Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 14, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 29 BIZ BOOKS 8 principles for starting a business after age 40 "L ate-Blooming Entrepreneurs: 8 Principles for Starting a Business After Age 40" by Lynne Beverly Strang (White Chimney Press, $14.99). It's never too late to start your own busi- ness. Strang's dozens of interviews with Boomer entrepreneurs identified eight common threads: 1. "Go out on the right limb." Rory Kelly (Prestige Limousine) spent nearly two years learning the nuts and bolts of the limousine industry before leaving his day job. He found a niche (providing backup services to other limo com- panies) and exploited it. The companies see him as a solu- tion to their short-term prob- lems, and not as a competitor. 2. "SWOT yourself." Iden- tify your strengths, weakness- es, opportunities and threats. No one knows everything they need to know to start and grow a business. Franny Martin (Cookies on Call) did what she knew best — marketing — and hired others whose strengths she relies upon to run operations. 3. "Make it a family affair." This isn't about getting seed money for launch. It's about getting the family to understand that starting a business will create a "new nor- mal" in family dynamics. Without family buy-in, an entrepreneur will only add more stress to his/her life. 4. "Know who you need to know." Donna Herrie (Drawing Conclu- sions) belongs to five network- ing groups and does her best to find out who would be attend- ing meetings. With a little online research, she develops a must-meet list for the meet- ings. Bob Littell (Littell Con- sulting Services) uses net- working to "pay it forward" by connecting the dots of others; he collects IOUs. 5. "Be Neighborly." This comes in two flavors: 1. Customers — Practice the Gold- en Rule. 2. Community — Support local initiatives by volunteering. 6. "Stay on the Tiger." Barbara Cos- grove (Barbara Cosgrove Lamps) knows that it's tough to stay pumped every day — especially when problems arise. Grit, in the form of sustained effort, gets you out of the valleys every business encounters. 7. "Watch the Money." Do you track expenses? Are you adhering to your bud- get? What's your credit score? 8. "Keep it simple." Jerry and Janey Murrell (Five Guys Burgers and Fries) offer a limited menu and avoid fancy décor. This enables them (and their numerous franchi- sees) to focus on quality and service. Key takeaway: There's no perfect way to run a business. Learn from mistakes; forge ahead. • • • "Scrum — The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time" by Jeff Sutherland (Crown Business, $27). Sutherland, co-creator of Scrum, shows that Gantt charts (created in 1910 and still used by many businesses today to monitor projects from cradle to grave) "are always, always wrong." Why? First, nothing ever goes as planned. Second, the same people/busi - ness units are involved in many projects simultaneously, which leads to competing priorities and "Stop that; do this." How does Scrum differ? It's based on "Inspect and Adapt" from the bottom up. In short cycles, the proj- ect workers review what they've done and question ways to proceed — given the project remains relevant. Scrum allows companies to "fail fast and fix it early." Man- agement facilitates getting obstacles out of their team's way, and ensures it has the resources to move forward. In many ways, Scrum adapts the W. Edwards Deming lean- manufacturing protocol of Plan, Do, Check Act to non-manufacturing projects. The key to executing Scrum, and any project, remains the team and its focus. Sutherland points out numerous studies that show small, cross-functional teams (seven + or - two) with clearly-defined tasks and roles get more done than large ones. The larger the team, the lon - ger it takes to get people up to speed and to main- tain velocity. Teams must be given the autonomy to make decisions because they're closest to the work. Key takeaway: Scrum makes work visible. Team members have a daily pulse on a project's progress. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak OTHER VOICES Energy challenges require comprehensive approach By James T. Brett A t a recent energy forum hosted by The New England Council, Gordon van Welie, CEO of ISO New England — our region's power grid operator — described New Eng- land's electric reliability this coming winter as "precarious." And, van Welie warned, with more power plants closing down and the strain on avail- able natural gas supplies for heating and electric generation unrelenting, by 2019 keep- ing the lights on in extreme cold weather threatens to become "unsustainable." The situation is all the more challenging when you consider that our region has no native sources of gas, oil or coal, and little opportunity for adding large-scale local hydroelectric power. New England pays markedly more for energy relative to the rest of the country because we are "at the end of the pipeline" for energy supply. This affects the region's eco- nomic competitiveness both for businesses choosing to locate or expand here and for their employees and the energy bills they pay. For many businesses, high energy costs are the No. 1 challenge to succeeding, growing and adding jobs in New England. In the coming months and years, policy- makers face challenging, interrelated and far-reaching decisions about how the region meets its future power needs and environ- mental policy mandates, from what energy sources, and at what cost for businesses and consumers across the region. The New England Council recently published a report, "The New England Energy Landscape: History, Challenges, and Outlook," that aims to offer an impartial, unbiased explanation of the fundamental issues facing policymakers in the New England energy debate. On questions about natural gas supplies, imported hydro, renewables, nuclear power, and more, the Council doesn't take sides. But three key points from the report we want to stress to policymakers: • All these energy decisions are tightly interrelated, far more so than many may real- ize. Promoting more energy from one source for cost or environmental reasons will affect the economics and viability of every other kind of energy. That in turn will affect how we meet 2020 and 2050 emissions mandates — and at what cost. • Given that our six states share a single power grid, policy goals in any one New Eng- land state will undoubtedly impact its neigh- bors. Massachusetts' and Rhode Island's desire for more wind energy may require new trans- mission lines in Vermont and Maine; Maine's and New Hampshire's desire for greater gas supplies may require expanded gas pipelines in Connecticut and Massachusetts. • Rather than approaching questions about renewables, gas, nuclear or imported hydro as one-off choices that end at state borders, we encourage our region's leaders and energy stakeholders to take a more com- prehensive, holistic approach to tackling our energy challenges. The New England Council looks forward to continuing to be an advocate for reliable, afford- able, and environmentally sound energy for our region, and to serving as a leader, convener and supporter of regional discussions and negotia- tions — and national legislation and policies — that will bring about the best energy future pos- sible for all New Englanders. n James T. Brett is the president & CEO of The New England Council, a non-partisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private orga- nizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth. James T. Brett ▶ ▶ Without family buy-in, an entrepreneur will only add more stress to his/her life. ▶ ▶ With more power plants closing down and the strain on available natural gas supplies for heating and electric generation unrelenting, by 2019 keeping the lights on in extreme cold weather threatens to become 'unsustainable.'

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