It’s ridiculously hard to be successful over the long haul. It’s a lot harder if you don’t know the basics. Factors like global competition, channel conflicts and supply-chain issues are tough enough to overcome; you don’t need internal problems to make it even harder. When it comes to running a[…] Read On
The real reason the great experiment called America turned out as well as it did can be summed up in a single word: competition. Competition for customers, competition for talent, competition for jobs, competition for political office. When we compete on our merits, it brings out the best in us. The[…] Read On
I bet if you ask 10 people how to rate a CEO, you’ll probably get 10 different answers. There really is just one way, though. You rate them the same way you rate athletes, entertainers, doctors, attorneys or anyone else, for that matter. Including yourself. One word: Performance. In the[…] Read On
Wells Fargo’s been my bank ever since I stepped foot in California nearly 30 years ago. That’s about to end. But not for the reasons you might think. I’ve used Wells Fargo for a mortgage, an equity line of credit, personal banking and business banking for decades. While none of[…] 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