Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Ask any entrepreneur, and she’ll probably tell you that her most important job is getting the right people on board.* * It’s not; the most important job is to not run out of money. But people is a close second. Yet despite his fact, many entrepreneurs offload hiring to others as quickly as possible. This … Continue reading Why an entrepreneur has to be the chief recruiter
Fast Company recently ran an excellent interview with Shanley Kane, the author of “What Your Culture Really Says.” http://bit.ly/1fOscLj The entire interview is a good read, as is Kane’s original piece, but I want to focus on a single passage: “This idea that someone is not a culture fit functions both during the hiring process … Continue reading “Cultural Fit” is only a valid hiring criteria if you can accurately define your culture
Amazing writing from Olympia Nelson, an 11th grader: From the moral high ground, they can damn a girl for visual promiscuity, yet enjoy the spectacle at the same time, both with the same misogynistic motives: I like your form but I’m able to scorn you. You’re what I want but you’re less than me. Girls … Continue reading “Social media doesn’t need adult control. What we need is some good taste.”
I’m on vacation this week, and getting a chance to experience life outside the Silicon Valley bubble. I use the term “heartland” with a certain irony, since for our vacation, life outside the Silicon Valley bubble consists of visiting Los Angeles (my ancestral home) and the suburbs of Orlando (where Alisha’s family now lives)–both of … Continue reading Travels in the “Heartland” Part 1
As you know, I’m a big advocate of working on the culture of your startup. The instant you start your company, you’re starting to build the culture, and the decisions you make in the garage days are likely to reverberate for years to come, even if your company grows by orders of magnitude. But far … Continue reading Culture is never neutral
In the NBA, one of the explicit roles that a player can play on a team is as a “locker room guy.” The term is usually applied to a well-respected veteran who, despite declining athleticism, remains valuable to his team because he settles down the younger players, sets a good example of professionalism, and helps … Continue reading The value of the “locker room guy” for your startup
The big topic of discussion today is the fallout from the PyCon conference. At the conference, former Adria Richards, who, at the time, worked in developer relations for SendGrid, heard two conference attendees behind her making jokes about “forking” and “dongles” in the sort of juvenile way that often happens in the tech industry. Richards … Continue reading Sexism in tech is like an onion–it has many layers and makes people cry
I don’t listen to much current music, subscribing to the theory that listening to fossil rock and pretending it’s still the 1990s keeps me young. Therefore, I have no idea what Fiona Apple has been up to since releasing her debut album, Tidal, in 1996, which included her omnipresent hit, “Criminal.” But I was touched … Continue reading Sometimes, the Internet surprises you with its sensitivity and grace
I’m a long-time admirer of Jason Fried, the CEO of 37Signals. He’s one of the only tech CEOs who is willing to experiment on culture and organization, rather than just technology. In this recent Fast Company interview, Jason cut to the heart of what it means to be a great business, versus what FC characterized … Continue reading The 4 Questions Great Businesses Must Be Able To Answer
Fascinating article on how different cultures respond to different forms of persuasion. The bottom line? When asked to do something, Americans ask what’s in it for them. Germans ask if the request complies with rules and regulations. Spaniards consider whether or not the person asking the favor is a friend. And Chinese consider the status … Continue reading How To Persuade Americans, Germans, Spaniards, and Chinese