Three Things Sept 10, 2021: How stubborn can be a positive, Who owns the little things and why it matters most, Everyone has "best tech stack"....then what?

Three Random Things I Learned in Saas, Sports, Tech & Live Events 1. "If nobody is taking ownership, nothing is going to get solved." Jocko Willink shared this nugget of simplicity when discussing failed operations in the middle east. Easy is easy, simple is hard. Everything requires an owner. Everything. From who is responsible for the coffee machine to who is running the most important projects. I know, I know, it's obvious. And obviously overlooked often. 2. "The best players are "7's" on the scale of 1 being most coachable and 10 being most stubborn." A high profile juniors tennis coach shared with me a year ago and it changed everything about how we see our team and prospective talent. In Isaacson's "Innovators" the author suggests "being stubborn and focused creates the best innovations." The coach elaborated further: "Overcoaching saps the kids talent and they don't learn themselves. They get stiff and don't explore what they're capable of" - sounds like exactly what happens in businesses. Be stubborn to who you are, and who your team is, while picking up what's valuable along the way. Too much emulating others and you'll lose the authenticity that makes people great. 3. In enterprise tech, everyone has the best stack. I haven't met a vendor or company who believes otherwise. Let's start by assuming the tech is stable/scalable - as it is easy to diligence - and focus on the core differentiators. Once we reach scale in the wild, we can all start espousing the best tech. Until then, focus on differentiators around the tech - as most tech breakthroughs are copied pretty quick. And much easier than we'd like to believe. And budget to refresh your tech often - many don't.