I recently had a conversation with Todd Albertson, author of The Gods of Business. I wanted to hear his thoughts on entrepreneurship and business ethics. What does this have to do with storytelling? Everything. The power of your story hinges on your credibility.
Todd's Bio: Todd Albertson has been a vision caster most of his life, starting his fist company at the age of 16. He knows failure; he has learned success; he doesn’t let either get in the way dreaming big and inspiring others.
He attended the University of Washington where he studied International Business and completed his BA degree in 1988. Todd worked as an analyst for a Swiss venture capital company and then as an evangelist for Microsoft Corporation. While working he earned an MBA from Seattle University.
In 1995 Albertson started a transportation and logistics company called Transportics Corporation. He then founded Small Town TV, an entertainment “dot com” that fell just a little short of becoming the next $100 million IPO. Short as in the distance of Earth to the Moon. In 2005 he finished his studies in Theology & Culture from Trinity Theological Union and earned his PhD.
Todd was the Executive Director of God Farm and did relief work in Asia in 2005 through 2007, during which time he also authored THE GODS OF BUSINESS (Trinity Alumni Press, 2007). Currently Albertson is finishing VISION CASTER that is due for release in late 2008.
He spends his days as the Founder/CEO and Chief Bottle Washer of startup Project 137 Media.
Todd's passions are friends and family, documentaries and biographies, surfing, the Chicago White Sox and helping make the world a better place.
THE QUESTIONS
Scott: You obviously have a passion for business ethics, entrepreneurship and business evangelism. Besides these interests, what gets you up in the morning?
Todd: There is the usual stuff—friends and family, a good meal and good conversation. But there are two things that really excite me. One is when I get to help someone change the world. My help may be only a word of encouragement or it may be a whole plan of action. The change that results may be small or big. The kick for me is to see someone take whatever I’ve given and run with it. My second biggest kick is when I get to go surfing. The ocean refreshes and renews me, gets the adrenaline pumping, teaches me patience and perseverance. I pretty much get “F’s” in the later two areas, so I need as many reminders as possible.
Scott: Everyone is looking forward to Vision Caster's release in 2009. What inspired you to write the book?
Todd: Laziness! I found myself sharing the same material to people over and over. I got tired of reinventing the wheel each time and decided I’d put my thoughts on paper so I could just say, “Read Chapter 4.” Another thing. Call it frustration. Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to help people, and as I grew, that became a desire to make the world a better place. But I felt thwarted by the limitations of my own humanity and my inability to impact more than a few things at a time.
Scott: Most people are familiar with your work and have probably read your bio. What's an interesting fact about you that they wouldn't know?
Todd: Death to clutter! I’m a neat freak. A number of friends and family have suggested that I start a business. I would go into your house, organize your stuff, throw out excess, and put everything else on file and in its own place. You’d hate me. But I’d feel real good about bringing order to your obvious chaos.
Scott: What is the greatest lesson you have ever learned?
Todd: Humility. When I was working in Asia, I met a doctor. He told me how one of his patients had just died of AIDS. Her mother was shot when the girl was only seven. Her father sold her into prostitution shortly thereafter for $20 to feed his drug habit. She was forced to have sex with 40 to 50 men a day for nearly two years. She became sicker and sicker, and finally she was too infirm to “work” anymore. Her captors threw her on the side of the road to die. A relief worker found her and took her to the doctor’s clinic. She did die a month or so later, just a few days short of her ninth birthday. When I meet a doctor who spends his life helping people like that girl, I am awed. When I hear a story like that girl’s, I am frightened and ashamed about the state of the world. It is hard to take any of the trials I have very seriously.
Scott: How does Todd Albertson define entrepreneur?
Todd: Historically the word entrepreneur comes from the French word, entreprendre, which means, "to undertake." The standard definition is one who starts a business-- providing a product or service--in response to a defined opportunity. For me the product or service can be expanded to include a better relationship or anything else one cares to imagine. I hope my idea of a defined opportunity is broader and more poetic than a bunch of consumers clamoring for something they don’t yet have. The opportunity starts in the mind of the entrepreneur. There begins the process of converting a new idea into a successful venture. New and success are relative terms, but what isn’t relative is how an entrepreneur works them out. There are four basic, interrelated stages--defining a dream, stepping into the future envisioned by the dream, acquiring the skills necessary to fulfill that future and communicating the vision to inspire others. That kind of entrepreneur is what I call a Vision Caster. And you know what? I think that would make a great title for a book!
Scott: If you were a car, what kind of car would you be?
Todd: When I worked for Microsoft, this used to be the number one interview question that threw job applicants for a loop. Back in the day I would have said that I’d be a 1967 yellow Camaro with black Shelby-style stripes. Today I’m more of an Audi Q7 guy, but I would love to throw the interviewer for a loop with, “I want to be M1 Abrams Tank with my 155 mm cannon pointed right at your head. Do I get the job or not?”
Scott: How do you want to change the world?
Todd: I have a friend who tells me that I sound like a contestant in a beauty contest--”I like puppy dogs, NASCAR, mom’s apple pie and don’t like mean people”--when I say that I want to make the world a better place. Fine. I’m a sucker for sentiment, but I am also a realist who sees overwhelming problems and few easy solutions. But we can’t just let things be! The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential has nearly 20,000 entries, with injustice, exploitation, slavery, hunger, racism and religious persecution the small tip of an iceberg of human misery. I don’t have the language skills, vocational training, time or money to solve all those problems. But I hope I’m a Vision Caster. I am trying to do what I do best: encourage, equip and coach others to change the part of the world that they have influence over.
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