Babbling VC

Less is Almost Always More

I've struggled forever to keep my mouth shut. If there is one thing I have tried to work on over the years it's saying less than more. I've been reminded again and again that you often achieve far more value by listening than talking. More so than not, I have left a meeting scolding myself for opening my mouth far too often and not letting the other party speak. I have become far better at this but it is something I try to focus on nevertheless. 

The reason this has popped up again in my mind is that I have observed so many meetings and email exchanges in the past couple of years with folks interacting with their superiors in companies or business situations. By "superiors" I mean broadly that one party has something the other wants....VC/Founder, Board Member/Manager, Customer/Vendor and so forth. It's almost painful at times reading emails from one to the other. Get to the point when you want something. Be polite but direct. Do NOT beat around the bush. Just yesterday I saw an email that was almost a page long basically winding it's way around simply saying something had to be approved. The long-winded mail was a bunch of niceties and "I hope's" peppered in-between "It would be great's", "Sorry for's", etc. You all know what I mean and you've all seen or written these emails or had such interactions. 

Get to the point! Your superiors, customers, VC's and whatnot usually don't have much time. Further, they've had all the niceties thrown at them. Just say what you want. There is always a fear of being too direct and potentially screwing something up. Trust me...you will never get in trouble asking for what you want. If the other party is offended that you didn't include enough niceties then you may need to rethink the relationship. 

Further, when interacting directly, do not fear the silence. Oftentimes it's best to say what you want and wait. Don't say a word after getting to your point. Let the other party think. Let them see that it is their turn to say something. If you've clearly stated what your point was, they have no choice but to speak. If they ask questions, this is good. If they don't react immediately, they are waiting to see if you have something to add. If you know what you want and have stated this clearly, again.....WAIT. So many people are uncomfortable with silence (or succinct emails). Don't be one of them and stop beating around the bush. Let the other side come to you. 

Leica Q

I recently picked up a camera as some of you may have seen from my social network posts. I have some thoughts about this which I wanted to share. I picked up this camera for most likely some uncommon reasons. I am not a good photographer. I love taking pics but I am far from good. I had a Fuji x100 which I loved initially but used very little towards the tail-end of its time with me. My sister inherited that one. (I hope she finally starts posting some pics!)

So why another camera and at that, one of the most expensive ones in its class? Well, if it weren't expensive, I wouldn't be as inclined to use it. Call me crazy but this is how my mind often ticks. I have to get my money's worth and will therefore always have it with me and use it. More importantly though I realized I was walking around staring into my phone. This had to stop. I am so often in beautiful surroundings lost in my phone. With the camera, I am constantly looking for light and am forced to keep my head up. Finally, I am forced to learn...how to use the camera, how to compose pics, how to process these pics and so forth.

I do this all for me. I am happy when people enjoy my pics but they are for me...to remain engaged, to continue learning, to be reminded to look around as well as see what is happening around me and so forth. There's also a digital trail of where I have been and what I have done. I like the idea of looking back in ten or twenty years and reliving a moment via a pic....yet not only because of the pic but because I was engaged when taking that pic. This is all missed in-between things when just heads-down in email, Twitter or whatnot.

And yes I know my iPhone has a great camera. I don't want the distraction of included apps and I do have to say the Leica photos are still so much better in quality. Unexpectedly, in the short time I've had the camera, I've also been pleasantly surprised by the amount of conversations I have had about it. From meeting folks who recognize the brand to the random waiter or commuter next to me saying "that's a cool camera!" A conversation almost always ensues. It's been a long time since my iPhone led to that.