Leave Your Legacy
August 25, 2013 § 1 Comment
Leave Your Legacy: Pissed Off For Greatness
Wins and Losses – they are a dime a dozen
But EFFORT?
Nobody can judge effort
Effort is between YOU and YOU!NOW…you have to show that you are a different creature than you were 5 minutes ago….
It means you are pissed off for greatness
Because if you aren’t pissed off for greatness
Then that means you are ok with being mediocreSO, LET’S DO WHAT WE DO!
SF Commercial Real Estate Market: Data Snapshot
August 8, 2013 § 1 Comment
Being a CFO, one of my many roles is to make the decisions on worldwide real estate for Mozilla. Over the past 3 years, we’ve been very busy opening up 11 Mozilla Spaces (employee and community/contributor work and event spaces) on 4 different continents. As a result, I’m always very close to real estate data streams in various markets and have regular conversations on the topic with a set of my go-to regular experts.
One such snapshot came across my email box last week with respect to the San Francisco Commercial Real Estate Market. SF currently happens to be the hottest commercial real estate market in the US right now and arguably in the entire world. (in terms of rental rate increases and vacancy rate decreases).
The Rosen Realty Group (RRG) http://www.rosenrg.com/ led by Mark Rosen just published one of their latest installments. Once again, it’s extremely useful and confirmational data for those with eyes/ears close to the ground in the SF Market specifically.
A shameless plug is deserved here. I’ve worked with Mark and Anna at RRG for over 10 yrs on numerous deals and consider RRG to be one of the best (OK THE BEST) real estate broker firm for tenants I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Mark and Anna aren’t just “brokers”. Having worked in SF and the Bay Area for the last +25 yrs, they have an amazing network of people and resources to help you get things done. They’ve worked side by side with me and my team to not just do the lease deals (renting the various spaces) but more importantly to monitor and ensure the proper steps to actually get the offices opened (tenant improvements) and to give amazing advice on making these new offices a “home” for those living in it every day.
The DATA BELOW:
CLICK ON THE PICTURES BELOW AND THEY’LL EXPAND
note: I have obtained permission from RRG to republish this copyrighted research report.
SF Avg. Rental Rate Patterns:
Analyzing both the graph and this summary data table I created, some clear patterns emerge
- SF Avg Rental Rates of $43.56 have hit a 10 year high as of July 31, 2013
- The previous SF Market Rental high occurred in the abnormal 1999-2000 period where SF avg rental rates spiked 50% ( from $45 to $65+) and then back down to $45 all within a 12 month period
- Barring any economic shocks to the system, there appears to be more room to continue the recent trends. Vacancy rates still have room to fall to its historical 5% low range which (the data suggests) would move avg rental rates beyond $50 and maybe even $60 per sq ft rates.
- The 8 year CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) is a healthy 8%.
- There hasn’t been a significant decline in avg. rental rates since 2010 when avg. rates hit their low of $27.50. Over the last 3 yrs (36 months), avg SF rates have increased steadily to today’s $43.50 while vacancy rates are on a directly proportional decline from 15% to 10%.
- In terms of Silicon Valley/Pennisula, the data is similar: Vacant space has decreased for 9 quarters in a row to 10.2% vacancy rate as of Q2 2013; the lowest “available space” since the first quarter of 2001.
What does this suggest for the next few years (2014-2016?).
caveat: assumes mostly status quo with no major macro-economic surprise or downturn. These economic shocks can be seen from the graph (2001-2003 and again 2008-2010) and the impact of these economic shocks show a very predictable spike in vacancy and a dip in avg. rental rates.
- Vacancy rate trends suggests the market will drop below 10% for the first time since 2001 (+12 yrs) to the 8% range
- Avg rental rates are correspondingly expected to grow at 8% annually over the next 2 years and to break above $50 per sq ft. annually (+$4.50 per month per sq. ft)
- Every 1% decrease in vacancy rates equals roughly a $3 increase in avg rental rates
- Every 1% increase in vacancy rates equates to a smaller decline in rates by only $2 per sq ft annually
Bottom line: Commercial office space real estate demand is approaching a historical high and once again is beginning to outstrip supply. This is especially true for space of 50K sq feet and above which equates to workstation capacity of 300 employees +/-.
