Robert Fripp on business

January 28, 2006 By

Robert Fripp is a famous guitarist. He’s in the audience aggregation business. Same business that Google, MSN, Yahoo, and many companies that appear on TechCrunch are in, by the way. He has a lengthy post on why he chose to do business with Microsoft. It’s a must read for businesspeople, particularly with all this venture capital talk that’s been going around lately. Here’s a key line:

“In business, personal connections are not everything; just, nearly everything.”

Oh, I grok that. It’s why my cell phone number is always going to be on the home page of my blog. You can call me anytime (if I’m sleeping I may not answer, particularly if Maryam is throwing my phone against the wall. Heheh). At Microsoft you always have a personal connection (or you can build one).

I’d go even deeper than Robert Fripp. I do business with people I know and can read and can find in search engines. If you can’t be found in Yahoo, Google, or MSN’s engine, well, how about fixing that particular bug?

Filed Under: Blog Tips, learning
  • http://www.swoofware.com/ Matt Smith

    I never noticed your phone number until now. How is that working out? Reminds me of Philip Greenspun. Got any related stories to share?

  • http://www.swoofware.com Matt Smith

    I never noticed your phone number until now. How is that working out? Reminds me of Philip Greenspun. Got any related stories to share?

  • http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/ scobleizer

    Matt: one made it into our book. ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover show called me for help on a Saturday afternoon. I actually get very few phone calls from that.

  • http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/ scobleizer

    Matt: one made it into our book. ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover show called me for help on a Saturday afternoon. I actually get very few phone calls from that.

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  • Christopher Coulter

    Ahh come on, cut the faux-philosophical inspirational Guidepostsish-Robert-Fulgrum crap (you aren’t that naive are you?), the reason he chooses to do biz with Microsoft? They did biz with him, per the Windows Vista recording session. All about the dead presidents.

    Even he himself said as much…

    “This was a clean, straightforward, professional transaction & involved That Awful Man’s venal impulses being addressed sufficiently.”

  • Christopher Coulter

    Ahh come on, cut the faux-philosophical inspirational Guidepostsish-Robert-Fulgrum crap (you aren’t that naive are you?), the reason he chooses to do biz with Microsoft? They did biz with him, per the Windows Vista recording session. All about the dead presidents.

    Even he himself said as much…

    “This was a clean, straightforward, professional transaction & involved That Awful Man’s venal impulses being addressed sufficiently.”

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  • http://www.conchbbs.com/ Scott Royall

    Ok Robert, I accept the challenge. I’ll be contacting you.

  • http://www.conchbbs.com Scott Royall

    Ok Robert, I accept the challenge. I’ll be contacting you.

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  • Brad

    I checked out Fripp’s blog when you referenced him several weeks ago and found his perspectives enlightening and amusing. I can’t wait to hear his music

  • Brad

    I checked out Fripp’s blog when you referenced him several weeks ago and found his perspectives enlightening and amusing. I can’t wait to hear his music

  • Christopher Coulter

    strength of a creative impulse is measured by the strength of opposition it meets

    Asnewring absurdity, by being absurd…

    Darth Vader’s impluses meet some the strongest opposition known to fairytale mankind. So then a thing “creative” is judged worthy, by merely the opposition it encounters? Wow, that’s a Tyrant Dictators manifesto.

  • Christopher Coulter

    strength of a creative impulse is measured by the strength of opposition it meets

    Asnewring absurdity, by being absurd…

    Darth Vader’s impluses meet some the strongest opposition known to fairytale mankind. So then a thing “creative” is judged worthy, by merely the opposition it encounters? Wow, that’s a Tyrant Dictators manifesto.

  • Christopher Coulter

    Answering, I corrected that, yet the Submit took old. Really wish you’d get a comment system with a preview.

  • Christopher Coulter

    Answering, I corrected that, yet the Submit took old. Really wish you’d get a comment system with a preview.

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