Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
There is a problem with women in business. Symptoms are everywhere.
And where you expect it the least given the perceived meritocracy – high technology – it appears to be the most present.
“Is the ‘Mommy Track’ Still Taboo?” blared a headline in the Wall Street Journal this week.
That piece follows the Journal’s post “Addressing The Lack of Women Leading Tech Start-Ups” that noted that only 11% of U.S.… Read the rest
There are lessons that some startups learn after they’ve crashed, and mistakes that successful startups either learn early or avoid making.
If you want to be successful as a startup, learn these lessons early – or be very lucky and avoid them.
Lunch yesterday with my friend and colleague Dr. Jo Whitehouse – a rockstar in the startup world – highlighted two of them.… Read the rest
Malcolm Gladwell had Sandy Nininger. I have March Madness. The results are the same.
Mere talent is taking a beating.
Gladwell’s writings – built in part on the work of people like Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth – have shown that raw talent – smarts as we like to say in the business world – is overrated.
Gladwell demonstrated in The Talent Myth that hiring by collegiate pedigree – shorthand for smart – gave us the Enron fiasco (with McKinsey & Co’s significant backing).… Read the rest
When I found Mattuccui’s to catch a March Madness game on a big screen, I knew it would be a “make do” – and a reminder for all of us.
The bar was tucked on a side road just down the street in San Anselmo from where my 8 yo son was having a late morning brithday party for his friend Spencer Hao.… Read the rest
The last big tech boom – eleven years ago – had collars and handcuffs wrapped around founders and early hires.
Apart from the joy, challenge and excitement in creating something from nothing (btw – something not to be ignored or underestimated) the big financial upside was in stock. Stock which in many cases couldn’t be cashed out until the startup went public or got bought.… Read the rest
There is the regular stuff that gets you fired; this is about the dumb stuff.
First the regular stuff that causes you and your job to go different ways: position different than advertised, working relationship with boss or key clients never really worked out, company reorganization, you were too good in your role (and it scared people), you were not very good in your job (and it also scared people), somebody senior just didn’t like you, someone bought somebody else (and your job went away) or your company went out of business.… Read the rest