Small businesses have become more pessimistic about the chance for economic recovery in the next six months, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business. The indicator fell 1.3 points in July to 86.5. "Now they are expected to finance the new experiments of Congress and the…
The Wall St. Journal sponsored a series of video interviews with executives to probe some of their "leadership lessons".The 90 second monologue by Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft about how he budgets his time is an interesting and unique approach to making sure that your meetings and tasks fit into…
Create your own firesFire has been around since before Prometheus stole it from Zeus and shared it with us mere mortals.We won’t revisit the penalty that Zeus bestowed but suffice it to say, Prometheus probably regretted his thievery.Are you spending your day putting out fires?It seems that most executives today…
A recent WSJ article focused on a few small businesses who are finding that aggressive pricing, the death spiral that usually befalls struggling companies, can also be used to create new customers. It's not just about dropping prices ... it's being innovative about how to tailor your product and service…
The big New York law firms continue to amuse and titillate. Again, one of the firms, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, is offering $80,000 to incoming lawyers to defer their starting dates for a year. Cravath is also requiring current summer associates who are offered full-time jobs to accept $65,000 to…
I have written several posts lately about the value of business plans and the nature of the pitch to raise money.The MIT Sloan Management Review weighs in with a new article Why Business Plans Don't Deliver which offers some ideas about how to avoid the common pitfalls.In short, the article…
“Where are we” is a question I hear all the time.
Usually, the questioner is looking for some answers about the business landscape and where we might be in the trough between recession and recovery.
A challenging question but one that usually prompts a series of my questions:
Where are you, and how well are you and your company prepared for the rest of this journey?
Make sure that you have a foolproof system that holds your team accountable so that they know … that you know … what they need to get done, and that you’re measuring and tracking those initiatives to make sure they don’t slip through the cracks.
How have you gotten this far? (more…)
Angels invested more than $19 Billion in 2008 according to the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. The NY Times published an article today reporting the resuls ... what many of us have been saying all along: THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PREPARATION! Authenticity is more…
Creating goals that have meaning“It’s just a goal.”
That’s a phrase I’ve heard too many times when a business leader engages in a performance review with an employee or when companies embark on a corporate planning effort.
Do they mean that a goal is more like a road sign, pointing the way without regard for whether you actually arrive?
Is it like the proverbial carrot dangled on the stick in front of us, with some motivational value but with no expectation that we will ever feast upon it? (more…)