Forget Your MBA: Managing a Living Company

MBA
FORGET YOUR

MANAGING A
LIVING COMPANY

@marcelosomers
#forgetMBA
behindcompanies.com

Marcelo Somers
Product Manager, Sabre Holdings

“
The average life expectancy of a
multinational corporation is between
40 and 50 years.”
- Royal Dutch Shell study, 1983 (http://buswk.co/o14v7q)

“
A full one-third of the companies listed
in the 1970 Fortune 500 had vanished by
1983 – acquired, merged, or broken to
pieces.”

“
Companies die because their managers focus on
the economic activity of producing goods and
services, and they forget that their organizations’
true nature is that of a community of humans.”

“
Profit is the result of doing things right rather
than the purpose of business activity.
Profitability is a measurement of how well the
business discharges its functions in serving the
market and customer.”
- Peter Drucker in Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (http://amzn.to/gZzﬁU)

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/38047620@N00/3745750018/

“
When you look at growth as a strategy, it becomes
somewhat seductive, addictive. But growth should
not be—and is not—a strategy; it’s a tactic.
- Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO (http://bit.ly/eAUwQE)


“
The primary lesson I’ve learned over the years is that growth
and success can cover up a lot of mistakes. As we return the
company to growth, it’ll be disciplined, profitable growth for
the right reasons.”
- Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO (http://bit.ly/eAUwQE)


http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wa-j/503225832/

“
Focus on just a few things, and do
them better than anybody else.”
- Steve Ells, Chipotle CEO (http://bit.ly/rsqZI3)

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wa-j/503225832/

(or se rvice!)

Constraint
THE PRODUCT IS THE

http://www.xtranza.com/blog/?p=284

“
At Apple the top priority is the product.

Sounds trivial, but very few companies place product first.
Those who do tend to be producing creative works. Most
companies place either production or distribution first.”
- Horace Dediu (http://bit.ly/fApvkB)

http://www.xtranza.com/blog/?p=284

“
‘Because we can’ isn’t a reason
for doing something.”
- Kyle Baxter (http://bit.ly/qhCeFv)

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jorgeq82/5401489188/in/photostream/

MAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS

Insanely Happy

IDEAS ARE CHEAP,

Real Artists ship

“
We fell into the trap of thinking
like an incumbent.”
- Kellan Elliott-McCrea, Flickr Architect (http://b.qr.ae/oJuudR)

“
The best PR/marketing tip: make
something worth writing about.”
- William Wilkinson (http://bit.ly/oUiEjn)

“
A lot of startup talk seems to say that you should
simply get a lot of smart people together and let
them do whatever they want until something
sticks, and that is a recipe for success in
everything (product, team happiness). This is
wrong. So wrong. Creativity comes from
constraints and direction.”
- Justin Kan of Justin.tv (http://read.bi/gp0Hl4)
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/twitterofﬁce/4997601108/

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/dobrzanski/4361486036/in/photostream/

Experience
DON’TJUST HIRE FOR

“
Knowing that “it can’t be done” because you can
recount each of the failed attempts in the last 20
years to solve the problem can be a boat anchor
on insight and imagination. This not only
affects individuals, but happens to companies as
they age.
- Steve Blank (http://bit.ly/eYkItr)

Confident in what you’re good at

ARROGANT HUMILITY

Confident in what you’re good at

ARROGANT HUMILITY
Curious

SLAUGHTER YOUR

Golden Gooses

“
Businesses don’t get to pick the timetable for when
their preferred model takes a permanent dirt nap.”
- Merlin Mann (http://bit.ly/n4EVvS)

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/greateryesterday/3036997998/

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/kitty-cats-corner/504114431/

“
We imagined ourselves as a venture-capital-
backed start-up in Silicon Valley whose mission
was to attack and disrupt The Atlantic.”
- Justin B. Smith, President of The Atlantic Media Company (http://nyti.ms/qvQq9O)

“
Move fast. If we make mistakes, let them be
because we are too fast rather than too slow.”
- Lou Gerstner, IBM

Thank You.
NOTES AVAILABLE:
HTTP://BIT.LY/FORGET-MBA

@marcelosomers
behindcompanies.com

KONTRA’S LAW:
A commercial company’s ability to innovate
is inversely proportional to its proclivity to
publicly release conceptual products.

http://bit.ly/pSyHXa

Forget Your MBA: Managing a Living Company

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