VC Influencer Graph
August 3, 2013 § 1 Comment
Ok, I’ve heard from a few readers of this blog loud and clear. The “Live Like Dogs” and “What’s Your Walk Up Song” posts are cute but “Can you please get back to some good data and analysis”? The next few posts will be just that. Here goes.
Zeno Group just published a great slideshare on VC Influencers including an analysis of the top VC’s social media consumption habits. They used Twitter stats, LinkedIn stats, and an online survey targeting the top 100 VC’s as published by the Forbes Midas List.
The results are a combination of unique and interesting data as well as confirmational data for anyone spending time following these folks on these social media networks or interacting with these VC’s and reporters as part of their jobs.
I’m republishing the results on this blog mostly for my own convenience since I’ve noticed these types of published results quickly get lost in our ephemeral and quick twitch world of data coming at us.
Here’s a quick summary which I found interesting:
- 37 of Top 100 VC’s have LESS than 500 Connections on LinkedIn. So, don’t feel so bad if you haven’t achieved this mark yet.
- 36 of Top 100 VC’s are still NOT ON TWITTER. Of 64 who are on Twitter, the median # of followers is 3,450 (# of people the VC’s Influence). The top 6 VC Influencers have a median of 10,500 followers
- 63% follow their PEER GROUP (other VC Partners, VC Firms, or Tech Executives and Entrepreneurs)
- 19% follow Media Brands/Journalists
- HEAVILY WEIGHTED to @WaltMossberg (WSJ), @KaraSwisher (AllThingsD), @DanPrimack (Fortune), Sarah Lacy (@sarahcuda PandoDaily), Adam Lashinsky (@adamlashinsky Fortune). They also follow TechCrunch
- The top 100 VC’s are using Twitter and LinkedIn to STAY CONNECTED and FOR NEWS/TRENDS
What’s Your Walk Up Song?
July 30, 2013 § Leave a comment
I noticed this concept for the first time at a recent conference. It was so “in your face” that I began commenting on it…then thinking more deeply about the technique. When I returned back to the office, I began discussing the use of this concept in the workplace as an “Identity Tool”.
What if we created a way to not only uniquely personalize “YOU” with music but more importantly an easy way for others to remember “YOU”? Music has always been a way our sensing brain connects with our emotional brain. Music is a remarkable imprinting device.
Some of the ideas I bantered about with people at Mozilla were to give everyone a “RingID” in our online phone book. This would allow people to easily create a 10-15 second music clip to say as much about you as any Bio or stale “who I am” or “my hobbies” could ever do.
I never realized, or rather, never connected that Major League Baseball has been doing this “Walk Up Song” for years. This brilliant article describes this “connection concept” perfectly. We all understand personalized ring tones for our cell phones and we all have our favorite playlists. Is it time for our personalized RingID?
SO, what’s your “Walk Up Song”? What is the musical fingerprint that defines “YOU” in the 10-15 second period between the time you are introduced by someone or you want people to remember you by? My current one? = Don’t Stop Believing
READ MORE >>
http://www.linkedin.com/today/influencers/20130730153624-10878085-what-s-your-walk-up-song
Cosmos: Flatland and Googol
July 20, 2013 § Leave a comment
One of the biggest influences on my young scientific brain was the amazing thirteen part Cosmos series written by Carl Sagan and his wife Ann Druyan. It aired in 1980 when I was 13 years old and I still feel it’s impact and influence on my young mind. It was the most widely watched series in the history of public television and is still one of the most widely watched PBS series in the world. It’s been broadcast in more than 60 countries and watched by more than 500 million people. For it’s day, it was so well produced from the special effects to the soundtracks to the simple Storytelling. The series brilliant blending of science, history, poetry, music creates tremendous education for a young mind and at 13 I was a sponge.
In this series, the concepts include our universe, DNA, astronomy (Kepler, Copernicus, and Tycho Brahe), an entire episode devoted to Mars, Space-Time and Einstein, Voyager’s Golden Record and our collective intelligence. It’s all here.
One particular episode stood out for me above all others. The concepts described in the Flatland episode intrigues me to this day. The possibilities of “what’s out there?” and how it might look make me full of wonder. I still love the part how the 3D cube casts a shadow on the 2D Flatland and further, how we can imagine the fourth dimension by creating a “shadow” in our 3D world…even though we can never physically see this 4th dimensional “shape”.
FLATLAND:
Today I think of this concept as “Perspective” and I regular use this Flatland analogy when I feel perspective is needed.
