Business

The other day I was having a deep conversation with someone about leadership, management, entrepreneurship and everything in between.  We spent a good deal of time talking about each three, but the first two seemed to go together and we chatted about what the difference between them were or were they even different at all?  I have long felt that there is a distinct difference between the two, and when I was asked if I thought there was a difference, I did not hesitate to voice my thoughts on the matter.

A long time ago, a co-worker of mine schooled me on what the difference was, and it went something like this:  managers will always do things the right way, but leaders will always do the right thing.  Since hearing this, I have never thought of the two to be the same, they are distinctly different, and there are certain types that are one and certain types that are the other.  I do believe that leaders can manage as well, but I do not think that managers can lead.  I believe management is something that can be taught and learned, however leadership is something that you either have or you do not.

The person I was talking to about the subject had a very good perspective on the two and what the differences were.  He too felt that they were distinctly different, and he felt that people are led and things are managed.  I never thought of it that way, but hearing it put that way made total sense.  You can manage processes, requirements, deliverables, but you do not manage the people responsible for them, rather you lead them.

Take a look back in history, we honor those that have been considered great leaders.  Take a close look at the “greatest” leaders, they all have something in common.  They have all been good people persons, they knew how to lead, they knew what it meant to motivate individuals to do courageous and great things.

Last I checked, no where in the history books is there any mention of great managers

I have always wanted to say that, it sounds so formal and important ;-).  However what I am blogging about is not overly formal, but it is extremely important to me and to my business partner.  See for the last several months, we have been quietly banging away at the keyboard in our spare time (where that came from, I have no idea, but nonetheless we managed to make the time) creating a product that is pretty cool and pretty compelling (well, we are a bit biased, but I hope that you will agree).  It has been a slow and steady process, but we have learned a lot along the way.  There have been ups and downs, starts and stops, but in the end, we did it and are pleased with what we have developed.  Of course we realize that the road does not stop here, it actually just begins.  We have so many more things that we want to do to make the product and experience even better, but like everything else, it will come in time.

So enough with the babbling already, I guess I should spill the beans on what it is.  So the product we built is called trooQ, it is a user generated, social marketplace.  It marries the connectedness you find on LinkedIn, the social interactions you find on Facebook, and the marketplace you find on eBay to create a new way to buy and sell online.  By combining these elements into one solution, trooQ is able to provide an experience that is trusted, social, safe, personalized, reliable and cost effective.

So there you have it, I have come clean on what I have been alluding to here and there.  Keep in mind that it is our first release and we have a lot more work to do, but I hope that people will find it interesting and fun.  If you get a chance, check it out at www.trooq.com , and feel free to let me know what you think.  You can leave a comment here or send me an e-mail (my e-mail address is on the front page of this blog).