Culture
Should You Be Afraid To Tell Your Team Bad News?
“Tina, can you help me get all the VPs together? I need to meet with them right now. It’s urgent.” “Okay,” Tina said. If you’re serious about raising your funding, join Zero to Pitch Gold now and get expert feedback on your pitch this week. “Have everyone, including you, meet me in the large conference…
Read MoreHow Should You Talk About Bad News With Your Team?
“I think we’re getting really close to getting funding,” I said to myself. We had just had another VC pass, but THE WAY VCs were passing seemed different to me. Maybe we were getting close to getting funded. More likely we weren’t. Is something wrong with your pitch and you don’t know how to fix…
Read MoreHow Do You Make The Most Out Of A Weak Team?
“Where did they find these people?” I asked my friend and employee, Steve. “We would have never hired them at Maxim (Integrated Products).” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] I was talking to Steve after I’d been at Micrel for a month as General Manager of one of…
Read MoreCan An Employee Manual Really Improve Your Culture?
“I have an optional one for everyone,” I said to the team at our latest all hands meeting, “There have been some requests for an employee culture manual. [Do youwant to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “And, I don’t know about you, but I hate employee manuals. No one ever uses…
Read MoreIs There A Right Way For You To Fire Someone?
There’s a great story in Ben Horowitz’s book, “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”, that I can really relate to. In the book, Horowitz’s company, Opsware, was going to IPO. At the same time, they were going to perform a layoff. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Horowitz…
Read More5 Fatal Decisions You Don’t Want To Make
I walked into the office space, and there was no one there. It was just a bunch of empty cubicles. The space was dimly lit, and the ceilings were low. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “My god, this space is depressing,” I said to my co-founder, “Randy”.…
Read MoreCan You Succeed When You Don’t Get Along With Your Co-Founders?
There were these four founders that got together to start their business. Peter, John, Roger and Keith were their names. The products they produced were some of the best in their industry. The customers they had loved their products. And they were well respected by their competitors. By their own admission, they got along horribly.…
Read MoreHow Being Too Frugal Can Hurt Your Company
“We’re not spending money on voicemail!” Jack Gifford, the CEO of Maxim Integrated Products said. “We don’t need it!” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Several other senior executives and I were meeting with Gifford and the subject of voicemail came up. Gifford’s negative response wasn’t a surprise…
Read MoreBuilding Trust Is Your Most Important Trait
“Whatever you do, never, ever lie,” I said to the large group of startup CEOs I was talking to. Then, I continued and said, “It’s much better to say, ‘I don’t know the answer. I’ll get back to you,’ then to lie.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.]…
Read MoreHow to Steal Netflix’s Company Culture in Six Easy Steps
“Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal” Pablo Picasso My company unabashedly stole our company culture from Netflix with a little bit of Zappos and Sandy Koufax thrown in. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. There. I’ve said it. We were thieves and robbers, but I’d like to think…
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