I agree with most of what Haken says, You have been talking about it for weeks, what about starting it. confucous says the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. ----- Original Message ----- From: Hakan Falk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <biofuels-biz@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 11:43 PM Subject: Re: (response to Keith) Re: [biofuels-biz] Biofuel Business Plan Group Kicking Off Projects NOW
> > Dear Andrew, > > I have been an entrepreneur for the most part of my active live and > started quite a few businesses and if you adapt your ambitions, goals > and methods as you go along, it could be a valuable contribution. I > have been actively involved in businesses in more than 14 countries > and have some points for you, apart that you should listen carefully > to Keith and think about what he is saying, > > 1. A business plan is a map that from its start is very rough and needs > to be adjusted all the time. The old joke about military who says "If > the map does not fit with the terrain, follow the map", is disastrous > for business. Therefore I would talk more about adaption than alignment. > I do not know how much experiences you have from early startup > phases, but recognize that you have participated in business planning > and have experiences. > > 2. It is knowledge, enthusiasm, energy and stubbornness that creates > new businesses and markets for them. Values that are a prerequisite for > any ground breaking work. It is very few large companies that can live > with entrepreneurs, the only one I have close work experiences from, was > ITT, when Harold Geneen was still in charge. By the way, I was shocked > by his language the only time I participated in a meeting with him, very > American. What made ITT was its decentralized structure and at the > time the best flexible planning, budget, accounting and follow up system. > > 3. Entrepreneurs are very much like artists and if you are a gallery > representing artists, you need to be humble, supportive, show patience > and respect for the work they do. To represent artists is an art in it self. > > I could go on forever to talk about starting up a business and all the > things that happens, but the three points above are most important. > > I think that your goals of helping is better served by a number of > business plan templates, flexibility and adaption. Rather than standard > planning and alignment. It could be a very valuable help for many and > can also result in strength of a loosely knit interest organization. > > Hakan > > > > At 01:44 PM 12/23/2002 -0500, you wrote: > >Keith, > > > >Thanks for your candid feedback and good ideas. Before I address your > >specific points and > >questions, let me try to clarify that the basic motivation for forming this > >group as I see it, through a hypothetical: > > > >On the consumer side, if I am in New York and I'm interested in questions > >like: > > > >a) how my kid can ride to school in a cleaner bus > >b) who in NY city government can I call to demand that she ride to school in > >a cleaner bus > >c) what vehicle I can buy TODAY that can be more environmentally friendly > >d) why the local staff of my favorite environmental organizations don't > >support biodiesel > >e) what the heck is the connection between fossil fuels and the destruction > >of my downtown skyline last year > >f) what local businesses should I patronize that are running environmentally > >friendly vehicles > > > >... it is currently quite a time consuming and daunting task to find those > >answers, and most people with jobs and families simply aren't going to. I > >think we can assist people in educating themselves on > >local/regional-specific level, and grow our political consituency and the > >market demand for BD, as a result, and in turn effect greater change. > > > >Similarly, on the business side, if I am in New York and I want to start a > >local environmentally and socially-responsible energy business, I'm trying > >to assess questions like: > > > >a) what are the local market opportunities are and who (fleet owners, > >building managers with boilers, etc.) controls them, > >b) what is the local tax/incentive situation > >c) who is already in the business locally that I might partner or have to > >compete with > >d) how I can get effective local PR done to help my fledgling local business > >grow, etc.? > > > >Or if I own a local business with a vehicle fleet and I have heard of this > >thing called BD but don't know where to get it, I want answers to questions > >like: > > > >a) what my range of choices of suppliers would be > >b) what the difference between buying BD from soybean oil from World Energy > >and buying from someone that has processed recycled oil from Chinatown > >restaurants would be > >etc. > > > >In all these cases is quite difficult to find reliable answers in context to > >locally-specific questions such as these. The result is fewer businesses, > >less economical supply, less awareness, and less demand (in no particular > >order). > > > >There is room, and I would argue a need, for some coherence and > >centralization of information and sharing of resources and experience, > >particularly when local issues and experiences bear on national and > >international issues and vice-versa. There needs to be a bridge. That does > >not have to be a scary corporate thing, and a group of a few dozen > >volunteers trying to put up a central information resource online and acting > >as local information gatherers does not a Redmond