I was standing in front of the boardroom, my last slide up on the screen. Everyone knew what was coming. “Is that all you marketing $#*!s know how to do,” my CEO lashed out, “cut prices?” He was fuming. “No, that’s not all I know how to do,” I said.[…] Read On
Friends often ask me why I do what I do. By any measure I had one hell-of-a career. I went out on top. Why bother blogging and consulting? Why not just retire to some pristine island in the pacific, lounge on the beach, write my memoirs and work on the[…] Read On
There are situations when delegating is bad and micromanaging, or being hands on, is good. The key is to know how to identify those situations. When advising CEOs who tend to be overly controlling, I often invoke the words of venture capitalist Fred Wilson: A CEO does only three things.[…] Read On
Entrepreneurship is not the glamorous career path it’s been made out to be. It’s not about big ideas and lofty ideals. It’s not about hopes and dreams. It’s not about guts and glory. It’s not even about invention and innovation. And it’s certainly not about a search for fame and[…] Read On
Nobody likes an angry showman. When investors need a distraction from disastrous earnings, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is usually a master at coming up with some shiny new object for them to focus on. That did not happen on Wednesday’s earnings call. Musk told investors — the folks who actually[…] Read On
Some say youth is wasted on the young. Others say wisdom is wasted on the old. If you listen up and play your cards right, you can avoid both cynical predictions. We all start out young and dumb. A blank sponge. That’s just the way it is. We learn as[…] Read On
Startup founders and small business owners are usually experts in their field and passionate about their work. Ironically, that’s why most fail. They don’t know a thing about running a business and, for the most part, don’t care to learn. Sooner or later, that trips them up. Sadly, the same[…] Read On