Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Bill Belichek is one of the most successful American football coaches of all time. After helping the New York Giants win two Superbowls as an assistant coach, he led the New England Patriots to three more Superbowl victories (along with two other appearances in the big game). Along the way, Belichek has become famous for … Continue reading Mental toughness at your startup
If you’re not reading Eric Barker’s blog, Bakadesuyo, take a moment to subscribe (at least for as long as RSS readers still exist) before reading the rest of this post. Eric spends an incredible amount of effort distilling the nuggets of wisdom from hundreds of books so you don’t have to. You’ll thank me later. … Continue reading Nice guys finish first *and* last
These days, many people have a negative view of business. Think of Occupy Wall Street, for example. That negative view is even starting to impact the startup world. I’m seeing more stories about how so many startups are creating me-too products that don’t solve real problems. There is a solution to this negative view, and … Continue reading The best way to harvest value is to create it
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?
The anti-science bent of certain elements of the Republican party (Creationism anyone?) is obviously repugnant to many people, including me. Now it appears that stance came back to bite Mitt Romney during the presidential election. The Obama campaign secretly assembled a team of famous experts in psychology, persuasion, and behavioral economics to plan out campaign … Continue reading Obama uses science to beat Romney
“It was the capacity for intimate relationships that predicted flourishing in all aspects of these men’s lives.” A few months back, I was asked, “What do you think we’ll look back upon centuries from now and marvel that we didn’t understand?” There are plenty of things we know are bonkers, but which were considered normal … Continue reading Psychology is the Physics of the 21st Century
My son Jason, like many 10-year-old boys, loves video games. He can happily spend hours playing his favorite games, working diligently to reach that next level. Not every parent is a fan of letting their kids play video games, but I think it’s great. His passion has driven Jason to become a better researcher (he … Continue reading To understand gamification, watch a 10-year-old
“He told us he was going to fund us,” shouts the happy entrepreneur into my ear. I’m sure he dialed me as soon as he got into the car. “He’s not going to fund you,” I say calmly, “The VCs always say that. It doesn’t mean anything.” A lot of entrepreneurs have a hard time … Continue reading How Do You Know A VC Is Interested?
There are Microsoft people and Apple people. Microsoft people want every option, and can’t imagine why others would find the surfeit of choices intimidating or annoying. In the parlance of psychology, they are “optimizers“. Apple people want a simple, elegant experience, and care little about individual features. They adapt to the limitations presented to them, … Continue reading Microsoft People vs. Apple People
I had the good fortune of being allowed to be a mentor at the Unreasonable Institute this year. If you ever get the chance, it’s something you should definitely do. In my two days at the institute, I got to meet a bunch of amazing people who are making a real difference in the world. … Continue reading Everyone Feels Like An Imposter