By John D. Trudel, 1990, 195 pages, $15.95 (paperback), EOS College, ISBN-0-9626722-2-1.

The past thirty years has seen a worldwide explosion in the creation and marketing of high-technology products. Huge fortunes have been made -- but many ventures have also failed. The author, John Trudel, has been intimately involved with this product explosion. As a technologist and as a high-technology business-development consultant, he has played a key role in close to $1 billion of product successes.

His basic premise is that many forget or ignore that "people are the critical resource for knowledge-business...". Another basic error is that high-tech inventors often fall in love with their inventions -- in fact, even more so than with low-tech inventions.

They then fail to realize that the invention and the prototype are perhaps 20 percent of their business venture. They do not grasp that the same "knowledge, skill and intuition" that creates a product must by applied to production, sales and marketing. Note that this caution applies not only to individuals but to the biggest of the big. The author asks where are the early leaders in transistors (RCA, GE, Tungsol, etc.) in the integrated circuit field?

Another basic rule that he urges you to observe is "To keep it small and quick!". This book is packed with examples of companies that have violated this rule. He describes and highly recommends the "skunk works" approach made famous by Lockheed. Too often even the most experienced firms seem to think a large budget and a vast staff will get project results better and faster.

Trudel feels that marketing is a very big weakness many U.S. technology firms. He stresses that sales and marketing are not the same thing. "Sales is inducing someone to buy..." -- but "marketing is identifying a need and filling it profitably...". Just talking to customers is not marketing. "Intuitive understanding" is a key factor. You must listen and understand the customers' needs.

The book is loaded with boxed quotations that drive home points. For example, "If Edison had been an MBA, he would have invented a large candle: -- Anon. (I counted about thirty quotes -- many worth tacking up on your wall.)

He describes the classic FUD strategy used by IBM and which your competitors may well employ. Their salespeople will present to your potential customers certain questions about your company and your new product that will excite Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, Be aware of this sales technique or you may find yourself "FUDed" one day.

The blind love of one's invention affects not only individual inventors but often large corporations. Trudel describes how one such corporation failed to see that their cute device simply was not useful to their customers. Whether one calls it love of product, technical arrogance or pseudo-marketing, the results are a great waste of time, money and resources.

He notes the kaisen, the Japanese concept of continuous product improvement, has become a fact of life in today's manufacturing world. Ignore it and the world will soon ignore you. Speaking of Japan, he cites the cause of "friction in our system... that in all of Japan, there are about 15,000 practicing lawyers -- but here we have 606,000..."

He feels the keys to Compaq's enormous success are that they are "driven by identified market needs" and that they select the right people and allocate their capital wisely. (One of the boxed quotes is a good reminder of the importance of selecting the right people -- "First-rate people hire first-rate people. Second-rate people hire third-rate people" -- Anon.)

Obviously, reading this book will not make you infallible in your venture decisions, but it is an easy read and it is based on actual experiences. While it is a 1990 book, the information presented will apply for years to come. Startup risks will always be with us, but why fail to benefit from the hard-earned experience of others?

Ed. note: Trudel, through his "Patent Warriors", has been one of the leaders in the ongoing battles against proposed changes in U.S. patent law -- see his Web site at www.trudelgroup.com.