Andy's Mind

It is not easy to spot the moment when an organization looses its focus. But it is surprisingly obvious once it dawns on you. It can be likened to a knife loosing its sharpness. It is hard to spot the exact moment, but it is obvious once it stops to cut as it once did.

But putting allegories aside – in a startup I think it is the moment when it is not obvious anymore to everyone what their collective purpose it. It is the moment when business looses touch with reality and forgets about the basic product or service it provides turning its attention in a disproportional way to add-ons. It is the moment when the internal communication fails and the management team ceases to be just that – a team.

As I wrote already: communication is a crucial element here. In a startup it is, I think, always good at the beginning, when it is a small group of founders and first hires. Once a company develops past certain size – and especially if it becomes spread geographically – a dedicated, careful effort is necessary to prevent it from deteriorating.

Lack of this effort can be dangerous.

Suzuki Roshi, a Zen master, said once that “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few”. This quotation comes to my mind quite frequently these days when I observe the influx of seasoned experts into a certain team and what that brings with it. (more…)

When I came to Bucarest in March I didn’t expect to get back here so quickly. This time it’s middle of summer, so it was pleasantly hot. And we did get a more than fair share of Romanian hospitality. Folks from the office here treated us with dinner and a tour of the city. (more…)

A few days ago media reported about the closure of ThePiarateBay.org, a Swedish torrent site. It was not only one of the biggest torrent sites on the net, but also one known for ridiculing law threats received from American companies. Its operators believed that their site is legal under the Swedish law and laughed openly at letters coming from US lawyers. So, when the Swedish police raided their hosting center and removed all servers found there (including some belonging to other businesses and organizations) media articles were full of gleeful statements [PDF] from MPAA and RIAA. (more…)