Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Little known fact: I am the Michael Jordan of family game nights. Over decades of gameplay, I am undefeated across a variety of games, ranging from Trivial Pursuit to Cranium. And like Michael Jordan, I play to win with a ruthlessness that borders on the pathological. (This, by the way, is why I’ve vowed never … Continue reading Are you doing everything in your power to win the game you’ve chosen to play?
Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion has dominated all news in Silicon Valley for the past 48 hours. Yesterday, I was at a urinal, and a group of people asked me what I thought. Most of the discussion seems to be around whether Mark Zuckerberg was crazy to pay so much for a relatively … Continue reading What Entrepreneurs Should Learn From WhatsApp
You’ve probably heard the term “judo strategy” (a very popular meme from the dot com era), but you may not have thought about what it really means. I learned, from of all places, an interview that Joe Rogan gave to astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. In the interview, the former Fear Factor host talks about the … Continue reading Technique Matters
Consider the cockroach: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockroach The cockroach has been around for over 300 million years, and has outlasted countless other species. It’s secret? It’s nearly impossible to kill: “Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects. Some species are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources, such as … Continue reading Are you a cockroach or a sabretooth?
You’ve probably heard the parable of “put the big rocks first”: http://bit.ly/17RwBxG The point of “big rocks” is that you need to fit the stones and pebbles in your life around the big rocks, rather than vice versa. I’d like to propose a corollary of “put the big rocks first.” I call it, “Get the … Continue reading Get the big rocks rolling
One of the most important lessons an entrepreneur needs to learn is to avoid fighting battles your startup can’t win. I like to make this point with entrepreneurs by sharing a funny story from my life. When I first met my wife (I won’t share the year, for fear of comments like, “Wow, that’s the … Continue reading Don’t fight battles you can’t win
When you’re an entrepreneur, there’s never enough time for everything. One common response is to set up a to-do list, with the highest priority items at the top. The problem is that this always prioritizes the urgent and important (what Stephen Covey labeled “Quadrant 1”), leaving important but not urgent items to languish. Covey called … Continue reading The Power of Saw Sharpening
John Kirk recently took issue with the spate of stories about Android’s increasing share of the smartphone market. In his polemic, “Android’s Market Share Is Literally A Joke”, he argues that Apple is actually winning the smartphone battle because it has a majority of the profits: http://bit.ly/11pl4CN “Not only do the high priests of market … Continue reading Yes, Android is winning (at least by what Google cares about)
In the startup world, you’re always surrounded by uncertainty. There are always too many factors to consider, and your team members probably disagree. But you don’t have to be paralyzed or choose blindly. Instead, follow this simple principle: Always start with the end goals. Whenever you are stuck, refer back to those goals. Our natural … Continue reading Always Start With The End
I’ve previously written about why Asians love real estate. At the time, I mentioned the Chinese Landlord principle, which has much broader implications for how to approach life. The basic Chinese Landlord principle is this: The best tenant is one who sends a check every month and never calls. I learned the Chinese Landlord principle … Continue reading Leveraging The Chinese Landlord Principle