Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Last month, Joel Gascoigne wrote about some of the decisions that he and the team had made at Buffer. One of the things that he struggled with was how to correlate choices with success: http://bit.ly/Rpz6Bu “If we don’t attribute our choices to success or failure, how can we assess if we are on the right … Continue reading Values are Ends, Not Means
Famously, VCs take a portfolio approach, betting on numerous startups, while entrepreneurs bet the farm on their single startup. This fundamental difference helps explain many of the conflicts that arise between entrepreneurs and their VCs, because an entrepreneur is focused on the success of a single startup, while a VC has a fiduciary obligation to … Continue reading How To Use Portfolio Theory At Your Startup
One of the things that I occasionally have to deal with in the startups I work with is conflict, either between founders, or between employees. The most famous (infamous?) example was one founder to got mad at his co-founder because he claimed that the co-founder had rolled his eyes when the founder was talking. As … Continue reading What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Marriage Counseling
In the startup world, many make the assumption that being demanding means being mean. We read stories about Steve Jobs making people cry, or Jeff Bezos screaming at people in one of his “nutters.” I get the sense that most people decide that Leo Durocher was right–nice guys do finish last.* * The actual quote: … Continue reading Demanding But Nice
I’m always looking for ways to apply insights from other disciplines to the startup world. The other night, I was at a parenting seminar, when the presenter (Kirk Steupfert) talked about the importance of “No, because.” What me meant was that when you’re a parent, it’s very tempting to respond to your children’s constant requests … Continue reading No, Because
Inexperienced entrepreneurs seem to believe that they need their team to agree. “Get everyone on the same page,” is a common mantra I hear from teams I work with. The problem is, anyone who develops the expectations that all the members of a group (even a group of two) will completely agree about anything is … Continue reading People Never Completely Agree
I’ve seen a lot written lately about the mental impact of poverty. The trigger was probably this article, which originally began as a long comment on Gawker: http://bit.ly/Ixkjkg The author shares her experiences living in poverty, and the psychological struggles she faces. The key passage is probably this one: “It does not matter what will … Continue reading Hope Enables The Better Angels Of Our Nature
As a manager or CEO, what is your reaction when someone proposes a plan of action? Most of us feel like we need to “improve” such proposals. It’s hard to say why. Perhaps that helps us “look smarter.” Perhaps we feel like we want to help. Or maybe we’re worried that if we don’t offer … Continue reading As a manager, the default is trust
One of the big frustrations that startups face is the disconnect between the customer-facing and product-facing sides of the company. From time immemorial, engineers have complained about the wild promises Sales makes, while salespeople complain that engineers have no idea what the customer wants. The thing is, both sides are right. Sales doesn’t understand the … Continue reading The customer is always right (but not in the way you think)
People have this concept of a Dream Job. Yet they go about getting their dream job in exactly the wrong way. Most people chase their dream job like the protagonist in a romantic comedy chases their “true love”: A frantic effort to find The One. Yet getting a job doesn’t determine your job. Rather, you … Continue reading You get the job you train others to give you