Month: June 2011

Gratitude

Yesterday, I wrote about apologizing.  Today, I want to write about saying thanks.  We’ve all had someone do something nice for us or make our lives easier.  We’ve all done something for someone else, whether it was for a simple favor, to further a business relationship or to simply just help someone out.  But are there times when you forget to say thank you?  Or give a halfhearted thanks, rather than a real one?  The answer is obviously yes.  Just like me, you’re human.

I think in the Internet age, we’re losing the art of the real thank you.  While a simple tweet is better than saying nothing, you can do so much better than 140 characters and 30 seconds.  If someone does something nice for you or was a huge help, you’ll really stand out if you send a real thank you, either by email or by phone.  I know some people advocate handwritten thank you notes, but in my opinion, an email or a phone call is more than sufficient.  Not only will saying thanks make you stand out, it’s just the right thing to do.  Just like taking responsibility when you do something wrong, sharing the praise when someone does something to help you out earns their respect.

You also never know how your small thank you will affect someone else.  It might be just what they needed to get them through the day.  It might be what sets you apart and makes someone want to work with or hang out again.  Saying thanks and meaning it just makes the world a better place.  But overusing thank yous is annoying.  Send real thank yous when people deserve them, not because you want people to like or respect you more.  It’s never too late to thank someone who did you a favor or helped you out.  Is there anyone who you haven’t thanked lately who deserves it?  If so, write them an email, pick up the phone and give them the thanks they deserve.

Apologizing

We’ve all hurt others, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.  We’ve all screwed up before, whether it was at work, at home or with friends.  Nobody is perfect.  It’s part of being human.  We’ve also all apologized when we’ve done something wrong.  Part of living in a civilized society is admitting you were wrong.

There are two ways to apologize.  One type of apology makes you feel better about yourself and is really just a token apology.  For instance “I’m sorry you feel that way” is a fake apology.  The other type of apology is where you take responsibility for your actions, let the person know you were in the wrong and attempt to make it right.  The latter is a true apology.  It’s “I’m sorry for insulting you, I should never have called you that.  I lost my temper and it won’t happen again” instead of “I’m sorry you took my comment that way.”

It seems to me that there are too many apologies these days that aren’t really apologies.  People apologize to feel better about themselves and refuse to take any real responsibility.  I’d like to see that change.  When you screw up, I urge you to apologize for real, to make the other person feel better and make the situation right, rather than use a lame, cop out apology to make yourself feel better.  People will respect you more if you are willing to admit when you were wrong and then take responsibility for your actions.

Although it’s best to apologize as soon as you know you’ve hurt someone else, it’s never too late to apologize or change your fake apology for a real one.  Take a look in the mirror and see if there is anyone who you owe an apology.  If there is, call or email them tomorrow and start to make things right.

Why Doesn’t US Soccer Produce Homegrown Strikers?

Soccer has been gaining popularity in the US ever since World Cup 1994.  Soccer is the most played youth sport in the US.  The MLS now averages over 17,100 fans per game, about the same as the NBA and NHL.  Seattle’s average attendance is now 36,350 “and would have ranked ninth in the English Premier League, sixth in Spain’s La Liga, second in France’s Ligue 1 and fourth in Italy’s Serie A.” The national team has made some great progress and has started to get better results, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2002 and winning the group in 2010, plus 2nd place in 2009 confederations cup and a win over Spain.  But what’s holding the US national team back?  The most glaring deficiency is a world class striker.

There has never been a truly great US striker.  The closest is Brian McBride, a great player, but not truly world class.  The US has produced tons of world class goalkeepers (Casey Keller, Tim Howard, Brad Friedal, Tony Meola), a few midfielders (Claudio Reyna, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey) and good defenders (Alexi Lalas), but no strikers.

It’s maddening to watch many US games.  They have a decent buildup, good passing, but then the finish is just lacking.  In the US’s 2-0 win against Jamaica today, a real world class striker would have scored at least 4-5 more times.  It happens time and time again.   The US team is as or more athletic than any team in the world.  It has a good midfield, an amazing goalkeeper and a decent defense.  The biggest thing missing is a world class striker.

The US has not produced a striker with a nose for goal in the mold of Messi, Rooney, Torres, Teves, Drogba, Eto’o or even a Berbatov.  The last goal by a US striker in a World Cup was scored by Brian McBride on June 17 2002 in a 2-0 round of 16 win vs Mexico.   Since then, all 8 goals have been scored by midfielders.  Charlie Davis could have been that forward, be he almost died in a car crash and is still not back in form 2 years later.  Jozy Altidore shows flashes, but does not seem to have that killer, striker instinct.

So why is this?  I’ve been playing my whole life and reffing for 12 years now and i have a few theories.

