Some people feel the need to control, to own, to dictate, to be “the man”. These people are governed by ego. You can’t be a success if you let your ego run the show. In business, economics is the most important factor. Ego is irrelevant. Don’t worry about who’s the boss or who gets the credit…
Have you ever felt frustrated that your boss is not making a decision? It’s an emergency, action is desperately needed, and yet the chief procrastinates. You start thinking she’s consciously trying to make things worse. She’s malicious. She’s out to get you. Hold on. Inaction is usually a function of either incompetence or cowardice. If the…
Ever felt yourself losing the crowd? During a sales pitch, during a date, during a public speech. You know that feeling. The audience isn’t laughing at your jokes. It feels like you’re pouring your energy into a black hole of emptiness. The instinct is to double-down. Tell funnier jokes. Show more enthusiasm. Try harder. Don’t…
You have a great idea. You’re convinced it’s the right thing to do. You’re ready to fire the laser. Pause. Check again. Keep an open mind. Be ready to let go of your views. Sometimes your idea is not such a good idea. The only way you save yourself money, energy and angst, is to…
You will be confronted with plenty of small challenges in business. Be careful not to brush over the little things. The little things turn into big things, and those big things can break your business. Better to deal with your challenges when they arise, and when they’re small.
In the 90’s, the national telecoms operator of India had a seven year waiting list for fixed lines. Seven years. That’s how long you waited before they would install your line. Eventually someone asked the minister of telecoms what he was going to do about this terrible service. His response was bemusement. “What do you…
You want to be successful. You want to be interesting. Hanging out with successful people is the recipe for being successful. Hanging out with interesting people is the recipe for being interesting. Do you want to be interesting and successful? Hang out with interesting successful people.
If you need something, you automatically create fear in yourself. The fear of not getting what you need. Fear leads to bad decisions. Bad decisions usually lead to you not getting what you need. Ask yourself, what do I need? Money, fame, title? Then ask why, until you get to the point where you realize…
You will face setbacks, challenges and problems. You have two choices how to deal with them: in a negative or a positive manner. The former leads to additional stress, possible new enemies and your business freezing until things are resolved. The latter leads to respect from others, and your business keeps moving forward. Which path…
Stay away from perfection, that way lies slowness. Always striving for perfection is a sure path to getting stuck whilst your competition races ahead. Rather don’t be perfect, that way you can be good. Being good means accepting flaws as a necessary price for speed & momentum. Speed & momentum are more important than perfection….
Both caterpillars and pigs are ugly. If you wait long enough, a caterpillar will turn into a butterfly. No matter how long you wait, a pig will always be a pig. Hopefully your startup is a caterpillar. It’s not pretty. It’s your job to put lipstick on the caterpillar so that investors, staff, customers are…
Do you hesitate to ask people for feedback? Worried about what they’ll say? Afraid of criticism? Don’t be afraid. Feedback is the only path to improvement. It might be awkward, but better that than failing because you don’t improve. Ask for feedback. Don’t be afraid.