremely easy to do. With a quick glance at my in-box, I can quickly delete spam unread.
Because it's so simple, I can reply to dozens, sometimes as many as 50 messages in an hour. And my plain text messages are readable by any system anywhere in the world -- without having to worry about what email system or software program or what version of what program the recipient may be using. I'll download copies of important files and attachments. But most of my email, I just keep on the server -- what I send as well as what I receive; plus the files that I frequently use to generate standard responses. And my Web files sit in another directory at the same ISP. I can easily add Web pages or edit them, and point to them in my email, rather than sending and resending the same files. So wherever I am, all I need is access to a machine connected to the Internet and I can conduct business.
Now many people turn to free Web-based email accounts for their personal, non-critical messages. They connect with their browser to Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. By doing so they too aren't tied to their PCs. They can read and send email from any system with a Web browser. But they have to wait for screeen after screen to load with its associated graphics and ads, and I can handle far more messages far faster with plain old pine.
I feel like, by staying still, I've leap-frogged past all the folks who upgraded to the latest and greatest. Yes, for email, the simplest is definitely the best solution.
Response --
From: Ken Sawyer <kjs@netcom.com>, Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 15:19:47 -0700
God, what a concept.
Yep, since '94 I've had a Netcom shell account. I don't use it much, and use PPP emulation, but everything you've said in this article is true. It's nice to have the functionality of formated email (I use bold and italics a lot), but for no-brainer ease of use and efficiency the shell-based approach, w/ telnet access, is still unbeatable.
Adding dozens of new titles every month, Gutenberg has already made about 2500 etexts available for free over the Internet. These include classic works of literature and history, as well as out-of-print and little-known works by great authors. If you can, connect by ftp, rather than the Web, to get the most recent ones. Here's a list of those recently added, alphabetized by author. The file name is useful for fetching the text from the ftp site. Many of these are available now or will be soon on diskette from PLEASE COPY THIS DISK for those who cannot get them themselves. For the current catalog, check http://www.samizdat.com/catalog.html or send your email request to seltzer@samizdat.com)
New corrected versions of etexts previously released:
Alexande Dumas -- The Three Musketeers (1musk11.txt)
Zane Grey --
New etexts
J. Arbuthnot -- John Bull (jhnbl10.txt)
Aristophanes -- Peace (peace10.txt)
Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations (medma10.txt)
John Kendrick Bangs -- A House-Boat on the Styx (hsty10.txt)
Edward Bulwer-Lytton -- Zanoni (zanon10.txt)
Samuel Butler -- Alps and Sanctuaries of Piedmont and the Canton Ticino (alpsn10.txt)
Pedro Calderon de la Barca -- Life Is A Dream (lfdrm10.txt)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge -- Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit etc. (cfinq10.txt)
Edgar B.P. Darlington -- On The Plains (from the Circus Boys series) (05tcb10.txt)
Emily Dickinson --
John Dryden -- Discourses on Satire & Epic Poetry (dscep10.txt)
Alexandre Dumas -- The Vicomte de Bragelonne (= further adventures of the Three Musketeers) (vicom10.txt)
Andrew E. Durnham -- Epistles from Pap (efpap10.txt)
Eugene Field -- Love-Songs of Childhood (tlsoc10.txt)
E. M. Forster --
Oliver Goldsmith -- The Vicar of Wakefield (vicar10.txt)
The Grimm Brothers -- Grimms' Fairy Tales (grimm10.txt)
H. Rider Haggard -- Queen Sheba's Ring (sheba10.txt)
Thomas Hardy --
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing -- Minna von Barnhelm (minna10.txt)
Abraham Lincoln, The Writings of Abraham Lincoln (Volume1 = 1linc10.txt, Volume 2 = 2linc10.txt, Volume 3 = 3linc10.txt, Volume 4 = 4linc10.txt, Volume 5 = 5linc10.txt, Volume 6 = 6linc10.txt)
Percival Lowell -- Noto, An Unexplored Corner of Japan (noto10.txt)
Macaulay -- History of England, James II (Volume 1 = 1hoej10.txt, Volume 2 = 2hoej10.txt, Volume 3 = 3hoej10.txt, Volume 4 = 4hoej10.txt, Volume 5 = 5hoej10.txt)
John Pinkerton -- Early Australian Voyages (ausvy10.txt)
Rafael Sabatini --
General Philip Henry Sheridan -- Personal Memoirs (Volume 1 = 1shdn10.txt, Volume 2 = 2shdn10.txt)
General William Tecumseh Sherman -- Memoirs (Volume 1 = 1shrm10.txt, Volume 2 = 2shrm10.txt)
John Philip Sousa -- Experiences of a Bandmaster (sousa10.txt)
Richard Steele -- Isaac Bickerstaff (iscbk10.txt)
Simona Sumanaru -- Poems and Tales from Romania (patfr10.txt)
Hippolyte A. Taine --
Jules Verne -- De La Terre a La Lune [in French] (xlune08.txt)
Charles Dudley Warner -- Complete Writings (volume 1 = 1warn10.txt, 2 = 2warn10.txt, 3 = 3warn10.txt, 4 = 4warn10.txt)
Eugene Wood -- Back Home (bckhm10.txt)
William Wood -- Captains of the Civil War (cptcw10.txt)
P.G. Wodehouse -- Psmith, Journalist (psmth10.txt)
Charlotte M. Yonge --
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