That’s how you innovate. That’s how you find the truth. That’s how you stay ahead of the pack. That’s why America keeps creating new products, new companies. No one is arrested for saying what they think. People are free to air ideas, exchange thoughts. Do the same for your company.
Autocracy. Participatory. Democracy. Consultative dictatorship. Whatever the style, before you take-over/join/deal with a business, figure out it’s leadership style. Don’t try to change it. Trying to change it will result in failure. Rather align with it. Adopt it. Lead in the same way. That’s how you’ll take the company where you want it to go. Breaking…
Mentors are people that give you advice that helps in your life/business. Mostly they’re people with more experience/money. But sometimes not. Sometimes a youngster and aspiring entrepreneur can teach you. Be cool with that. Open your mind. Pay attention. Your mentor can be younger or poorer than you.
When a little boy takes a big dog for a walk, he spends his time waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there. That’s not leading. That’s managing. Leading is showing the big dog where to go, and taking it there.
People that aren’t necessarily leaders: Just because you’re one of the above, doesn’t mean you’re a leader. To be a leader means people are willing to follow you. That’s it.
Are you a fighter? A salesman? A politician? A grafter? Whatever you are, that’s how you find success. If you’re a salesman, you sell your way to success. If you’re a politician, you politic your way to success. If you’re a fighter, you fight your way to success. You can’t find success by being something…
Most of the time, the bigger the solution, the less likely it is to succeed. Problems, big and small, are mostly addressed with small solutions. Avoid the temptation of a grand project to solve all the world’s problems. Find a small solution. Preferably one that no one else is chasing. Most problems don’t need big…
Most entrepreneurs are impatient. When there’s a problem, it must be solved immediately. When there’s a solution, it must be grasped immediately. Speed speed speed. Now now now. That works well for a startup, but not so well as the business grows. Impatience can cause more damage than benefit. Speed can kill. Much better to…
Fight every battle as though retreat is not an option. That way you always have a fall-back position. But you also give yourself the best odds of victory.
You’re faced with the choice of investing in a new product or feature. To do, or not to do. The simplest test is as follows: Calculate the probability of failing, and quantify that loss. Calculate the probability of winning, and quantify the gains. Weigh up the probability of loss vs the probability of gains missed.
People use industry jargon to hide that they don’t know what’s going on. They use it to impress the audience. They use it to dazzle. They use it to ensure the audience doesn’t know what’s being said. There is no good reason for using jargon.
Sunk costs are things like IT systems, staff complements, and pricing policies, that have built up over years. Sunk costs are so entrenched that it often takes a disaster to wipe them away. Part of the reason the German military was so powerful in the early years of World War II is that it had to…