How to Manage Your Board
The art of board management is a skill that you need to master because it can mean your survival and at least greater leeway in managing your startup. The first issue is deciding when you need a board. […]
The Meaning of Meaning
When I was a venture capitalist, I noticed that entrepreneurs whose primary goal was to make money usually failed. This is because this kind of entrepreneur attracts other people who want to make money, and then when the company doesn’t pay out big bucks immediately (and no startup does), these folks look for greener pastures. [...]
Fact-checking 2.0
If you want to read about how fact-checking isn’t done these days, read how BusinessWeek published a story about how I was getting paid $900/tweet. Except that I wasn’t. In fact the premise of the story was wrong, so it pulled the story—after the fact. Which is rather odd. Journalism 2.0?
How to be a Mensch
The year is still young, so you can still make some good resolutions. Bruna Martinuzzi provides “Twelve Resolutions on How to Be a Mensch.” It includes actions like “be happy for others,” “get rid of grudges,” and “make people feel better about themselves.”
Video of six core principles of good management
Check out this ten-minute video summary of Awesomely Simply by John Spence. It’s a good overview of the six core principles that determine a company’s fate.
How to Design a Flat Organization
Over at the American Express Open Forum I posted an article called “How to Design a Flat Organization” by Matthew E. May (@matthewemay). This articles explains how FAVI built a flat organization to better serve its customers’ needs. Check it out by clicking here.
The World’s Greatest Collection of Lies
To get lies, go here: Entrepreneurs Engineers Venture capitalists Marketers Lawyers Corporate partners CEOs Guy Kawasaki To get truths, go here: Entrepreneurship Engineering Venture capital Marketing, branding, and advertising. Law Leadership
How to Get Your Back Covered
Over at the American Express Open Forum I posted an interview with Keith Ferrazzi, the author of Who’s Got Your Back. Keith’s preview book, Never Eat Alone was a huge success. In my interview he explains how executives can improve their success by forming a team of hardcore advisors. Click here to read it.
Lessons from the Navy
Over at the American Express OPEN Forum, I posted a guest article by Bill Reichert, my colleague at Garage. He and I went on an overnight trip to the USS Nimitz, and these are the lessons he learned from the visit that one can apply to management and entrepreneurship. Click here to read it.
Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job
Searching for a job can suck if you constrain yourself to the typical tools such as online jobs boards, trade publications, CraigsList, and networking with only your close friends. In these kinds of times, you need to use all the weapons that you can, and one that many people don’t—or at least don’t use to [...]
Tough Talk for Tough Times: What the CEO Should Be Saying Now
Over at the American Express OPEN blog, I posted an article called“Tough Talk for Tough Times: What the CEO Should Be Saying Now.” In it, I discuss what CEOs should be telling employees now in order to (a) not appear clueless and (b) lead a company. Check it out! Please click on “Yes, found this [...]
Ten Tiny Things Every Small Business Owner Should Do in 2009
Over at the American Express OPEN Forum, I posted an article explaining “Ten Tiny Things Every Small Business Owner Should Do in 2009.” I hope you it helps you make your business stronger in 2009.
The Good Samaritan
Whether or not you are a Christian, "Jesus' Heart For Those Who Suffer" (12/21/2008 by John Ortberg) is a great sermon to listen to. What would you have done? Let us all be good Samaritans in 2009.
The Art of Bootstrapping
Over at the American Express OPEN blog, I posted an entry that explains boostrapping. Check out "The Art of Bootstrapping."
Literature and Narrative Management
Over at the American Express Open Forum blog I posted an article called “Literature and Narrative Management.” According to the New York Times, hospitals are incorporating the study of literature into residency programs because it leads to greater innovation, empathy, and communication. My theory is the same would hold true for business.
How to Tell If Your CEO Is Clueless
Pontificating, theorizing, and terrorizing abounds these days in tech startups. Here is a simple test to help you figure out if the startup you work for is in trouble. All you have to do is listen to your CEO talk to people for a week and determine if she uses these lines. “Let me tell [...]
Guy’s Index of Absurdity: The Top Ten Ways to Tell If Things Are Really Bad
The experts are promulgating many esoteric ways to determine the financial condition of the economy. It's irrational to base one's mood on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). After all, (a) what does that have to do with the real world? And (b) it reflects the buying (and selling) decisions of the same investment bankers [...]
How to Save a Billion Dollars
Over at the American Express Open Forum blog I just posted an interview with Chunka Mui, the author of Billion-Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years.. The subject of the interview is how and why companies make billion dollar mistakes. His thoughts are quite instructive [...]
How to Tell If Your Boss Is Crazy
Over at the American Express blog I explain how to tell if your boss is crazy based on the work of Mindsite to DSM-IV-TR bring to the rest of us. If you suspect that you work for a narcissistic, paranoid, obssessive-compulsive, anti-social nut case, click here to learn more. Related resources: "Is Your Boss an [...]
The Growth Mindset
"If You're Open to Growth, You Tend to Grow" should be required reading for managers and parents. It summarizes the work of Carol Dweck from Stanford. Key passage: Those who believe they were born with all the smarts and gifts they’re ever going to have approach life with what she calls a “fixed mind-set.” Those [...]