Human Scale Business

Fabian Pfortmüller is a Swiss community builder based in Amsterdam. He's an experienced entrepreneur, acknowledged innovator, and prolific writer. I had the opportunity to speak with Fabian about cultivating communities from the inside-out at the speed of trust.

Gareth Pronovost of GAP Consulting is the expert I turn to for help with Airtable, the no-code database application. If you are hosting a membership community, you should be considering how to use Airtable and other no-code tools to streamline and automate your workflows. I spoke with Gareth about process automation, the no-code movement, his Airtable Mastermind community, and working through the suck when creating content that demonstrates your consulting expertise.

The degree to which status and one's ability to contribute are perceived to be coupled can inhibit the participation of relatively low-status persons in collaborative communities. That's a problem because complex challenges are best tackled by cognitively diverse teams. That suffers when the conversation is limited to people who are high-performers along similar dimensions. If we wish to cultivate valuable and equitable communities, we need to find ways to help people identify and articulate the unique value they bring to the conversation.

What if business meetings were something you looked forward to? Maggie Chumbley explains how small shifts in how you approach meetings can yield big differences in outcomes.

The Mom Test by veteran entrepreneur Rob Fitzpatrick is one business book you must own, read, re-read, and use. It is deservedly one of our favorites. I spoke with Laura Black about why I love the book and why you should own a copy.

Too many business books consist of 20 pages of content crammed into 200 pages. The Mom Test gives you exactly what you need and no more. Fitzpatrick's writing is casual, clear, and accessible. However, this is no "lite" book. In my experience, it stands the test of time.

We fool ourselves about the quality of our business ideas. We seek affirmation from others – including, but not limited to, our mothers. However, the truth will out. It's in our best interest to discover the truth as quickly and inexpensively as possible, As Fitzpatrick says, "You shouldn't ask anyone if your business is a good idea. It's a bad question and everyone will lie to you at least a little bit. It's not their responsibility to tell you the truth. It's your responsibility to find out."

Use The Mom Test to help ensure your conversations with prospective customers are productive:

* Talk about their life instead of your idea* Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future* Talk less and listen more

Get The Mom Test

In this episode, Laura Black and Dave Bayless discuss one of their favorite business books, "The Mom Test" by veteran entrepreneur Rob Fitzpatrick. As the author notes, "You shouldn't ask anyone if your business is a good idea. It's a bad question and everyone will lie to you at least a little bit. It's not their responsibility to tell you the truth. It's your responsibility to find out."

Mario Schulzke is an explorer. He grew up in Germany and fell in love with Montana as a high school exchange student. I met Mario 15 years ago when he was finishing his studies at the University of Montana. Even then, I was struck by his voracious appetite to learn. He was fascinated by the entrepreneurial process of translating creative ideas into action. It's an unusual passion for a college student.

MARIO SCHULZKE

Mario spent 10 years in digital marketing at West Coast advertising agencies before returning to the University of Montana. He teaches and is the school's Chief Marketing Officer. As long as he's had 9 to 5 jobs, Mario has invested his time and money in what he calls "5 to 9" projects.

What's a 5 to 9 Project?

While still working for an ad agency in Los Angeles, Mario launched IdeaMensch, a "community of and for people with ideas." It's the repository of nearly 2,500 interviews, including luminaries such as Dan Pink and Seth Godin. IdeaMensch fuels Mario's continued interest in people who have the capacity to effectively act upon ideas.

IDEAMENSCH

The positive response to IdeaMensch prompted Mario to hold live events in each of the 48 contiguous states. He had no clear business plan at the time. Instead, Mario's primary goal was to "inspire and educate potential innovators by showing the many different paths that ordinary people have taken to start their businesses." It also gave him the opportunity to explore the country in a comprehensive way from a unique vantage point.

IDEAMENSCH CROSS-COUNTRY TOUR

His desire to learn and see his own ideas take form compelled Mario to build IdeaMensch, even though he had a day job. Over time, the project has yielded financial, as well as intrinsic, rewards.

Not Just Another Side Gig

Mario makes a clear distinction between a 5 to 9 project and a side gig such as driving an Uber car. The latter is a job. It generates immediate income, but you aren't building anything for which you are responsible and can own. In contrast, a 5 to 9 project is usually born out of a strong personal interest – even passion. Financial reward isn't a primary motivator, at least at first. Even so, a 5 to 9 project offers the prospect of ownership and the potential for accumulated value.

As is true for side gigs, technology drives need and opportunity when it comes to 5 to 9 projects. Automation is eliminating or transforming a growing number of 9 to 5 jobs. In order to survive, many of us feel the pressure to re-tool and adapt to the new economic reality. Even as technology poses a threat, it opens the door to global audiences and access to scalable platforms.

USA TODAY REPORT ON AUTOMATION

What It Takes to Succeed

Maybe not surprisingly, Mario sees two traits as being essential to 5 to 9 success:

* An entrepreneurial mindset – a willingness to experiment, fail, and take personal responsibility for your project

* A growth mindset – the capacity to work at learning, even in the face of initially intimidating and unfamiliar tools, techniques, and technologies

What else would you expect from an explorer?