I love how Carl simply poses great questions and teaches without lecturing.
“Cosmology brings us face-to-face with the deepest mysteries of questions that were once treated only in religion and myth”
“Who know for certain? Who shall here declare it? Whence was it born?…….these words are 3500 years old. They are taken from the Rig Veda, a collection of early Sanskrit hymns. The most sophisticated ancient cosmological ideas came from Asia and particularly from India. Here, there’s a tradition of skeptical questioning and un-selfconscious humility before the great cosmic mysteries..”
I marvel at the consistent blend of poetry, science, history, and cultural concepts and begin to understand how these ideas were planted in my young mind as they were in many other young minds.
As for the Googol and Googolplex, little did we know that 20 years later, these words would take on a whole new meaning. The concept of “the infinity of small” and the “infinity of large” still intrigues me to this day.
GOOGOL and a GOOGOLPLEX
I’ll end this mini-video series with one of Carl Sagan’s most persistent and timeless messages for humanity
“Those worlds in space are as countless as all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the Earth. Each of those worlds is as real as ours. In every one of them, there’s a succession of incidence, events, occurrences which influence its future. Countless worlds, numberless moments, an immensity of space and time. And our small planet, at this moment, here we face a critical branch-point in the history. What we do with our world, right now, will propagate down through the centuries and powerfully affect the destiny of our descendants. It is well within our power to destroy our civilization, and perhaps our species as well. If we capitulate to superstition, or greed, or stupidity, we can plunge our world into a darkness deeper than time between the collapse of classical civilization and the Italian Renaissance. But, we are also capable of using our compassion and our intelligence, our technology and our wealth, to make an abundant and meaningful life for every inhabitant of this planet. To enhance enormously our understanding of the Universe, and to carry us to the stars.”
Live Like A Dog
July 4, 2013 § Leave a comment
WHY DOGS LIVE LESS THAN HUMAN ? ANSWER OF A 6 YEAR OLD
I found this anonymous story on the web. It speaks a powerful truth….
==============
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker ‘s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ”I know why.”
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try to live.
He said,”People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”
The Six-year-old continued,
”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”
The moral of the story of a dog’s life?
- Live simply.
- Love generously.
- Care deeply.
- Speak kindly.
- Be loyal.
- Never pretend to be something you’re not.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
- When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
- Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
- Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.
- Take naps; Stretch before rising.
- Run, romp, and play daily.
- Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
- Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
- If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
- When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
On any given day:
- On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
- On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
- When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
- Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!
Pixars 22 Rules of Storytelling
June 30, 2013 § 1 Comment
Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats tweeted these rules that she learned from her more senior colleagues.
PBJPublishing.com thought they were so good, they chose to share them the best way they know how – through design. Enjoy!
http://www.pbjpublishing.com/blog/pixars-22-rules-to-phenomenal-storytelling-infographic/
We thought it’d be helpful to get Pixar’s 22 rules in text form too from The Pixar Touch blog:
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
7-8 Tips To Great Preso’s
June 28, 2013 § 1 Comment
Note: Click the Left – Right Arrows In These Embedded Presentations – They work!
And Don’t Be This Guy
Be Yourself:
Note: Too many slides here but Nancy Duarte is an expert in this field – so flip through quickly – you’ll find some “pearls” of wisdom in the sea of slides:
I’ve summarized the slides / points that matter the most (to me): Next time I’m on stage I’m reviewing these notes below….
1) Audience – Readiness – tend to the ecosystem (Who?, What?, Why?, How?)
- Who are they? – walk in their shoes – what’s their perspective?
- Why are they here? situational analysis
- What keeps them up at night?
- How can you help solve their problem?
- What do you want them to do / think about?
- How can you best reach them?
- How might they resist?
2) Engage – Connect – OPEN WITH A PUNCH (You get 60 seconds to grab audience attention – no matter who you are)
- Personal
- Unexpected
- Novel
- Challenging
- Humorous
Move with Purpose – Eye Contact – Pause Effectively
3) Add Playfulness
- Interact – throw something –
- Make a Point – Use Audience Member (will I be next?)
4) Body Language: Our bodies can change our minds, our minds change our behavior, our behavior changes our outcomes.
- No tech life hack
- Audit of your body
- Power = Open Up – Get Wide
- Powerless = small, wrap up
- Fake It until you become it: – when forced to smile – hold pen in teeth – makes you happier
- Our minds changes our bodies? – do our bodies change our minds?
