The Shower Principle

Saw this episode of 30 Rock when I was trying to solve something, looking for my 'Aha' moment. Jack Doneghy described the Shower Principle to Liz as he was wasting time putting in his office. He explains it's the term scientists use to describe moments of inspiration that happen when your mind is distracted from the problem at hand.

Apparently, "if the cerebral cortex is distracted by showering or putting then anther part fo the brain, the anterior superior temporal gyrus is activated. This is the site of sudden cognitive inspiration."

I'm not a neuroscientist so I did a little Wiki search on the anterior superior part of the brain he's describing and found it's actually responsible for the perception of emotions in facial stimuli but whatev. Use a bunch of words to make it sound like you've got science/numbers behind your concept. 

The scientific part is made up too but my point is that this gets at where the brilliant spark for creativity comes from. The inspiration happens by thinking a lot about something then stopping thinking about it. Why did that sound like Jenna.

Avoiding a site hijack

My perspective is as a consultant and advisor who works with tech startups, helping them get to market. I watch what's going on from an outside, more objective point of view. Once I saw a trend of tech hijacks, where non-tech founders get sidelined or held up by their dev team at key points, I started talking to the experts in my network for practical advice to help startups prevent a website or product hijack.

• Hire a CTO if one of the founders isn't from a tech background. This, everyone is agreed on.

• Understand that when it happens, it's rarely malicious. Be generous in trying to resolve an impasse; if there's a personality clash, consider asking someone else to negotiate on your behalf.

• Don't let your files reside on a server under someone's desk. Instead, move everything to a cloud server that's solid, secure and leaves you in the drivers seat. 

• Hire design and development work as needed, so that projects aren't open-ended, and you're hiring people with specific skillsets. This makes it much easier on the team.

• Get advisory help to clarify what you need next; I often hear about clients asking for functionality and stuff they don't actually need. 

• Take advantage of all the incubators, accelerators and startup collaboration and support groups there are out there. They're great communities that love to share knowledge and networks.

These seem to be pretty universal and can apply to startups involved in technology in any sector. It's not a definitive prescription. 

Hijacked

I'm at this intersection where I'm looking at the specific needs of startups right now and the deluge of trends covering everything from how startups are bulding and iterating to consumer behaviour and expectation. While there's a lot of traffic flowing in every direction, I'm starting to see one theme pop out prominently: startups being hijacked in design and development.

At the start of this week I saw the hijack trend fitting startups that didn't have tech founders, and now that I've started talking about it with more people, I see it happening where founders have a tech background too. So I've officially labelled it 'Trend'. As one founder explained to me, the hijack happens for a whole personality-driven range of reasons that go beyond what's written in a contract. So let's shelf the 'why'.

What does a hijack look like? Basically, it seems to include some or all of these:

• Calls and emails aren't answered.

• Requests for changes go unanswered; or are acknowledged but not acted on.

• Key dates are missed.

• Features/actions/stuff promised isn't done.

• Project scope isn't as promised (less funtionality or allowance for feedback etc).

• Deployment doesn't include the revisions and/or testing as promised.

Any of this is incredibly common, as it turns out. And it's not limited to startups either. Every founder I begin to share this with, just to tell them they're not alone, gets all excited with recognition and wants to add to the list. 

The crisis point of the hijack is when the founder can't get access to his or site. When the files are in the hands of one person 'with the keys', as one founder said. Who isn't answering calls and won't hand over the site to the founder or another team. If I keep following this I'm sure Ill be able to write a book about it. I've seen a key sales season get missed for one startup which had an impact on everything for the business going forward. Another client gave up the chase for their files; even after hiring a lawyer and pursuing the legal angle, they lost all their data and ended up relaunching with a new site. Yet another moved ahead with sales despite having a product that wasn't as evolved as it should have been. 

The name game

I've been involved with naming three very different projects lately. Each is unique but there are rules, tips or guildelines that I'm coming back to.

1] Keep it short. Short says 'easy' and 'uncomplicated, which is important to encouraging adoption.

2] Listen to how it sounds. A hard consonant in the name (ie, d or t) will give it substance and ground it. The hard sound of an 'i', 'e' or 'a' is good to make it sound active. Soft consonants and vowels are warm and cuddly.

3] Inspire. Avoid being preachy, if you're in sustainability or social impact. This applies to your marketing too.

4] When trends have shifted in a year, will this name still sound good? Apply a macro lens over the micro of what sounds good in the moment. 

5] Think about how it looks. Test the name out with some design comps. 

6] Stay human. You're looking for a name that touches people.

7] Write down the keywords or phrases of your business or marketing strategy and keep them in front of you to stay on strategy.

8] Keep your user in mind, as well as the customer when they aren't the same group. Your name has to resonate with both groups.

9] Test the name on friends, and try to listen with a filter. Where are they coming from? Are they the target? Try to consider their interest either in supporting you or challenging you. 

10] Don't rush it. Names take time and though there are lots of approaches to take. There's no magic formula.