When we start playing in organized leagues at age 4 or 5, the rest of the world is still playing in the park.  We play way too many full sided games way too early, don’t practice enough or play enough pickup games.  Even when kids are 4 or 5, the point of games is far too often to get a win, not to develop your skills.  We are always playing on grass, while the rest of the world grows up playing on pavement, tennis courts, gravel, dirt or artificial surfaces.  When young players in the rest of the world move to grass, the ball moves slow and they can do anything.  We have too many coaches who stifle our imagination with tactics that work when we are young, at the expense of true technical quality.

The other issue is sportsmanship.  When a striker scores a ton in an organized league, the coach takes him out, or puts him in on defense or midfield and tells him not to run up the score.  In other countries, the goal scorer keeps on scoring in pickup games.  He’s picked first when people are choosing teams.  An example.  When I was 10, I played on a team with a bunch of my friends.  We were really good and rarely lost.  My friend Jeremy and I were the leading goal scorers.  Every time we got up by a few goals, our coaches would put both of us on defense, or as the goalkeeper.  Obviously, neither of us had the talent to be an international, but imagine the true top players in the US who are stopped from scoring at a young age.  It kills their killer instinct that strikers need.

So how do we fix it?  If i were in charge of youth soccer in the US, here’s what I’d do.

1.  Don’t start with organized soccer until kids are older.  Instead, get kids together and have them play semi organized pickup games.  At the end of the “season” break kids into teams for a quick 2-3 week season to get them used to playing on a real field.  Scale back coaching.  They mostly stifle creativity.

2. Force young kids to practice on tennis courts, dirt and other artificial surfaces.  These surfaces are way faster, so when you go onto grass, everything is slow and you have amazing touch.  The typical soccer moms will hate this.

3. Get rid of the sportsmanship excuse.  Have less of a focus on winning and losing when kids are young and let a great goal scorer keep scoring to keep developing their skills.

Hey Entrepreneurs! You Need To Talk About Your Ideas!

When I was in Chile, most of the Chilean entrepreneurs were afraid to talk about their ideas.  They would say “I’m working on a project in technology” or “I have an Internet startup that I think can change the world.”  I’m seeing the same problem in Madison, especially with young or first time entrepreneurs.  It’s a huge problem in places that would like to become startup hotbeds.  People are afraid to talk about their startup ideas, mainly because they think people will steal their ideas.

In the Valley, NYC, Boulder, Austin and other startup hotbeds, everyone talks openly about their startups.  It’s how you test your ideas and get feedback.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten great from other entrepreneurs.  Or the times times someone has said “oh, that’s an awesome idea, you need to meet so and so” or “I’m a reporter for (insert publication), I’d love to cover your story.” or “I’m a programmer/biz dev/sales specialist and I’d love to work for you” or “you should partner with (insert company).”

I met the guys who acquired my first business, my first programmer, my attorney/mentor, my current business partner Jesse, got countless press interviews and tons of other connections just by talking to people.  Entrustet would be nowhere near what it is today if we refused to talk about it for our first year and a half until we were fully launched.

These connections and conversations ARE the ecosystem that people talk about.  If all of the startups in Silicon Valley suddenly stopped talking to each other, deal flow, partnerships and innovation would stop.  You need to make ideas run into each other for innovation to happen.  You need other smart people giving you feedback if you want to succeed.

So what are you scared of?  Do you think some other entrepreneur is going to steal your idea?  Do you think your idea is so special it can’t see the light of day?  I don’t remember which startup guru said it, but if your idea is 1 in a million, 3oo other people in the us are working on it.  For my Chilean readers, that means 16 other people in Chile are working on it!  Entrepreneurship is all execution, not the your idea.  As my friends at Planet Propaganda like to say, “I’d rather have a ham sandwich than just a good idea, you can at least eat the sandwich!”

If you think you wont be able to succeed because someone else knows a little bit about your idea, you probably shouldn’t be starting your business.  You need to out execute everyone.  You can’t be scared of someone copying your idea.  You need to get feedback and make connections.  The only way to do this is to talk to people!

Entrepreneurs who are already working on their own companies are the least likely people to steal your ideas and they are the most likely to give you actionable, valuable feedback that will help your business grow, or connect you with a partner or investor your need to grow your business.  The tiny risk that someone will steal your idea pales in comparison to the huge benefits you can get in feedback, advice, press and partnerships.   Entrepreneurs, for the most part, want to help other entrepreneurs.  They are smart and think like you.  What better way to challenge your thinking than to have another smart person think about your ideas with you?

It’s a problem in Chile, Madison, Milwaukee and other aspiring startup hubs.  The other week, I talked to a 20 year old UW student who wouldn’t tell me more than he was into “green technology.”  I can’t help you if you don’t tell me more!  Moral of the story: it pays to talk about your ideas!