A quality I really appreciate in people is the ability to get sh*t done. Talk and ideas are great (I do a lot of both), but without execution and action, they don’t do much beyond provide mental stimulation, or make noise.

Thus, I was in a very appreciative mood a few weekends ago at Startup Weekend Indianapolis. Though I’m part of the technical/entrepreneurial/innovation community in the Midwest, I’m quick to out my region for what it is - the conservative Midwest. We talk about coastal mentalities, we yearn for a culture of innovation, we are quick to latch onto and promote success stories, but in the end it’s pocketed and systematic. Until curiosity, innovation and un-dictated action become part of our DNA (they might be already, but the genes aren’t fully active), we’ll stay on the sidelines watching the studs play and go home after the games, look in the mirror and imagine glory.

I digress… The reason I was in a very appreciative mood at Startup Weekend Indy was because people GOT SH*T DONE! (and they did it on their own) We went with an organic grouping effort - no voting - everyone pitched their ideas and naturally gravitated to their pick. No one asked for direction, no one needed structured learning. Honestly, we had trouble pulling people together for check-ins. It was a weekend of GO GO GO [IUPUI police actually kicked everyone out one night at 1:30am as people were still working]. Things happened naturally and fluidly. Groups formed, groups split, and ideas kept moving. Individuals were resourceful, from code-bases to available skill-sets, and they weren’t looking to anyone but themselves for procurement.

It was refreshing to see. It was empowering to be around. Watching people who understood things were going to be iterative, that grooming until perfection wasn’t an option, was invigorating. In the end, businesses were born. Good ideas were fleshed out, and the bad ones killed quickly. The weekend and the approach is about productivity and problem solving. It’s not about lots of talk and speculation. It’s about getting sh*t done. There’s room for this mentality, this workflow, this passionate and sometimes crazed process in all types of business these days. Of course, it needs to be honed for each situation, but the conservative Midwest will do well to take note.

*I was in Indianapolis earlier this month facilitating Startup Weekend Indy. My company dynamIt

sponsored Startup Weekend Columbus this past summer and I participated in one of the groups there as well. For those of you not familiar with Startup Weekend - it is a 54 hour (weekend) marathon where people come together and, quite simply, try to start a business.

*This post has been reposted on StartupWeekend.com

Couldn’t agree more about getting shit done in Cbus. Glad to hear SWI went so well.

Here’s to hoping we get as much shit done as we all talk about. Until then, we’re still Cbus.

Although, I think Cbus is a youthful town…and young people are idealistic and talk with all the hope in the world. But, as you say, in so many words…talk is cheap. Action’s the only way anything gets done.

JC -

Hope and aspiration has to exist before action can take place, though I do agree with you with regard to idealism. Unfortunately I see too many conversations taking place for the sake of conversation. My hope is that conversation serves as the foundation and that actionable items are the result.

We have potential, now it’s up to us and no one else to deliver.

nick

Pretty interested to read that the groups formed without voting. From the looks of it, that seemed to have worked out well for SWI.