Long-Winded Product Manifesto

Why I Started Three Hour Business . . .

Hi.  I’m Roger Corn, the founder of Three Hour Business Solutions.  I started this blog and the related training products to deliver simple and instantly useful ways for business people to handle their most common problems in three hours or less.

Over the past ten years, I’ve found that many of the business tactics commonly used in practice are no longer practical.  Business moves faster now and attention spans are at an all time low.  The strategies, tactics and systems of business need to evolve to fit our new environment.  That is exactly what Three Hour Business offers – new tactics that work in today’s business environment – not the environment of ten and twenty years ago.

My expertise is derived from over twenty years of study and real-world experience. I received my MBA from the University of Chicago and I have held senior-level strategy, operating and business development positions at leading Internet companies like Overture and Yahoo!.  For the past three years, I’ve been working as a private consultant to top technology companies like Comcast, Palm, Veoh, Recycler.com and OpenX.

I want Three Hour Business to become one of your favorite sources for “how to” business tools.  I plan to release regular blog-posts, e-books and training courses that adhere to my strict product philosophy, which you can read about below.

What’s Wrong With Most Business How-To Advice?

It takes too long to learn

It can take up to a week to read and understand a dense, encyclopedic 300 page business book.  While you are reading, it might feel like you are making progress.   But, the truth is your problem is still waiting for you and you still need to roll up your sleeves and actually do something about it.

It takes too long to implement

Some systems and frameworks for solving business problems require months of training and cross-functional meetings to learn the system.  By the time that groundwork is laid, the driving force that was the spark for action has flamed out.  The desire to push on wanes and what you’re left with is several months of busywork down the drain.

It never gets used

Be honest,  how many times have you read a book cover to cover – thought this is great – and never did the exercises?  The same may be true of seminars or webinars.  You’ve expanded your mind; but, done nothing to expand your ability to act.  Rather than retrace your steps to follow up,  you just move on to another book.  Learning ten ways to solve a problem is useless without putting the solution into action.

The Three Hour Business Solution:  Our 8-Point Product Philosophy

Three Hours or Less . . .

We narrow the focus of our products so that the task can be completed in 3 hours or less.  Our books are short and pointed because we feel that short bursts of focused energy produce the best results. We chunk the most common business problems down for you.  This helps focus your resources to a manageable task– which yields the best results.

Real World Tested

Our products are real-world based.  There will always be examples from real companies or our own experience to back up what we say.  We have plenty of appreciation for theory and love reading that stuff and staying current.  But our test of a product is – “will it work in the real world?”  -where time is short and an organized and focused workforce is the exception, not the rule.   If it won’t work, it won’t be in our products.

Do It Now Bias

Our products are about right NOW.  By completing the workshop exercises, you are also solving your problem in real time.  When you complete reading or attending an e-course, you are done.  You don’t have to go back.  You move on.  This is roll up the sleeves, lean forward learning.  Not feet on the desk, lean back learning.

Never Forget It

Our products are designed to be memorable.  And we aren’t talking about acronyms.  There are always examples and activities that make it easy for you to internalize what you learn.  It becomes a part of you forever.  You are permanently more competent.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Our products are sequential.  We offer step-by-step solutions for larger problems.  But we put them in an order that makes sense.  For instance, if you have zero gross margins, there is no point in developing a marketing plan for that product.  We help you from wasting time.

Zen-like Simplicity

Our products are simple yet profound.  We try to keep business simple by focusing on the important stuff at a deep level.  Not cliff notes – which goes a mile wide and an inch deep.  This is all about going a mile deep on important stuff and ignoring the stuff that isn’t going to make a difference to your success.

Right and Left Brain

We try to surprise you with new ways of thinking.  We seek to come up with fresh approaches in our workshop to help draw the best out of you.  We do this by asking questions in different ways, encouraging you to work from both sides of the brain and by paying attention to the spirit you bring to your work.

Plain language

We demand simple, clear instructions that anyone can follow.  No business jargon is necessary.  We want you to understand and solve your problem.  We don’t want to be known for being smart.  We want to be know for being useful.   If you catch an example of business jargon in one of our products – please report it at uselessjargon@threehourbusiness.com.  We will immediately fix it and post the offender to the wall of shame.