Derby Management's "Competitive Edge" Blog

At the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center, in addition to shepherding 450 enthusiastic and curious students a semester among 16 wicked smart professors, I've been focusing on building an event structure throughout the year that leads up to our $100K New Venture Competition in the spring.  Right now, you should Mark April 5th in your calendar and come and participate in what Forbes ranks as one of "The top 15 business plan contests in the country." 

Vermont's Marketing in the Fall 

25% of Vermont's tourist dollars come as a result of four weeks during the leaf-peeping season from caravans of busses out the Midwest and outright commercialism of marketing and selling everything that is the essence of Vermont. 
To the left is a picture from last weekend taken from my dirt road 'bout half a mile from my house.  Doesn't get Vermont-better than this in terms of the beauty that is the fall...and the tourist dollars that come rolling in as a result.

When I became the Director of the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center, one of the Center's professors, a great guy and a superb instructor noted in our first faculty meeting "since you are the oldest..." , at which time, I jokingly cut him off, and he quickly course-corrected to point out... "I meant, you've been teaching here the longest". 
I've also realized during the last six months through Tufts' very unique perspective on entrepreneurship, innovation and research, that age has its benefits.  

Two thirds of the way through this superb summer and plenty of time left to take a bit of vaca, squish the sand between the toes, pack those gotta-read-this-summer books into the beach bag, and in general just prepare yourself physically and mentally for the wicked fast acceleration into the first week of September. 

The Dog Days of August occur  when everyone realizes that the beginning of the summa' has passed them by, and now there's just five weeks left to take some time off and do that forced relaxation thing.  Forget trying to find anyone in France or Italy, and the same applies to any venture or PE person in the U.S, who all seem to be hiding out on Nantucket. It is what it is, and September will be here soon enough.  To a degree, who cares, since this is all about you, so right now, this morning, click open your calendar and just mark off all the days you can with the words "beach", "golf", "kids" or "nothing".  You won't get another chance since when it's over, it's over 

You cannot not like Michael Porter... 

The guy is just brilliant!  Been around for a long time.  Lots of books.  Got the Five Forces Thing down.  Senior professor at HBS.  Has a building on campus named after him.  And, he's a true Renaissance Man, who continues to do research, write and still actively teach. The Real Deal !

Thanks for closing the Q on time and even squeaking in those last few orders on Friday afternoon before the closing bell !  This morning, whatever the number was, it feels good to have the wind at your back and a new page open to a new week, a new month and a new quarter !  Still lots of room between now and the end of December.    

"A clean forest is a happy forest !"

In the tiny town of Bondville (Federal government's name) and/or Winhall (the State's name), population 647, I was out in my Vermont woodlot this past weekend. Always a work process of love for the land that is good for my head, the soul and especially for the woods!  
My family has lived in this valley for over 250 years, and I have enough great grandfather and grandfather stories of real entrepreneurship to fill a book. I think that it's not by coincidence that I'm now director of the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center, just two miles from my grandfather's first retail store opened in Davis Square in 1908.  Bapa left the not-so-rural town of Poultney, just 20 miles up the road a piece from where I live in Vermont, to settle in Somerville next to the Tufts campus.  

Last Friday, Mike, my trusted co-worker, and I were deep in the Vermont muck with chain saws and ATV's cutting, bushwhacking, and generally cleaning up the final damage of the winta'. 

Today's critical number is seven!

1. Seven days in the week
2. Seven is a very spiritual number; just like three
3. Seven continents and seven seas
4. Shakespeare's "seven stages of life"
5. Seven colors in a rainbow
6. Seven letter in "SUCCESS"
7. ...and, of course, just seven days left in Q2 to make quota !

For years, I've always been a countdown guy ticking the numbers down from here to there, or more typically, I start at the "there" and back into where "here" is so that everything...quota, work, travel, and my work at Tufts with my extraordinary students and professors, gets handled efficiently...and most of the time, effectively. 

Time is obviously finite and allows for zero expansion in life, in projects and certainly in Sales.  The month closes, the calendar page turns and BAANNG, it's a new month, a new quarter, and we're on the other side of that measuring bar. Same as in sports when the buzzer sounds!  Zero difference since Sales is just like any professional sport.  Always remember that we're all professional athletes just like any professional sports figure...we just chose different careers.  Same requirements for training, motivation and the clarity of our drive!

• Limited time to work.  On average a "very good" salesperson works 57.5 hours a week, only slightly less than the 63.2 hours for a "very good" CEO...most of whom are what?  Salespeople!
• Limited time to sleep.  I guess that there is still a rule of thumb that the average adult needs eight hours, but there are those of us who have gotten by just fine, thank you, for decades on four or five, and last night on three. 
• Limited time to live.  'Nuff said about that depressing note, since today I chose to "Be Happy!"

A beautiful happy day here in Boston having finally shrugged off the ugliness of a cold wet spring to now bask in the excitement of the startup capital of the world.  Just a great day to be alive..."and sell some stuff"

Looks like it'll be a pretty good start to the weekend. 

Must admit, I'm working from home today at the NH beach, where I just decided that I needed to do some field research so I've just relocated the office to the sand. 

Definitely, a beach day, and, for me, a time to think, to read a book (on Social Media, of course) and begin the summer task of sorting through a rewrite of How to Write the Winning Business Plan and a total overhaul of its two accompanying ebooks on writing marketing and sales plans. 

Nothing like blue sky, the sound of the ocean and the bliss of knowing that I, once again, successfully beat back the tentacles of yet another New England winta'.