[Life Back West] October 2013 – Kismet?

Kismet” the CEO asked?shutterstock_139117229

Yes, kismet,” I said. “The not-so-accidental fact that I’m working with someone who has some of the same strengths and challenges that I have. The good news? I know them well.”

The CEO’s direct report was the client, someone I’ll call “Bob,” did indeed have a skill set that reminded me of me; hardworking, a nose for the business, great rapport with people below him on the corporate pecking order, broad interests and knowledge, smart (well, maybe not that part) and the ability to be too candid when greater diplomacy was in retrospect warranted.Read the rest

The Startup: Why Build the Extra Plumbing if You’re Going to Sell?

Jack Hawley, one of the smartest OD people I’ve ever known, once shared the Native American saying that “to travel fast Equipment, cables and piping as found inside of a modern industryou have to travel light.”

It applies to people (whether it’s actual luggage or their own personal baggage) but it also applies to startups and any other organizations.

The fact is that it’s hard to be nimble when you’re big, or small with lots of extra stuff that you’re carrying around.… Read the rest

How-to-Achieve Your New Year Resolutions? Be Like Mahatma

The New Year is here, and many of us in North America will note the start of the year with resolutions, a legacy of being informed by the European side of the immigrant family tree. The Romans gave us January 1st as the marker for the new year, and Pope Gregory promoted it with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar , something adopted by the Western / Christian world in 1582 and used as a loose business default calendar globally.… Read the rest