- Role changes also shape the mind/body chemistry
- PRESENCE is most important – (Passion, confidence, authentic, comfortable, captivating,enthusiastic)
- 2 Minutes of Powerful Pose – configure your brain – testosterone up, cortisol down
5) STAR Moments
- shocking stats
- evocative visuals
- emotive storytelling
- repeatable soundbites
Ethos Pathos Logos – Communicating Aristotle Style
June 25, 2013 § Leave a comment
Communicating Aristotle Style:
1) Ethos – Establish the Who and How of You: Establish your Character and Credibility with the Audience
Ethos is a Greek word meaning “character” that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence the listener’s emotions, behaviors, and even morals The word’s use in rhetoric is closely based on the Greek terminology used by Aristotle in his concept of the three artistic proofs.:
2) Pathos – Make an Emotional Connection to your Audience; Make your communication matter to them; Lead them down the path with a compelling story.
Pathos: Greek for “suffering” or “experience;” representing an appeal to the audience’s emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric (where it is considered one of the three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos and logos).
Aristotle focused on whom, toward whom, and why stating that “It is not enough to know one or even two of these points; unless we know all three, we shall be unable to arouse anger in anyone. The same is true of the other emotions.”
Emotional appeal can be accomplished in a multitude of ways:
- by a metaphor or story telling, common as a hook,
- by passion in the delivery of the speech or writing, as determined by the audience.
- Language choices matter. Specific words matter. Great writers and storytellers are born from tremendous pathos.
3) Logos – Logic; Make fact based connections explicit from your analysis to conclusions. Persuading by use of reasoning. This was Aristotle’s favorite.
Effectively Communicating was figured out over 2000 years ago……a simple 3 step approach.
How To Give A Killer Presentation
June 10, 2013 § Leave a comment
How to Give a Killer Presentation
Source: Harvard Business Review
1) Frame your story (figure out where to start and where to end).
We all know that humans are wired to listen to stories, and metaphors abound for the narrative structures that work best to engage people. When I think about compelling presentations, I think about taking an audience on a journey. A successful talk is a little miracle—people see the world differently afterward.
2) Plan your delivery (decide whether to memorize your speech word for word or develop bullet points and then rehearse it–over and over).
Remember that the people in the audience are intelligent. Let them figure some things out for themselves. Let them draw their own conclusions.
Many of the best talks have a narrative structure that loosely follows a detective story. The speaker starts out by presenting a problem and then describes the search for a solution. There’s an “aha” moment, and the audience’s perspective shifts in a meaningful way.
3) Work on stage presence (but remember that your story matters more than how you stand or whether you’re visibly nervous)
the physical act of being onstage can be the most difficult part of giving a presentation—but people tend to overestimate its importance…..the biggest mistake we see in early rehearsals is that people move their bodies too much…..the single best advice is simply to breathe deeply before you go onstage.
Acknowledging nervousness can also create engagement. Showing your vulnerability, whether through nerves or tone of voice, is one of the most powerful ways to win over an audience, provided it is authentic
4) Plan the multimedia (whatever you do, don’t read from PowerPoint slides)
Many of the best TED speakers don’t use slides at all, and many talks don’t require them. If you have photographs or illustrations that make the topic come alive, then yes, show them. If not, consider doing without, at least for some parts of the presentation. And if you’re going to use slides, it’s worth exploring alternatives to PowerPoint. For instance, TED has invested in the company Prezi, which makes presentation software that offers a camera’s-eye view of a two-dimensional landscape.
5) Put it together (play to your strengths and be authentic)
Presentations rise or fall on the quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speaker. It’s about substance–not style. In fact, it’s fairly easy to “coach out” the problems in a talk, but there’s no way to “coach in” the basic story–the presenter has to have the raw material.
The single most important thing to remember is that there is no one good way to do a talk. The most memorable talks offer something fresh, something no one has seen before. The worst ones are those that feel formulaic. So do not on any account try to emulate every piece of advice I’ve offered here. Take the bulk of it on board, sure. But make the talk your own. You know what’s distinctive about you and your idea. Play to your strengths and give a talk that is truly authentic to you.
The full article here:
http://hbr.org/2013/06/how-to-give-a-killer-presentation/ar/1
