Less mass

Embrace the idea of having less mass. Right now, you're the smallest, the

leanest, and the fastest you'll ever be. From here on out, you'll start accumulating

mass. And the more massive an object, the more energy required to change its

direction. It's as true in the business world as it is in the physical world. Mass is

increased by ...

Long-term contracts

Excess staff

Permanent decisions

Meetings

Thick process

Inventory (physical or mental)

Hardware, software, and technology lock-ins

Long-term road maps

Office politics

Avoid these things whenever you can. That way, you'll be able to change

direction easily. The more expensive it is to make a change, the less likely you

are to make it.

Huge organizations can take years to pivot. They talk instead of act. They

meet instead of do. But if you keep your mass low, you can quickly change

anything: your entire business model, product, feature set, and/or marketing

message. You can make mistakes and fix them quickly. You can change your

priorities, product mix, or focus. And most important, you can change your

mind.

*Jim Rutenberg, "Clinton Finds Way to Play Along with Drudge," New York

Times, Oct. 22, 2007.

*"Fascinating Facts About James Dyson, Inventor of the Dyson Vacuum

Cleaner in 1978," www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/dyson.htm

+Russ Mitchell, "The Beat Goes On," CBS News, Sunday Morning, Mar. 29,

2009, www.tinyurl.com/cd8gjq

++Eric Ransdell, "The Nike Story? Just Tell It!" Fast Company, Dec. 19,

2007, www.fastcompany.com/magazine/31/nike.html

*"Mary Kay Ash: Mary Kay Cosmetics," Journal of Business Leadership 1,

no. 1 (Spring 1988); American National Business Hall of Fame,

www.anbhf.org/laureates/mkash.html

*"Stanley Kubrick--Biography," IMDB, www.imdb.com/name/nm00004o/bio

*Mission, Enterprise Rent-a-Car,