If you’re not focused, frack off.

I recently helped facilitate a brutal FOCUS session on Day 2 of #bootupcamp, led by @liubinskas.

It was interesting to watch the unbridled optimism shift toward defeat and mediocrity as small, tangible (and most importantly realistic) goals were set.

The session’s main aim was to focus on the…

• Vision
• Market Segment
• Core Feature
• Key Metric

Yet, it amazes me how much I gained from this experience.

Here’s my ‘take homes’…

1. Join in – If you aren’t part of the conversation then you’ll never get anywhere.
2. Be brave – Pick an idea and run with it. After all, there are no stupid ideas, just ideas that need to be refined.
3. Failure is fine – If you don’t try, you can’t fail, and if you’re not failing (somewhere) then you haven’t tried hard enough.
4. Love your team – If you’re working in a small team on a tight time-line and budget, there’s no room for ego. It’s important to actually want to work with your team (even if you don’t get your  way).
5. Focus! Focus! Focus! I know it’s obvious, but no matter how many times I hear it, it’s always good to hear it again!

Thanks & congratulations to Kim, Bart, Brian, Mick and all the participants & organisers at #bootupcamp!