How do you think?

I used to be much more of a linear thinker — how to get from point A to point B in a straight line, marching down the bullet-points on a page, taking a single line of attack to find a solution to a problem - you get the idea. Maybe it comes from my experience as an investment banker coming out of college?

IBC recommends | 37signals contact & project management software

I’m following a handful of blogs closely these days and one of them is Signal vs. Noise by 37signals. 37signals is a new-school software outfit offering a handful of excellent web-based tools, most of which are designed for small business use. They blog at Signal vs. Noise to talk about new products, stay in touch with their customers/community, and share their views on business, design and working smarter.

I highly recommend the Signal vs. Noise blog as well as the two 37signals products that I’m currently using. The first is “Highrise”, which is a web-based contact management system. The second is “Basecamp” which handles project management. Both are powerful, affordable, well-designed and easy-to-use platforms for start-ups and small companies, especially those with remote/disparate teams.

Keeping the brand in the family

The WSJ published a full-page feature today on the Antinori wine company, an Italian family business that has been chugging along for 600+ years, now moving into its 27th generation of family managers (the three daughters of the current patriarch).

The piece asks how the Antinoris managed to keep their business growing and in family hands for so long, when most family businesses stumble after a few generations.

Here’s what I gleaned from the article:

• Having a strong vision and values (” We just all grew up with the same values. And somehow, we all know when it’s time to make a decision together.”)
• Related to this vision, having a grounded outlook (”We have the link with the land, the traditions, so we’ve got our feet on the ground.”)
• Forsaking of business and management fads (”There is no biz-school-inspired strategy for this”).
• A business which by nature requires long-term vs. short-term thinking (”you put a vine in the ground and the first cash flow you see is a decade later”).