| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 19, 2000 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| BOOKS
Valley Wisdom THE MONK AND THE RIDDLE The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur By Randy Komisar with Kent Lineback Harvard Business School -- 181pp -- $22.50 Greed isn't always good. Or so says Randy Komisar, the author of The Monk and the Riddle and an old hand at Silicon Valley spin-outs, mergers, and investments. After working at a string of companies, including Apple Computer Inc., the ill-fated GO pen-device startup, and WebTV, Komisar has become what he calls a ''virtual CEO''--essentially, a freelance adviser to startups. From a table at a Portola Valley cafe, he doles out advice on business plans while sipping low-fat chai tea. A key insight: Money for its own sake isn't worth pursuing. In The Monk and the Riddle, Komisar alternates descriptions of lessons he has learned with a fictionalized dialogue with an entrepreneur, Lenny. Lenny, it seems, wants ''to put the fun back into funerals.'' His startup, funerals.com, plans to blow away the brick-and-mortar competition with first-mover advantage and competitive pricing. Lenny is, in fact, a typical young hotshot with a cookie-cutter Net business model, the expected jargon, and a goal of getting rich quick. Going over the business model, Komisar explains the problems and the obstacles the company will meet. But what will most likely sink the business, he says, are Lenny's motivations. By setting expectations low and just going after the money, you almost guarantee mediocrity, Komisar explains. After much prodding, Lenny reveals that he has opted for a pared-down, safe version of the idea that inspired him and his partner, Allison. The two teamed up after the death of Lenny's father to establish a community that would help people deal with the pain of a loved one's death, as well as assist them in making funeral arrangements. Lenny thought that idea was too risky, so he made a safer, less inspired bet. Komisar argues that the risky plan is the one to pursue because it has true passion behind it. That's the recipe for success, not just for Lenny but also for the Net. Six months ago, most employees at startups probably would have scoffed at this advice as metaphysical bunk from someone who had already made it. But in the aftermath of 70% and 80% drops in stock valuations, it's welcome advice. Suddenly, Net entrepreneurs face a skeptical market. A new reality has set in: Most people in Silicon Valley will not get rich. That means that what Komisar calls the deferred life plan--doing what you need to do to get rich so you can then do what you want--is pointless. It's a lesson that all comes back to the monk and the riddle. At the book's start, Komisar describes how, during a bike trip in Burma, he gave a ride to a hitchhiking monk. But less than half an hour after reaching the ancient Buddhist temple that was their destination, the monk is ready to go back to his point of origin. Weary and confused after hours of driving, Komisar quizzes the temple's leader about why the monk wants to leave so soon. The elder man shrugs and instead of answering directly, he poses a riddle: ''Imagine I have an egg and I want to drop this egg three feet without breaking it. How do I do that?'' A little while later, cruising through the countryside at sunset with the monk behind him, Komisar realizes how content he is with the journey. That's the riddle's point: Since the egg is bound to break, better to increase the distance to four feet and enjoy the fall a little longer. By HEATHER GREEN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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