Starting a business is like doing a backflip

August 19, 2013 David McNeill 1 Comment

I wrote last week that most of the conversations I have with friends and acquaintances regarding start-up ideas die as dreams and never are pursued. This is fascinating because most of the time the people involved in these conversations are competent, connected and appear motivated. So why don’t most of them ever move forward?

In some respects I believe pursuing a start-up is like doing your first backflip into a pool. Mainly, it’s scary. But until you get your confidence up and the nerve to simply do it, it will never happen. You can extend the metaphor if you like, e.g., you won’t get everything right the first time, it’s important to have a few people around to help point out the things you’re doing wrong, etc.

But beyond just getting over the fear of the unknown and making the decision to do it as started above, I began thinking about why most of the start-up ideas that people have discussed with me never launch. Ironically, lack of third-party investment didn’t make the list. Below are my observations:

No financial margin. Most people live right up to the level of their earnings and have no financial margin in their life to pursue a start-up, either as a sideline gig or full-time. It’s tough getting your house in order to invest cash and go without a salary for a substantial period of time, which are often start-up necessities.

The overall process is confusing and intimidating, even to someone to who has previously run a large company. In a prior life, I had a CFO responsible for payroll and HR was responsible for benefits. Selecting the vendors for these services on your own can be pretty scary. I had questions for tax attorneys who referred me to tax accountants who referred me back to tax attorneys. All of the federal, state, county and other tax considerations can cause the most competent of people to gloss over. At some point, you just have to be willing to jump in the water, make the best decisions you can with the data you have available, and correct course along the way.

The disease of “Someday”; which for most people is a disease that they take to the grave. Lots of times I hear someone say something like; “I’m still thinking about it, probably next year,” or “Just three more years for the big payout at my current company and I’ll be ready”. Ironically, I tend to hear these statements from the same people every year, as the timing seems to always roll forward. John Maxwell’s book, “Put Your Dream To The Test” might be a great read for some people to determine if the “dream” is real or simply a pipe dream.

Lack of self-awareness on personal risk profile. Amongst all of the various reasons, this one might be the biggest. I believe most people simply don’t have the proper risk profile to pursue a start-up. Most people prefer stability and the known vs. risk and the unknown, despite what they might occasionally say or think.

What else? Why do you think most people who have an idea never pursue it? Why haven’t you taken the jump into the pool yourself?

Faith, Journaling, Leadership, Parenting, Quotes

Are You Not Inspired?…

August 4, 2013 David McNeill 5 Comments

Everyone loves meaningful and/or inspiring quotes. People hang great quote signs on their walls or post them on Facebook. I tend to write quotes that really grab me in my journal and reference them often in work situations, small groups, personal interactions, etc.

If you Google “great quotes” you’ll get 722M results. The same action with “inspiring quotes” and “leadership quotes” yields 47M and 70M, respectively.

I looked back through hundreds of quotes in my journal to find those most meaningful to me. I tried to narrow down to those quotes that go beyond offering a temporary burst of inspiration, but rather have led to real changes in my behavior. In no particular order here is my list, which could broadly be categorized by leadership, business, family and faith (and many of the quotes go across multiple categories).

“Something is fundamentally dismantling when you say the right things but have the wrong actions. That is, talk like a leader, but act like an anchor.” Kevin Myers. I find this quote applicable in work, family, friendship and faith.

“When those who are the closest to you and know you the best, love and respect you the most.” John Maxwell on the definition of success. This quote has greatly reshaped how I think about the question “what is success?”

“Quality time comes at the most unusual moments. You never know when it will happen. It usually makes an appearance somewhere in the realm of quantity time.” Steve Farrar. This quote always reminds me to be present with my family.

“Every time you make a choice you are turning the control part of you, the part that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, you are slowly turning this control thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature.” CS Lewis. Lewis was a master of packing deep content into everything he wrote.

“My fully exploited strengths will always offer more to the organization than my marginally enhanced weaknesses.” Andy Stanley. I find I most often apply this quote in a business environment.

