The Silicon Valley Way: Discover the Secret of America's Fastest Growing Companies [Hardcover]

Elton Sherwin Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 1998

Imagine that you're a member of a venture capital group of a decision-making body inside a fast-growing company. Everyday, new business projects and ideas are hurled your way. Some are trash, some are solid gold. How do you know the difference?

In this ground-breaking book, a top-level manager reveals the methodology used by the movers and the shakers in Silicon Valley to decide what's a "go" and what's a "no."

The amazing thing about this go-or-no approach is that it is both fast and extremely effective. Knowing this simple process will make you a much more effective decision maker. You will be able to apply it to a whole variety of important situations:

• Deciding if your idea is viable before you present it to your colleagues
• Assessing if a new profit center is going to succeed
• Putting your entrepreneurial ideas to the acid test before you risk your life savings
• Improving a good idea by making sure every aspect of it is tightly planned
• Assessing investment opportunities, based on the criteria in this book
• Creating business plans that will wow your audience
The Silicon Valley Way is your powerful entry into the mind-set of the most powerful and successful business leaders of today. They have amassed fortunes and built empires by knowing which questions to ask. Now, so can you.




"Elton Sherwin captures the essence of entrepreneurship that made Silicon Valley America's #1 exporter."

— The Honorable Susan Hammer, mayor of San Jose

"Concise, insightful, well written. I wish I had read it before I started my third company."
—Kay Brown, president, PREMIER Biosoft International

"Here are the up-to-date, proven checklists for your baseline business plan. . . . Real-life, practical advice shines through the chapters. You'll have more time and energy for creating and building your new business."

— Marketta Silvera, founder, president, and CEO, Pilot Network Services, Inc.

"The Silicon Valley Way guides the reader through the necessary business planning steps, forcing them to confront critical issues, but avoiding wasted effort."

— W. Michael Bowles, entrepreneur in residence, Crosspoint Venture Partners, founder Com21

"Elton Sherwin gives us what no other business book provides: the business planning of Harvard and Stanford MBAs in a simple, usable form"

— James M. Coughlin, vice president and general manager, StarTemps, Inc.



About the Author

Elton Sherwin directs business planning and worldwide marketing for a leading Silicon Valley company. His products have won many awards, most recently Byte magazine's Comdex Award for the Best New Technology. He lives in Menlo Park, California, with his wife, Katharine, and their two daughters.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the World's High-Tech Epicenter, Here Are the Secrets of the Powerful Decision Makers

From the Inside Flap

Imagine that you're a member of a venture capital group of a decision-making body inside a fast-growing company. Everyday, new business projects and ideas are hurled your way. Some are trash, some are solid gold. How do you know the difference?

In this ground-breaking book, a top-level manager reveals the methodology used by the movers and the shakers in Silicon Valley to decide what's a "go" and what's a "no."

The amazing thing about this go-or-no approach is that it is both fast and extremely effective. Knowing this simple process will make you a much more effective decision maker. You will be able to apply it to a whole variety of important situations:

? Deciding if your idea is viable before you present it to your colleagues
? Assessing if a new profit center is going to succeed
? Putting your entrepreneurial ideas to the acid test before you risk your life savings
? Improving a good idea by making sure every aspect of it is tightly planned
? Assessing investment opportunities, based on the criteria in this book
? Creating business plans that will wow your audience
The Silicon Valley Way is your powerful entry into the mind-set of the most powerful and successful business leaders of today. They have amassed fortunes and built empires by knowing which questions to ask. Now, so can you.




"Elton Sherwin captures the essence of entrepreneurship that made Silicon Valley America's #1 exporter."

? The Honorable Susan Hammer, mayor of San Jose

"Concise, insightful, well written. I wish I had read it before I started my third company."
?Kay Brown, president, PREMIER Biosoft International

"Here are the up-to-date, proven checklists for your baseline business plan. . . . Real-life, practical advice shines through the chapters. You'll have more time and energy for creating and building your new business."

? Marketta Silvera, founder, president, and CEO, Pilot Network Services, Inc.

"The Silicon Valley Way guides the reader through the necessary business planning steps, forcing them to confront critical issues, but avoiding wasted effort."

