Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
A few random thoughts on the statement above: This is another way of stating Kant’s Second Maxim to treat people as ends, rather than means. After all, what is a cause other than something that you’re supposed to treat as more important than a single human being Viewed through the lens of corporate management, this … Continue reading “Believe in each other, not causes.”
I was absolutely flabbergasted to read this on Matthew Yglesias’ blog this morning: “I think that running a major company is largely a matter of riding around on the corporate jet.” Later, he writes: “That a lot of the people succeeding in business are sort of frauds (needless to say, other people get rich by … Continue reading Being CEO Means More Than Riding Around On The Corporate Jet
Fascinating post and video from TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott. Abbott is getting coached by the instructors at the IMG Academy, who coach many of the top basketball talents coming out of high school. During ballhandling drills, Abbott’s coach instructs him to dribble the ball hard, at an uncomfortable speed, and Abbott notes that all the times … Continue reading Practice Hard Enough To Make Mistakes
A lot of folks think that being the boss is fun. Those people have obviously never been a boss. When you’re the boss, you’re ultimately responsible for the success or failure of your enterprise. You can’t say, “The man kept me from succeeding.” You are the man (or woman as the case may be). This … Continue reading Managing the Boss
One of the most important of Yeh’s Laws of Entrepreneurship is simple but universal:Get someone else to do the work. I’m not advocating laziness in entrepreneurs–entrepreneurship is hard work. But you have to realize that hard work is insufficient. Even the most dedicated entrepreneur is hard-pressed to work more than 12 hours per day. That’s … Continue reading Entrepreneurship is about getting someone else to do the work
John Wooden is famous for saying, “be quick, but don’t hurry.” Unfortunately, it’s hard to act on this Yoda-like utterance. That’s why I’ve rephrased it (glancing nervously at the sky, hoping to avoid a lightning bolt) in my own words: Be decisive, but don’t rush in. Sports is one of the most popular metaphors for … Continue reading Be Decisive, But Don’t Rush In
The best corporate leaders never point out the window to blame external conditions; they look in the mirror and say, “We are responsible for our results!” Those who take personal credit for good times but blame external events in bad times simply do not deserve to lead our institutions. —Jim Collins
“I can work with a client who is ignorant. I can work with a client who is arrogant. But I cannot work with one who is both.”–James Alexander
Seth Godin had a recent post about how organizations tend to go from crisp to soggy over time. While I agree with his points, I think that there’s a better analogy to explain why companies need processes as they grow. I call it the principle of the elephant and the ant. Hollywood horror movies nonwithstanding, … Continue reading The Elephant and the Ant: Why Companies Need Processes As They Grow
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