Great products and bad products both reflect the management teams who are responsible for them.
Four Ways a Great Team Can Save the Business
Pivoting Ain't Easy
Bon Voyage! Here Are Two Business Ideas that Need to Die
I nearly scrapped this column, because they’re not bad ideas per se. Both are still in fashion today, especially in the startup-o-sphere, and like many popular ideas there's more than a grain of truth to them. But these two ideas have run themselves ragged, and I see them doing more harm than good when I encounter them.
Lessons on Authenticity from Aziz Ansari, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Salespeople
Lingerie, a Camel Burger, and the Moment of Inspiration
This week, it gives me great pleasure to direct you to two pieces I published last week in Fast Company and Elite Daily about seizing on moments of inspiration in business. I wanted to describe a few of the most formative experiences in my career that ultimately led me to start my latest venture, UserMuse.
What a $15,000 Thumb Drive Taught Me about When to Ask for Help
Building a Creative Company: Why Every Role Requires Creativity
The Unwritten Rules of Work Etiquette
"It's Okay - Odds Are No One Else Is Any Good Either." - More Wisdom from Great Thinkers
Several months ago, I shared a few of my favorite pieces of business wisdom that I've come across in some of the books I've enjoyed most. Inc.com was kind enough to republish that piece afterward, and based on the enthusiastic feedback from that, I decided to do another today. I recommend reading any of these books if you haven't, but if you don't you'll now at least have a small piece of wisdom from each.
CEO Interview: Lessons from Bootstrapping an Idea to 15 Years of Profitability
In an age where it’s easy to gawk at the latest unicorn funding rounds, Ernie is proud to have bootstrapped a company that is closing in on fifteen years in business, all of them profitable. As he prepares to expand his company’s headquarters for the second time and bring ever more companies onto the software platform his team has built, he was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Grunt Work: How Do You Push People without Killing Morale?
Are You Making Basic Mistakes as a Hiring Manager?
The right way to evaluate an interview candidate varies by industry, company, and role. But there are universal mistakes to avoid whenever you’re interviewing a candidate for any role. After conducting hundreds of interviews of the last several years and many, many post-mortems, I’ve learned...that I’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years.
Avoiding Burnout: How to Recharge without Quitting Your Job
Some people take time off and re-assess things when they get to a point where they feel disconnected or in despair. They’re the smart ones; plenty of others fall into the “sleepwalking” stage. They’re too spent to approach their work with creativity and enthusiasm anymore, and their output predictably suffers.
What Does a Compassionate CEO Look Like? BELFOR's Sheldon Yellen Weighs In
Two things in particular stood out to me after talking to Sheldon. First, you can be ruthlessly efficient without being a ruthless person. And second, the conversation reaffirmed how important it is to enjoy what you do. Sheldon and his team have built a multi-billion dollar industry leader on the premise that people are the most efficient and effective when they love what they do and care about why they do it. I wanted to understand more about how someone could be so focused on efficiency as a manager and at the same time connect emotionally with their people.