Barton Friedland von Luminous Group Consulting LLC auf der Webinale 2009 in Berlin

Sian: Hallo, vielen Dank dass du heute auf der Webinale nach deinem Vortrag zu „Bringing Web 2.0 Inside: Dynamic Capabilities multiplied“ noch kurz Zeit für mich hast. Für die Leser die nicht auf die Webinale kommen konnten, kannst du in ein paar Sätzen zusammenfassen, worum es in deinem Vortrag ging?

· My presentation focuses on transferring what we are learning from both Web 2.0 technologies and practices found in Agile software development and asks the question of how to apply these lessons to organizations and culture at a larger scale. I’ve been very interested for sometime in a phenomena I have observed where the same information is coming from a variety of different disciplines. For example, despite being in very different domains, Henry Mintzberg, Ricardo Semler, Margaret Wheatley, Rich Gold, Kent Beck, and Otto Scharmer are all looking at the same issues of emergence, self-organization, transparency, and sustainable growth. Web 2.0 and Agile software development are in fact part of a much larger movement of cultural change.

Sian: Wie hilfst du start-ups eine skalierungsfähige Strategie für ihr Geschäftsmodell zu finden? Worauf legst du den größten Wert?

· This is an interesting question and the answer is unique for each and every company. To find the greatest value we must look at the relationship between strategy, organization, and technology, ensuring good communication and feedback between each of them. These aspects of the company represent what the business aspires to do and its ability to do it. In many organizations, however, the strategy portion is separated from the operational – for the company to be most adaptable, however, value is most effectively increased when gaps between these aspects are minimized. Scalability becomes a much easier issue to address when these aspects are well-integrated.

Sian: Wir haben hier auf der Webinale ja noch weitere Speaker mit spannenden Themen. Ist auch für dich privat etwas dabei? Welche Vorträge & welche Speaker findest du persönlich interessant, sodass du dich auch als Hörer in die Reihen setzen wirst (oder es bereits getan hast)?

· Well, I am still only learning German, so this reduces the possible number of sessions that I could attend for this year, but given this, I think that Fons Schiedon’s talk on „Why?“, which explores the creative process, should be very interesting. I also think Peter Post’s „Design for Engagement“ is exactly what we should be focusing on.

Sian: Was war bisher dein größter beruflicher Misserfolg? Bzw. Was war der größte Fehler den du jemals gemacht hast?

· The largest professional business failure I’ve ever had was a clothing manufacturer I invested in and managed, which did not succeed. I learned a great deal from this failure and yet have gone on to establish Luminous Group Consulting LLC in Silicon Valley, which has been a marked success. I strongly believe that we have the opportunity learn from all experiences, success and failures.

Sian: Wie ist deine Meinung für Start-Ups zu: “Bootstrapping vs. VC-Kapital“? und Warum?

· I think this all depends on the market and the idea being invested in. The VC ecosystem in Germany is sparser than in Silicon Valley. Regardless of this, in general it is best to limit outside investment for as long as possible to ensure higher valuations for the founders. Today, more than ever, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to bootstrap businesses and prove their ideas at a basic level by leveraging Web 2.0 business models, so I am much more of a bootstrapping advocate. It is vital for those going into a startup to recognize that any idea truly worth pursuing will demand some sacrifices on the part of those behind it, and financing is only one small part of this.

Sian: Was sind deiner Meinung nach die wichtigsten 5 Erfolgsfaktoren für ein Start-Up?

· 1. Passion

· 2. A compelling idea that can be explained in one sentence

· 3. An interdisciplinary team that can communicate well and execute on agreed goals

· 4. The ability to listen and adapt

· 5. A strong business social network - no company makes it alone

Sian: Welche Tipps würdest du Web-Investoren geben, die aktuell fleißig Start-Ups pitchen?

· I have two tips. The first is to read Amy Shuen’s Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide if you have not already. It is an excellent survey of Web 2.0 business models that have been successful and provides a sound basis for comparison. The second is to look at what kind of organizational skills the organization looking for investment possesses. Technological capability is only one part of what makes a company successful and the ability to manage and grow a group of people into a company is an often overlooked skill set.

Sian: Wie siehst du die Entwicklung des Internets in 10 Jahren?

· That is an interesting question and can be taken on a number of levels. In terms of the experience of developing internet applications themselves, I see an ongoing progression toward development platforms that offer greater and greater capability for common use scenarios, making a broader set of basic applications easier to build and deploy. As far as the development of the internet itself, I see greater transparency between applications. For example, on Facebook we already see applications that operate independently surfacing themselves in Facebook and possibly other platforms as well. I think this trend is very significant and will become commonplace. I also think the range of devices; multitouch wall displays, large tabletop displays, telepresence, multiple „smart“ devices will be integrated and common in our use-case scenarios.

· Sian: Stell dir vor du hast 3 Millionen und könntest in 3 Start-Ups jeweils 1 Million investieren. Welche wären das?

· It could work – and this is related to the question you asked before about the investor tips – if I was investing 3 M into the technology startup market I would decide first what area I wanted to invest in; for example cloud computing, social networking, games, etc. Many VCs will invest in a stable of 10 or so companies in a similar market knowing that one of them will succeed, making back the investment for all 10. So, I would first focus on the market area I believed had potential.

Sian: Welches Buch hast du als letztes gelesen? Welches würdest du weiterempfehlen?

· Right now I am reading Theory U: Leading from the Future as it Emerges by Dr. C. Otto Scharmer, and action researcher at MIT. I recommend it highly.

Sian: Ich danke dir, dass du dir die Zeit genommen hast! Ich wünsche dir weiterhin viel Spaß auf der Webinale.

· Thank you for including me and for the interesting questions!

Mehr Informationen zu Luminous Group Consulting

http://www.luminousgroup.net