On Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. PDT and on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. PDT, we are hosting a FREE Live Webcast for CEO's and business leaders in the middle market.I believe middle market businesses need to do 2 things immediately:Evade the distractions of contradictory economic…
Wow! According to a NY Times report, a recent study at the University of Maryland found that business plans really don't matter! Their study found that VC's pay little attention to the business plan and rely upon their instincts, networks and other sources to vet business plans and assess the…
The Wall St. Journal reports today on growing tension at venture-backed companies over whether to save money to reduce risk or invest to take advantage of new opportunities. You can never gain enough perspective on this issue, which represents one of the most pervasive struggles faced by growing businesses, and…
The Obama administration has unveiled a program to help small businesses, including R&D and innovation credits, ELIMINATING capital gains on small business stock ... we really need to see those details because that will attract investment at an accelerated pace ... extending Net Operating Loss carryovers. A lot of this…
The New York Times carried an Op-Ed piece today extolling the more mundane interpretations of genius. It turns out according to several new books cited there, that the appearance of "genius" is really more a function of "deliberate practice" than a divine spark. So, don't wait for inspiration to strike.…
Business Week carries a fresh look at The Peter Principle, the seminal work that coined the phrase about people being promoted to their "level of incompetence". Still a worthy concept for evaluating talent and making sure that your greatest salesman doesn't become a big failure as a sales manager.
The NY Times reported on a recent study by a team at the Harvard Business School who found that failure in a first venture is an unreliable signpost of future success.
The study looked at several thousand venture-backed companies over a 17 year period. They found that first time entrepreneurs receiving venture funding (more…)
CBS Sunday Morning is a show I've watched since its beginning, almost 30 years now. (Man, am I getting old!). It is a welcome respite from the usual tumult of the business week as it concentrates on music, the arts, theater, books and other cultural landmarks. This week in its…
The NY Times interviewed Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox on Sunday in their Corner Office segment. She offered several keen observations on a wide range of subjects that are worth considering: