I have an odd habit of purchasing a book and then just rushing someplace to sit down with it and leaf through. Last week I read through Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time. I am still reading it for the second time and I must say that it has been a very humbling experience. I would recommend this for anyone who wishes to start off a new business venture that is customer facing and based on service delivery. Sure, the products might not be the same as Starbucks, but the engine of growth that runs through a customer service industry is the same everywhere – generating Customer Delight

For some time now, I have been trying to figure out what makes software services companies in the FLOSS space tick and how should they carry out business to enable them to sustain themselves. I have known too many companies starting off with very adrenaline ambitions only to peter out within 2 quarters. FLOSS is a technology driven space – and this is where the catch lies. FLOSS based business should not be driven by the lure of every moving target technology, but based on a solid foundation of core concepts. Figuring out what one can be the absolute best at takes sometime. But once that exercise is complete, building on the foundation through discplined action is just a matter of natural follow-up. Discpline must prevail at all levels of service delivery chain – from making the first proposal to getting recurring revenue out of an account. Taking a look at these chaps might be a good idea. Additionally, if you do have access to a good library, go get this book. It is worth every moment you spend on it.

Finally, anyone who can provide me with a download link from the Project Gutenberg site for The Seven Pillars of Wisdom would be profusely thanked.