Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Tips for CEOs, Boards and Company Builders: 7 Succession Mistakes to Avoid

The trickle down process is in high gear.

Steve Jobs takes a second medical leave and everywhere business people are scurrying around to do or dust off CEO succession plans.

The fact of the matter is most people avoid contingency planning (Tornado? What tornado?) like Republicans and Democrats avoid candid, authentic dialogue about taxing and spending realities. Succession – particularly at the most senior levels like the CEO – invites thinking about the unthinkable; things like death, firing, or getting “your guy/gal” at the top swiped by another competitor.… Read the rest

Posted on

Tips for CEOs & Company Founders: How to Build Your “A” Team

There are a number of formulas for success for building “can’t miss” start-up and founding teams.

Here’s one that actually works.

A disclaimer first; depending on your business you’ll need to have reasonable domain expertise. If you’re in the internet networking space, you need to have people on your founding team that have the technical chops to have the engineering aspects nailed, as well as somebody who understands the competitive market dynamics (who buys gear, who is the competition, who is a player, who is not, etc.).… Read the rest

Posted on

Cherry Trees Are Blooming: Anyone Notice?

People want to be successful, which is usually a combination of being effective (doing the right thing) and efficient (doing things well), putting folks down a path to achieving favorable results.

Sometimes – as counterintuitive as it seems – that means doing less, not more.

Optimal performance (think weight training, writing a dissertation, running a business) is a combination of intense work and intermittent breaks.… Read the rest

Posted on

When Is It Time to Fire Your Co-Founder?

Start-ups are a lot like some relationships; great when when you first meet and date, perhaps a little bumpy and not-so-hot as you spend more time, grow, and start wanting different things from the relationship.

The fact of the matter is that the road is littered with co-founders or co-founding teams that needed to split apart – some stay, some leave – in order for the start-up to grow.… Read the rest

Posted on

Tips for CEOs (and other leaders): There’s More to Performance than an Appraisal

Dental root canals, IRS tax audits, and what for many is the annual formal performance appraisal are all equally inviting.

There are some simple, straight forward steps you can take to make the performance appraisal process more appealing and effective, and this post will walk you through those ways and perhaps even have it be easier (if there is such a thing), more productive, and attractive.… Read the rest