The BirdDog Perspective

Like many, I was touched by the recent passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was about my age and I also spent many years in Silicon Valley. He was adopted and I adopted a child. He was a marketing guy and so am I. He was billionaire and I am not. OK, I guess that is about all we had in common.

I met Steve about 12 years ago. After my Silicon Valley days, I took a tour on Wall Street with a company called Bowne; the firm helped other firms raise money in the capital markets. As it turns out, Steve’s company, Pixar, was our client. True to form, Steve was a perfectionist who demanded (i.e. screamed for) “new” dry erase markers and bullied our staff relentlessly. The IPO was successful and propelled Steve to billionaire status. For many years, our firm would brag about our role.

Yet, I choose to remember what a jerk he was and how poorly he treated others. Per his official biographer, Steve treated many people or, maybe, most people this way. He rationalized this arrogant and mean behavior because of his intense desire to make things better.

For those of you who missed the 60 Minutes episode devoted to Steve Jobs, here is the link.

Steve Jobs: rest in peace.

John Bradley Jackson

Top Dog

The BirdDog Group

Listen to the radio (recorded) interview with the Top Dog from The BirdDog Group,  John Bradley Jackson, with Aaron Barkenhagen of Bootleggers Brewery.  Aaron is a former student of Jackson who has launched a microbrewery in Fullerton, California.

This interview was hosted by Theresa Harvey of the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce.

Issues addressed include:

• What it takes to be an Entrepreneur
• The role of social media in a start up
• How great beer gets made in Fullerton
• How the University partners with local business.

Listen to link dated June 3, 2011 in the Fullerton Chamber archives.

http://beachcitiesradio.com/on-air/friday/the-fullerton-chamber-hour

John Bradley Jackson
Top Dog
The BirdDog Group

Recently I was interviewed by Ashley Wirthlin from the Public Relations Blogger. We talked about marketing and PR in the new normal of 2010 and how things have changed.

Here is a snippet and a link to the blog.

“Niche marketing is about choosing a market that is overlooked or under-served… A marketplace that is served by the big companies, by mass marketers, typically will look over opportunities simply because they’re too small.”

John Bradley Jackson Interview – May 2010

John Bradley Jackson
Top Dog

The BirdDog Group
© Copyright 2010
All rights reserved.

The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was killed in 709 AUC or 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate led by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus and 60 other co-conspirators.  (Wikipedia).

For us in the 21st century, the Ides of March is a rally cry to get on with it, despite the dreary economy that continues to linger. From my point of view, our economic recovery is hinged on making things happen now, rather than waiting for an email with a notice about how things rebounded last quarter.

Entrepreneurship is all about making things better, whether you work in a start up or a large organization. If you reduce entrepreneurship to one attribute or trait it, is creativity. Consider creativity as applied imaginatinon —- a bright idea that was acted upon.

So, let’s get on with it.

John Bradley Jackson
Top Dog

The BirdDog Group
© Copyright 2010
All rights reserved.

Entrepreneurship in certainly well represented in Orange County. Irvine is especially famous for being a hotspot of entrepreneurial activities, especially in the biotech and software industries.

However, where does Orange County stand on the entrepreneurship dimension compared to other regions of the country known for their entrepreneurial activities?  This question is important since it can point to ways of strengthening entrepreneurship in OC. Curiously, no one can readily answer this question, or so it seems.

The CSUF Center for Entrepreneurship aspires to answer that question. Please click on the link and fill out our survey.

http://ocentrepreneurship.com/2010/03/ocentrepreneurship-survey/

John Bradley Jackson
Top Dog

The BirdDog Group
© Copyright 2010
All rights reserved.