We live in a world of spin: from embellished resumes to downright lies, people seem to have forgotten truth with their honesty manners. It’s hard to know if it’s always been this way, or if it’s changed over time. Certainly George Washington, whose birthday was celebrated last week as a US Federal holiday, would be appalled. George, as the legend goes, was the young man who voluntarily told his father that he had chopped down a cherry tree rather than lie about it.… Read the rest
[High Potential Employees] How Do You Choose the Chosen Few?
The question from my client was common: who do you spend limited resources for coaching and development of high potential employees? And, even harder, how do you know it’s money well spent?
The takeaway from working in and around corporations for almost 30 years is that most of the efforts spent on high potential employees – employees who their employer has deemed as having the skills, abilities, and interest to move to more senior positions with the corporation – is a waste.… Read the rest
[Tips for Entrepreneurs] The Secret(s) to Your Start-Up
Things are bubbling in the technology start-up world: not 1998 frothy, but clearly bubbling nonetheless.
And even while there is sobering reality – for example Tom Abate’s piece yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle Why Silicon Valley Faces Fresh Threats – there are telltale signals that things may be changing.
Signs of a cautious optimism can be found from the uptick in the amount of venture capital investment – noted courtesy Chubby Brain here in the highest number of deals occurring in the US in Q4 2009 at US$5.5 B with an aggregate of US$20B for the year – to articles such as Dharmesh Shah’s in OnStartups.com… Read the rest
[CFO Job Hunters Version] What Do Employers Really Want?
One mystery for more senior job hunters is the question of “What do employers really want?” in terms of backgrounds, skill sets and experience.
Thanks to one executive search person you can get one good answer – particularly if you’re looking fill a Chief Financial Officer role.
Karen Quint of Spencer Stuart addressed the San Francisco chapter of Financial Executives International, the preeminent association for CFOs and other senior finance executives last month.… Read the rest
[Life Back West] February 2010 – “Is That Your Grandson?” and Other Assumptions
Assumptions form the basis of almost everything we do; for example, we assume that the sun will rise (somewhere) from the east every day, roads can get icy for driving when it gets cold and wet, and no matter how you plan it, someone will call on the phone or ring the doorbell if you hop into the shower during the middle of the day.… Read the rest
[Jerry Rice] The (Simple) Secret to Your Success
There is a secret to your success.
It’s on page 9 of the Sunday, February 9, 2010 print edition of the San Francisco Chronicle’s article about American professional football player Jerry Rice.
It’s the same secret that Malcolm Gladwell covered in Outliers, when he reported on the work of K. Anders Ericsson.
It’s the same secret that the research that Stanford professor Carol Dweck uncovered and reported on in her book MindSet in which she identifies two types of approaches: a “fixed mindset” and a “growth mindset.”… Read the rest