Monster make! :) > > > >Keith wrote: > > > > > Um... I think I'd contest the idea that that would be unlike other > > > biofuels lists. That you don't see any central organization or overt > > > coordination doesn't mean that it doesn't achieve specific goals. > > > Indeed it does, but not by marshalling people in any way, and that's > > > as it should be, IMHO. It's very open, as in Open Source, and as > > > opposed to Microsoft, but Open Source has achieved rather a lot, and > > > so have the biofuels lists, and the very uncoordinated biofuels > > > movement. > > > >Absolutely-- these lists are fantastic, and are making a huge difference! > >They are not focused on a single specific project however, and this new > >group is. It's neither better nor worse nor competitive. Just more > >specific. > > > > > I'm afraid I see this rather as yet another biofuels list. I'm a > > > little sceptical on a few counts. Your outline below entails a lot of > > > people doing a lot of work, and sustaining it. And they won't be > > > working at their own ideas on their own account, they'd be following > > > someone else's plan, someone else's vision. What would be their > > > incentive to do that? Unless you pay them. A lot of this work won't > > > >Yes there is a lot of work to be done, but I think we can all sense on these > >lists the power of community. When a lot of people are willing to share > >resources, the workload falling on any individual does not have to be so > >daunting. > > > >I disagree with the idea that group members won't be working at their own > >ideas on their own account, and that there is any need to incentivize us > >beyond the difference we can make in our respective communities. Yes I have > >laid out an idea and a plan and an invitation to begin it, but I hope, and > >in fact am counting on, the project being defined and developed far more by > >the community carrying it out than by any specific ideas I had off the cuff > >at the outset as one of the first members of the community. I'm simply > >committed that we see BD information and resources gathered and shared > >globally at a local/regional level in an organized fashion, because I > >believe that will make a difference. We'll see! :) > > > > > be replicable from country to country, or even from region to region > > > within a country, I'm not sure much of anything would be that isn't > > > already easily available. Such a website as you describe takes more > > > than just design, it takes a hell of a lot of prolonged hard work, > > > >I think it will be a new and valuable resource as soon as the initial work > >is done, and thereafter it will be more effective the more ongoing work is > >done. But the bar to jump over to make a difference in this area is pretty > >low in my opinion, because I can tell you from experience that it the > >relevant information is NOT already easily available. Your context on that > >may be difference Keith, because you are true expert that has devoted 1000s > >of hours to researching, learning and networking. But there aren't too many > >people in the world in your position. That's why efforts such as Hakan's > >business document are already so valuable. > > > > > and more. You're talking of a worldwide movement, quite a tall order. > > > On the other hand, there already is a worldwide movement, but it's > > > not centralized or planned or organized, it's about as disparate and > > > unorganized as it could be, and I'd say as it would need to be. > > > >What exists is fantastic. We're not talking about a new worldwide > >movement-- just coordination and new forms of empowerment among people > >already committed to sharing information and resources at a local/regional > >level. > > > > > There has been discussion here quite recently on representative > > > organizations for biofuellers and for small-scale operations, with > > > quite a lot of opposition to the idea. > > > >I've heard lots of sentiment on both sides of the fence on this, but > >regardless we're talking about sharing information, not about some > >membership organization or lobbying group that anyone has to join or that > >would ever purport to represent the biofuel community as a whole. > > > > > How would this rather corporate model that you propose address some > > > of the specific goals that have been addressed here? > > > >Recognizing that the answers are ultimately up to the community carrying it > >out, I believe that this community and web site will make a difference in > >the areas you raised primarily by spreading the word further to new > >constituencies about what's available and what's needed, and by helping put > >interested people outside these communities in touch with the relevant > >people on the existing lists. This is no silver bullet-- it's simply a > >coherent effort to gather and share information such that it reaches more > >people in a more effective fashion. Out of this you may find that some of > >the issues that these lists have struggled with in the past (e.g.: > >misperceptions with Big BD) are mitigated, or you may not. You may also > >find that you get offers from additional companies willing to donate > >materials, foundations willing to donate $, people wishing to pitch in work, > >etc. More exposure for what is already happening, and reaching beyond the > >existing constituency effectively, which this effort can provide, I take to > >be a good thing. > > > ><SNIP> > > > > > There are plenty more examples, it's what goes on on these lists most > > > of the time, along with an