? W. Michael Bowles, entrepreneur in residence, Crosspoint Venture Partners, founder Com21

"Elton Sherwin gives us what no other business book provides: the business planning of Harvard and Stanford MBAs in a simple, usable form"

? James M. Coughlin, vice president and general manager, StarTemps, Inc.



About the Author

Elton Sherwin directs business planning and worldwide marketing for a leading Silicon Valley company. His products have won many awards, most recently Byte magazine's Comdex Award for the Best New Technology. He lives in Menlo Park, California, with his wife, Katharine, and their two daughters.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business (February 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761512721
• ISBN-13: 978-0761512721
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elton Sherwin is the Senior Managing Director at Ridgewood Capital where he invests in energy technology and cleantech companies.

Elton just finished his second book, "Addicted to Energy - A Venture Capitalist's Perspective on how to Save our Economy and Our Climate," which outlines about fifty policy alternatives, each described in 1 to 3 pages. His first book, "The Silicon Valley Way," was translated into Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Korean and is used by entrepreneurs and university programs around the world. He is an occasional guest speaker at Stanford University on energy policy and entrepreneurism.

Earlier in his career, Elton spent twenty years at IBM and Motorola where his products won numerous awards. The U.S. Patent Office has granted him eight patents.

Elton received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually, Several, January 30, 2000

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Silicon Valley Way: Discover the Secret of America's Fastest Growing Companies (Hardcover)

Sherwin's expressed purpose is to share what he calls "the secret of America's fastest growing companies." At least that is the book's subtitle. My own experience suggests that the fastest growing companies usually have several "secrets" which are soon revealed (or discovered) and thus lose much of their "mystique." Moreover, this same experience suggests that whatever secrets the fastest growing companies may share in common (speed, focus, innovation, tenacity, etc.) have already been well-documented. These are some of the reasons why I did not rate this book higher. However, for certain readers, I think it offers several substantial benefits.

Here is how the book is organized. First, in Chapter 1, Sherwin explains "The Back of the Napkin Analysis" and "The 45-Second Business Plan" to sharpen the reader's focus. Next, he asks a number of basic but essential questions (a total of 44) which "you will need to answer if you are to successfully compete in a high-tech world. In a few hours, you will get help organizing your thoughts and planning your business." Finally, Sherwin includes 12 (count `em, 12) Appendices in which he discusses a wide range of subjects, beginning with "The 10-Second Proposal" and concluding with "Additional Reading." He also includes Notes and a Glossary.

One benefit is derived from the process of thinking about and then answering the 44 questions, especially for those preparing to launch a new organization or for those associated with one now proceeding through its launch phase. Sherwin suggests that "to win in the twenty-first century", an organization must:

* Select the right markets * Know its customers

* Design exceptional products

* Market products creatively

* Distribute products efficiently

Answering the 44 questions will help any organization to meet these imperatives. Another benefit is derived from the Appendices which I encourage the reader to approach as if they were different departments within Sherwin's General Store. Struggling to put together a business strategy presentation? Check out aisle three. Need a marketing, sales, and distribution "scorecard"? You'll find one over on aisle seven. You get the idea. In fact you'll get lots of ideas from this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Insider's View of the Investment Process, September 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silicon Valley Way: Discover the Secret of America's Fastest Growing Companies (Hardcover)

...so I was walking into my local bookstore and saw the sign: "See Venture Capitalist Elton Sherwin speak on his new book" and I thought "this guy must not be able to make a living venturing in capital." After listening to him and questioning him for an hour, I realized that Mr Sherwin is a very, very smart man and is very good at what he does (and he HAS done well in the venture business). I bought the book, read it in a day, and gutted my business plan based on his advice. I highly recommend it to any entrepeneur that wants to know what the investors are thinking when they're looking at you from across the table.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a winner!, October 6, 1999

By 

Joerg Sperling (Mountain View) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silicon Valley Way: Discover the Secret of America's Fastest Growing Companies (Hardcover)

This is the "how to do it right" - book for entrepreneurs. It's the "what to look for" - book for investors. It's a "must have" to me!!!