Leadership and Management
How Visible To Your Team Should You Be?
One of the smartest things I ever did as CEO was practice, “Management by walking around.” The idea is really simple. You, the CEO, walk around your office, facility, or manufacturing site and talk to anyone you come in contact with. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I…
Read More9 Hard Lessons You Need To Learn For Startup Success
“It’s the suckiest thing about being a startup CEO,” I said to “Bill”. I could see the sadness written all over his face. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “I can totally relate because I went through the same thing,” I said. “The people you start (your company)…
Read MoreHow Much Responsibility Should You Take?
“You screwed up,” “Bob”, the CEO, said to his executive team during our weekly operations meeting. “How am I going to explain this to ‘the street’?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Bob was upset because the company had missed its promised numbers to Wall Street, again. And…
Read MoreWhen Should You Start Planning Your Exit Strategy?
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s when I meet an early stage startup CEO who’s focused on selling their company. Inevitably, I’ll ask the CEO, “Why are you focused on a sale now?” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Inevitably, the answer, more times than not, comes…
Read MoreThe Five Advantages You Have As An Older Entrepreneur
“Nothing seems to faze you,” “Raul”, one of my investors said to me during our 1:1 meeting in his office. He’d been an investor in our company for one year. Raul was pretty crusty, so I considered what he said to be a compliment. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreWhen Should You Start Paying Yourself?
There is a friend of mine, Mark, who started a company about four years ago. Mark raised angel funding to start his company. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. The company has grown at a nice clip, and the company has a real chance at long term success.…
Read MoreWhat Makes A Great CTO Great?
One of my biggest mistakes ever was adding “John” as my co-founder and VP Engineering/CTO. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that John wasn’t that great of an engineer, and he failed as our CTO because his engineering skills weren’t that good. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreYou’ll Fail If You’re In It Only For The Money
“I’m focusing on learning, not the grades,” Avery said to me the other day. She’s just starting her journey in college, so I couldn’t be happier to hear my daughter say that. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. “You got it!” I exclaimed. “The knowledge will stay with…
Read MoreHow Should You Divide The Work?
I don’t know how I came to this thought process, but, from the beginning of my career, I thought it was a great idea to obsolete myself. Yeah, I know this sounds like it’s self destructive, and I guess in some organizations it is. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreWhat Are The Two Biggest Mistakes That You Can Avoid?
“Do you have a vesting schedule for your co-founders equity?” I asked the CEO I was talking to. “No, I don’t,” he answered. “And how much equity does your co-founder have again?” I asked. “Uh, fifty percent,” the CEO answered. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I sighed…
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