“It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.” Billy Graham. This quote all to frequently reminds me that I focus too much on the two former jobs and not enough on the latter one.

“Idealism increases in direct proportion to one’s distance from the problem.” John Galsworthy. Anyone who has worked for a large company and takes direction from afar is familiar with this. So is a stay-at-home mom trying to manage a household with a traveling husband’s input.

“Someone living close to us will take no notice of any attempts to tell them about Christ if our lives are not demonstrating the truth of the message we claim to believe.” Unknown. A constant gut check for how I am living.

“Materialism begins where your income ends.” And “Envy begins where your influence ends.” Ed Young (I believe?). Who came into your mind first? How often do we simply need to look in the mirror?

“I doubt when I get all hung up on what is unexplainable and lose sight of what is undeniable.” Andy Stanley. Just a great quote on doubt and faith.

“A good apology has three components. (1) It’s specific. (2) Forgiveness is asked for. (3) There is no whining about the consequences.” Craig Groeschel. My children can quote this one too by now!

“God, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.” David Brainerd. A great quote to help me think bigger about what I might offer.

“Someday is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.” Tim Ferriss. I have many friends who have contemplated leaving corporate America and becoming entrepreneurs. Many suggest the timing isn’t right but it will be someday. When the right timing keeps getting pushed out, this quote often comes to mind.

“The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you probably made a hiring error or a seat error.” Jim Collins. I constantly apply this quote in the work environment.

“The interest rate on culture debt is crushingly high.” Unknown. This thought goes through my head any time I’m hiring someone, especially in a small company environment where one wrong hire can tank the entire culture.

Incidentally, none of the quotes in my list appear in the Top 100 Inspirational Quotes as determined by Forbes and Quoto. Regardless, I hope some of these inspire you and you find a place to apply them in your life.

What are your favorites quotes (i.e., the real difference makers) and why?

Costa Rica, Family, Leadership

“Spending your time isn’t just a metaphor”

July 6, 2013 David McNeill 6 Comments

One of our goals for this year was to reclaim some family time while in Costa Rica. As of today we have been here for one month and almost 10% of our trip is now in the rearview mirror. We have lots left that we’d like to accomplish but without real intentionality, plans and dreams tend to drop by the wayside and are long forgotten. Sometimes a visual reminder can be helpful.

Pictured is a vase with 51 stones that sits on our dining room table – it represents the number of weeks we have left in Costa Rica before we return to Atlanta. Each week as a family we pull out one stone and throw it away. This gives us a chance to discuss the things we still hope to accomplish while we are here and use the stones as a visual reminder of how little time we have left in this place.

This illustration wasn’t my idea (I heard a similar example on a John Maxwell podcast and have seen it elsewhere since). In the same podcast, Dr. Maxwell said a great and thought-provoking expression – “Spending your time isn’t just a metaphor.” This expression can be brought to light in many different ways. E.g.,

Based on actuarial tables and my personal health I have 43 years left to live (www.deathclock.com – a bit morbid I know but perspective setting nonetheless). We have ~12 months left in Costa Rica and therefore almost 2½% of my remaining life will be spent here. At the end of the day, how I spend my time here matters, as it is a meaningful percent of my remaining time on earth.

My wife and I theoretically have 317 Saturdays with our oldest daughter Hailey before she leaves for college (theoretical because I know teenage years will deplete the actual number of Saturdays we get with her). In years past the extra hours I worked at night and on weekends over the course of a year or two probably exceeded the amount of time in my daughter’s remaining Saturdays at home. It’s so easy to convince one’s self the extra hours at work are so critical, but six years from now where will I be happier to have invested my time?

Or to paraphrase the example from Dr. Maxwell’s podcast, if someone my age decides to really kill themselves at work for the next five years in order to afford a second home, that equates to ~12.5% of their remaining life. A true cost indeed.

