Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
I was struck and touched by a recent post I read by entrepreneur Chris Granger, who wrote movingly about dealing with his mother’s partner’s terminal cancer, and trying to build a company at the same time: http://bit.ly/13TKS9B “And this is the stark truth of startups: you are the last and only line of defense against … Continue reading Once you take everything away, what’s left?
The best coverage I’ve read about Yahoo’s massive acquisition of Tumblr comes from Tumblr co-founder Marco Arment (who went on to create Instapaper): “Intense focus requires neglecting almost everything else. David’s focus on pushing the product forward meant that he didn’t want to think about boring stuff: support, scaling, paperwork, and money. Every time we’d … Continue reading The Lesson of Tumblr: Product Uber Alles
A lot of folks seem to have this notion that if they do what they’re “supposed” to do, that’s good enough. That might be true in a big company, but it’s definitely not true in a startup. The employees of a startup need to focus on achieving goals, not simply fulfilling roles. This is even … Continue reading It’s the entrepreneur’s responsibility to get people to do what they need to do
When Yahoo! hired Marissa Mayer, I supported the move, believing that the board needed to shake things up, and that given the dismal state of the business, Mayer was probably a better candidate than they could ever have expected to attract. I also supported the move on Mayer’s part; she wasn’t ever going to become … Continue reading Marissa Mayer and Yahoo’s telecommuting policy: Right motivation, wrong execution
I recently wrote about how being a jerk isn’t the best way to maintain high standards: Yet this isn’t to say that bad behavior is always detrimental to starting a company. Indeed, given the odds, some level of delusion is a necessity for entrepreneurs–after all, only 6 out of every 1,000 entrepreneurs who seek angel … Continue reading Does being a psychopath help you start a company?
“He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.”—The Big Aristotle, quoting the original Aristotle I guess Shaq really is a philosopher!
“The principles used to run a firm should be Sesame Street Simple. Human beings don’t want to stay focused. So my job is to get them to focus their creativity around the focus; focus their productivity around the focus; focus their efficiency or effectiveness around the focus.” —A. G. Lafley, CEO Proctor & Gamble
“There is one irrefutable definition of a leader, and that is someone people follow.” -Michael Maccoby
For my first post in 2008, I’m going to point you to the latest outline I’ve posted on the Book Outlines Wiki, Marcus Buckingham’s “The One Thing You Need To Know.” I first came across Buckingham’s work with “First, Break All The Rules,” which I expected to be yet another jargony paean to the “New … Continue reading Book Outline: The One Thing You Need To Know
“We make a living based on what we get, and we make a life based on what we give.” –Winston Churchill “You manage things. You lead people.”–Stephen Covey