amazing amount of general information > > > sharing. None of this has required any centralized coordination, that > > > might have been more of a hindrance than a help. > > > >This is not a competition, and it doesn't bear at all on how great these > >lists are or how they operate. I'm confident that this new project will > >bear fruit in many areas that people on these lists care about. > > > > > Your original idea was for a "collaborative project to research, > > > write, and disseminate a comprehensive how-to manual / business plan > > > resource to encourage and assist potential investors and > > > entrepreneurs to initiate biofuels businesses." Fair enough, probably > > > doable and probably useful. Rather than this new plan, you might do > > > better just sticking to the original idea, making the results > > > available so that others facing a different situation could take it > > > over and adapt it to their own requirements. In Germany they don't > > > tax SVO, in Japan they don't tax biodiesel (maybe only because > > > they've never heard of it yet), in South Australia they have > > > impossible-sounding per-pump requirements, in the UK you have to > > > prove your SVO is biodiesel, in Spain they're against the whole thing > > > except for Big Biz. Did you know all that? It's all in existing list > > > archives and on various existing websites, and much besides. Hakan's > > > recent initiative on "Structures of a biofuel business" is more > > > practical and useful than an attempt at a comprehensive how-to manual > > > / business plan. > > > >The motivation to carry this out is exactly because of the situation you lay > >out. I knew some of those details, but you knew them all, and there are > >probably more that even you aren't aware of. If there is a web site in > >existence that provides the comprehensive suite of locally-relevant > >information to growing a BD business and market demand, and updates this > >regularly for each locale, please give me the link! I'll go volunteer with > >them in a heartbeat, and encourage people signed on to this project to do > >the same. I've looked for it for New York, and have not been successful in > >finding it. I've had local reporters complaining to me about the same > >thing. Tidbits sprinkled throughout listserv archives, while a great trove > >of information, don't serve the purpose we're focused on. > > > > > You also talked of "team players", bringing "as many stakeholders as > > > possible in this community into alignment" and so on, and here I > > > think few of us would agree, and some were openly sceptical. Quite a > > > few of us have found that often turns out to mean the opposite of > > > what it says. You say "particularly at a local/regional level", and > > > that's a concern with many of us, but you just can't do "local" with > > > a "team" that's been brought into "alignment". Local means exploiting > > > local niches and conditions to the full, which big and central can't > > > do. Local conditions are the opposite of homogenous, unlike the > > > allegedly level playing field that's best for teams. And local > > > conditions consistently elude central, coordinated, one-size-fits-all > > > plans. When such plans hold sway, local initiatives do not thrive. > > > >I agree that there is no one-size-fits-all-- including the smallest size! > >Biofuels are wonderful in not requiring global centralization and > >infrastructure to produce and consume, and this project is all about helping > >more local/regional production and consumption happen at the expense of > >fossil fuels. But I do think there are some markets for biofuels which that > >will not be viable without production on a significant scale, so I hope that > >some larger biofuels companies do thrive! My point was simply to be open > >because I saw a serious communication breakdown between parties that I hoped > >were all well intentioned. Shortly thereafter, you and Graham Noyes cleared > >up some of these misperceptions, which I was glad to see. By definition if > >we hope to have all fossil fuel energy consumers switch to consuming > >biofuels worldwide, we need to be able to operate within a very big tent and > >look for opportunities for alignment. That doesn't mean giving up healthy > >skepticism, and that doesn't mean not protecting yourself-- it just means > >continuing to look for opportunities for synergy, continuing to be in > >conversation, and recognizing that the end-game is sustainable health and > >peace, and not a particular model for how to get there. > > > >Thanks again for taking the time to respond with all your good thoughts. I > >welcome the opportunity to make our work more effective by your critique. > > > >Best, > >Andrew > > > > > > > >Biofuels at Journey to Forever > >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Biofuel at WebConX > >http://webconx.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm > >List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: > >http://archive.nnytech.net/ > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > Biofuels at Journey to Forever > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > Biofuel at WebConX > http://webconx.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm > List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: > http://archive.nnytech.net/ > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel at WebConX http://webconx.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: http://archive.nnytech.net/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
