The financial world seems to be in shambles again.
Pictures of 2008 are flashing back in my mind. I spent the bulk of 2008 to execute a fairly hairy deal in an effort to raise $50m to invest in my vision of Turkish internet back then. Had it not fallen apart at the nth hour in December 2008, it now looks like it would have created monumental returns.
So forgive me if I get a bit upset when the headlines are screaming apocalypse again. I get upset because barely 2 years after the apocalypse cries, and RIP: Good Times memos, we were watching our trading screens looking at LNKD's $10b market cap and 2,400 PE ratio. And then, apocalypse again.
If I have learned anything in the last two years it's that it is mostly noise. As humans, we are in constant need of narrating the world around us. The explosive growth of media and the proliferation of channels that deliver us that narrative has exponentially grown the amount of noise.
To an entrepreneur, the noise can be paralyzing. Best entrepreneurs I know have taught themselves to tune it out, except maybe a few trusted sources to keep an eye on macro factors, while maintaining an intense focus on the work at hand: the KPIs, strategic imperatives and the general landscape in which their venture operates.
I just thought it may be the right time to remind my readers (myself?) of this.
BTW, regarding the current financial mess we are seeing around the world, Umair Haque has been calling this out forever.
Reminds me of Nicholas Taleeb's Narrative Fallacy theory. Even if it's not noise but facts, people tend to make up stories over them and create real noise.
Better not to mind much and focus on what's already working.
Posted by: Sarp Erdag | August 05, 2011 at 06:25 PM