Leadership and Management
How Do You Dethrone A Competitor With A Monopoly?
“Why in the hell are you selling your part for $20,” The VP at Vitesse angrily said to me. “You’re screwing it up for the rest of us. We’re selling our part for $100!” I smiled and said, “$100 is way too high a price. $20 seemed like a fair price for customers.” [Do you…
Read MoreWhat Do You Need Besides Talent To Start A Company?
One of the most technically talented people I ever worked with was “Doogie.” Doogie was, and probably still is, a brilliant engineer. He was creative, and he was always coming up with novel ideas for how things should get done. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. And energy?…
Read MoreHow Do You Determine Your Salary As A Startup CEO?
“Here’s what we can afford to pay you,” I said to Greg, one of the best Analog IC design engineers in our industry. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Greg was making $400,000 per year working part time at Maxim Integrated Products. I had known and worked with…
Read MoreWhat’s The Worst Leadership Advice You’ll Ever Get?
“I don’t care who it is, but you need to fire one of the people reporting to you.” Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. This was the advice I received from a CEO, “Ed”, I knew when I became General Manager of a division of a company. I…
Read MoreHow Much Equity Do Your Employees Deserve?
I was advising the two founders of a technology company. They had no funding, and they were looking to hire a VP of Engineering. They found a good candidate for the position, and they only wanted to give him 1% equity vesting over four years. I told them the candidate wasn’t going to take the…
Read MoreYour Startup Doesn’t Need A COO
“I’d like to be Chief Operating Officer,” “Randy”. We had already agreed on Randy’s ownership in the company and his salary, so all that was left was the title. Randy had over thirty years experience, and he was a true heavyweight. “I think that makes sense,” I said. [Do you want to grow your business?…
Read MoreThe Five Non-Obvious Ways To Build Your Team
The most important indicator of whether your startup will succeed is your ability to build a high performance team. The performance of your team influences everything from your company culture, to your products, to your ability to sell and market your product. Try and do anything with a bad to mediocre team, and you’ll know…
Read MoreWhy You’ll Fail As A Startup CEO
“The co-founders were fighting all the time,” Abdenour, an engineering candidate said to me about the previous startup he worked at. “It made the work environment really bad. I think that’s why we failed.” [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Abdenour’s right. When you and your co-founders are…
Read MoreWhat Is The Best Way To Build & Manage Your Startup?
One of my favorite books is James Clavell’s masterpiece, “King Rat.” King Rat is set in a Japanese POW camp during WWII. The story centers around one prisoner, nicknamed “King,” who controls much of the illegal commerce in the camp. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The King imagines his…
Read MoreHow to Make a 5X Improvement in Your Productivity
I was leaving the Decathlon Club early one Saturday morning. I had just finished working out, and I was walking to my car. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Just then, a beautiful woman drove into the parking lot. She had a wonderful smile on her face. All,…
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