Steve Farrar wrote a phenomenal book called “Point Man” that has one of my favorite quotes regarding family/relationships/parenting, “Quality time comes at the most unusual moments. You never know when it will happen. It usually makes an appearance someplace in the realm of quantity time.” While we have always tried to be intentional about family time, we now have a unique chance to take advantage of some serious “quantity time” and to fill it with meaningful experiences that we can discuss and laugh about together for many, many years. If we are really successful leveraging our time in Costa Rica, our meaningful experiences will accrue commensurate with the depleting of the stones and we won’t find ourselves one day staring at the empty jar wondering where the time went.

river rock 1

Is the return on how you are currently spending your time worth the investment?
Could added focus/intentionality make a difference in the quality and quantity of stories you’ll be able to tell one day?
Where and how might a visual reminder prove meaningful for you?

Costa Rica, Family, Fatherhood, Leadership, Learning a second language, Learning Spanish, Parenting

Temporarily Trading Additional Prosperity for Peace (or, why we moved to Costa Rica for a year)

June 21, 2013 David McNeill 20 Comments

Why? When I first told friends we were considering this move, I was asked why. Right up until our departure I was asked why. Now that we are here, I continue to be asked why by “Ticos” (i.e., Costa Ricans).

The answer to – why? – is really a two-part answer. First, why move abroad for a year? Second, of the available options, why Costa Rica? The second question is easier to answer – schools, safety, things to do and visit, natural beauty, etc. The answer to the first question is multi-faceted and has evolved over several years.

1) Gain perspective for our kids (and us). Our home in Costa Rica is very different from our home in GA. E.g., Our entire lot (yard + house) is 50% of the sq. ft. of our GA house by itself; our four girls share a space that is much smaller than any one of their four bedrooms at home, we are within a few miles of severe poverty and drive through it daily. That said, perspective is relative as our home and neighborhood in Costa Rica are both beautiful – to a Tico, we are living large.

Our girls’ school is 80% local Ticos. For the next twelve months, they will be in a very small minority and all of us are made aware daily of our lack of Spanish comprehension and speaking abilities. It’s our sincere hope that these different surroundings coupled with the items listed below lead to long-term changed perspectives.

2) Learn Spanish. A few interesting facts regarding Spanish – (a) The US composes the largest Spanish-speaking community outside of Mexico, (b) Spanish is the primary language spoken at home in the US by almost 37 million people, more than double the number in 1990, and (c) The percent of the US population forecast to be native Spanish speakers by 2020 ranges from 15%-19%, depending upon the source.

Speaking (and reading and writing) Spanish will most certainly impact our family in a positive way over the longer-term. For me, I am hoping there is a whole new section of the business world in which I will ultimately be able to be a participant of consequence.

3) Experience change for growth. Whether it is a new job or assignment or a move to a new city, every time I dig into something new there is creative energy that comes to the surface. We are now meeting new friends, learning to drive around a city with no road signs and immersing ourselves in a new language & culture. I am hopeful these new challenges reveal hidden strengths and capabilities in each of us.

4) Serve others as a family. We did not need to leave Duluth in order to serve others. However, our ability to do so is now greatly simplified as we have freed ourselves from many of the accumulated day-to-day obligations of life for a brief period of time. Our goal is to engage in a way that creates a permanent change in each of our hearts.

5) Implement a bit of whimsy (a la Bob Goff) and reclaim some family time. Bob Goff’s book, “Love Does”, convinced me I needed to break free from some of the rigidity in our lives and embrace some spontaneous and random joy. It’s my hope I can write a future blog about the implementation of many whimsical family experiences. Additionally, our oldest daughter is about to enter 7^th grade where friends seem to be more important than family. Maybe in this new place we can reclaim a bit of time before the inevitable.

6) Actively pursue Halftime. Bob Buford’s book “Halftime” helped put some good definition around many conversations I had with Kelah regarding this trip. I read this book after listening to a John Maxwell podcast on his top 10 all-time books and it didn’t disappoint. In short, the book prescribes a “halftime” to refocus from a first half of life spent pursuing success to a second half to be spent pursuing significance. In short, “what I do about what I believe.” I’ve incorporated this language into my blog tag line (I.e., Intentional Pursuit of Halftime) and I anticipate writing a future blog on this topic.