TheThreePercent

A friend with a great track record working in startups sent me a ping on Skype last week.  (Yes, Skype has truly become the indispensible tool of thethreepercent crowd.)  He said that the new startup he was working on had folded suddenly and he was looking for “the next thing.”

Even for veteran threepercenters, this point in the game can be uncomfortable.  The cultural shackles of previous generations tug on you.  They say, “Loser, how many times are you going to have to look for the next thing.”

Here is where you have to remind yourself that working in the area of exploration is a game played most often in increments of three:  Three months, Three Years.  Look around at people you know that are starting businesses – particularly the ones exploring new technologies and new rules for doing business. 

I did a very unscientific survey, and the two most common periods of time working on the same thing I was told were three months and three years.  Among the old-timers who have been exploring new businesses for over 20 years, there were long strings of projects lasting three months, then another three months, then three years, then a few more three-month projects.  Occasionally, these runs were punctuated by a long stint where the innovator found something that worked commercially and truly suited him.  But most returned to the pattern of three eventually.  (Caveat:  threepercenters in big companies like IBM and Johnson&Johnson may stick with the same logo on their paycheck, but they often move from new thing to next thing within the company in this same pattern.)

So among us threepercenters, let’s be there for each other.  Be proud of your string of three’s.  If you are like most of us, you aren’t hurting for money, and long-term security was never your motivation in the first place.  And when another threepercenter comes to you with the line, “I’m looking for the next thing,” allow no thoughts of discomfort, pity, or worry cross your mind.  For us, it is the pattern of our lives – natural and nothing to be ashamed of.