With the insatiable need for new ideas in anything and everything we do just to keep pace with the continual onslaught of change we face every day (aka the Red Queen Effect) I’m always surprised by how many people come to meetings, events, or presentations and fail bring a notebook or some other means to […]
I talk a lot about the importance of situational awareness in almost everything you do. But I never really considered what I’d do if I didn’t have time for all that, until I had to! Some wise person once said: You don’t need to start with a good plan. Just start with any plan, then […]
Everywhere you look in the tech press, companies and entrepreneurs are seeking investment. In fact, many seem to believe that investment equals success, and if they fail at that, then they’ve failed. Often, during my initial meetings with entrepreneurs, after they’ve finished telling me all about their idea(s), they conclude by asking, so do you […]
Someone asked me: what should I do if I have an idea for a startup, but there’s already a well funded startup with a similar idea? There appears to be a belief that if a company is “well-funded” then they must be successful, and you won’t be. But it just isn’t true! Ideas are worthless. […]
The story of Alibaba as told by Jack Ma is amazing! It was in Seattle where Ma said his friend encouraged him to try searching the Internet for the first time. Initially, he hesitated since he knew that computers were expensive, and if he broke it, he wouldn’t be able to afford to replace it. […]
I used to describe myself as a DOER. I got stuff done. And I liked getting stuff done. I used to be suspicious of TRY. To me, TRY was what you said when you were being nice but didn’t really intend to make it happen. For all intents and purposes, TRYing was synonymous with LYing! […]
A recent post by Lolly Daskal (President and CEO, Lead From Within) was titled 65 Quotes That Will Dare You to Do Great Things I followed the link and took a look at the list and it WAS inspiring … but then reality came crashing in. How on earth was I ever going to remember […]
A recent post on the New Ventures BC website asked the question, “Is it Courage or Something Else that is Critical for Startup Company Leaders?” The author said courage, and later added, “a fierce desire to learn and to change”. Someone responded with naiveté. Someone else said patience. Another response was Integrity, Intensity, Immediacy. Still […]
I found myself talking about “dumb money” today with an entrepreneurial friend. In our conversation, “dumb money” referred to money that came with hidden harm. We could each tell stories of companies that were seriously affected as a result of taking “dumb money”. This one blew up (think detonation, not acceleration). That one imploded (think […]
Fifty years ago this past March (2014), Richard Petty went 174.639 mph in his ’64 Plymouth–his 426 Hemi-powered ’64 Plymouth, and NASCAR would never be the same again. Chrysler’s new engine took the top three finishes at the 1964 Daytona 500, the very first motorsport event it entered and pandemonium ensued. How did underdog Chrysler […]