I recently had a conversation with a successful entrepreneur as part of a potential consulting engagement. He had clearly built something valuable. He was experienced, intelligent, and confident in his business. At the same time, I could see that much of the company’s strategy, operations, and decision-making still depended heavily on him. Then I noticed [...]
Growth is supposed to make a business stronger. But growth also creates complexity. A company may add customers, employees, services, and revenue while continuing to operate with systems designed for a much smaller business. At first, hard work makes up the difference. The founder stays involved in everything. Experienced employees remember how things are done. [...]
AI is everywhere right now. Every software company seems to have added it to its product, and every business owner is being told to adopt it before being left behind.
When every important decision, relationship, and problem leads back to the founder, growth becomes harder, the team becomes less capable, and the business becomes more fragile.
It is somewhat idealistic to think that your business will just grow slowly and organically. Unless you’re planning on staying a small business forever, you need to have a plan for when your company begins to outgrow its current space, budget, and staff. […]
When I was recently asked to speak to a group of young founders and CEO’s at Pear.vc in Palo Alto , I selected a topic that’s not very often addressed in these types of events. I chose to talk about managing fear – specifically how to crush your fears – what I believe to be [...]
Do you think that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself? If so, you may be the classic Micromanager and a very counterproductive leader! Micromanagement leads to several different problems. Not only is it an inefficient way to manage, but it also results in lack of motivation and desire to [...]
This is one of the first questions I always ask my consulting clients. The answer, or the lack of it, tells me a lot about the mindset of the owners and executives. It also helps me understand how relevant the company’s marketing strategy may be to its customers’ needs. I understand that replying with answers [...]
