Yearly Archives: 2006
Make Everything Easy! (Especially during the holidays)
We’re great at making things hard when they don’t need to be. Now, let’s start making things easier… Continue reading
Innovate, Compete, Win: pierce your belly button
Just be prepared to get your belly button pierced… No one should take themselves so seriously With many years ahead to fall in line Why would you wish that on me? I never want to act my age What’s my … Continue reading
The Executive Mindset
Executive jobs are the ultimate “buck stops here” jobs. The core of being an executive is decision making. Executives have the final say in their area of the organization. As I’ve written about before, the CEO is ultimately responsible for … Continue reading
How to Set Salaries for Entrepreneurs
“How to Set Salaries” is an article that first appeared on Entrepreneur.com in May, 2006.
Setting salaries for your staff is always a tricky thing to do. It’s especially hard if you’ve never done it before, because you probably don’t even know where to start. On the one hand, you want to pay enough to get the best possible talent. On the other hand, you don’t want to overpay. What’s an entrepreneur to do?
First of all, don’t panic. Remember that your goal is to attract good talent and pay them fairly… (continued at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,327848,00.html) Continue reading
Getting the Most from Your Advisors (slides)
Many great leaders have had great advisors. When you’re searching for advisors, where do you go? How do you get them? These slides from Stever’s 1999 Cyberposium presentation might shed some light. Continue reading
From Idea to Business: I have an idea … how do I turn it into a business?
What does it take to turn an idea into a business? Four things: a product or service, a business model, a team, and money… Continue reading
What are Venture Capitalists? (What are VCs, anyway? Are they right for me?)
Many people think a VC is someone who helps entrepreneurs start businesses. Well, they do. But that isn’t their primary job, nor their primary legal responsibility. In fact, sometimes their real job can be detrimental to the entrepreneur they fund… Continue reading
Romancing the Dragon: Know What Accepting Investor Money Means
Every entrepreneur I talk to dreams of attracting VC money or professional investor money. They seem to dream it because it’s simply “the way things are done.” But who set things up that way, and is it really such a good idea (for anyone other than the VCs)? Continue reading
What is Viral Marketing? (What the buzzwords mean, and why not to use them)
Viral marketing has become such a common buzzword it almost has the status of a real world. You can tell it’s still a buzzword, though, since it’s used largely without regard for its meaning. Here’s how to tell the difference between real viral marketing and simple PR fluff. Continue reading
A Handy TO DO Sheet Template
This TO DO Sheet Template is a form I’ve found useful in categorizing the urgent, the important, and the let’s-not-do-that-shall-we? Continue reading
Conquering the Stress of Uncertainty: Keeping Yourself Sane in an Uncertain World
Even in good times, uncertainty can be inherently stressful. In this article, we explore some recommendations and coping mechanisms for dealing with the uncertainties of life. Continue reading
Living Your Life with Quality
What does it mean to build a quality life? Are you building a life to be proud of? Here’s a short fable by Mark Albion to help you sort it out. Continue reading
Dealing with Overwhelm
Overwhelm is bad, but feelings of overwhelm can be far more crippling… Continue reading
Take Time to Recharge (Pushing Yourself, You’ll Get Less Done Than You Think)
If you push yourself too hard, you may end up less productive than otherwise. Even if it seems to make sense, you may find that taking time off helps you get more done. Continue reading
The Macho Test, by Shelle Rose Charvet
In a guest column by Shelle Rose Charvet, Shelle discusses the Macho Test as a way of keeping communication flowing smoothly even when dealing with people who have just a tad too much testosterone. Continue reading
Losses and Responsibility: How everyday business language lets us engage in accounting…deception.
The very language we use to talk about business issues lets us engage in psychological denial of accounting … creativity. Continue reading
What is Leverage? What the buzzwords mean and why not to use them.
“Leverage” has become quite the overused buzzword. Here’s what it actually means and why not to use it. Continue reading
Returning Money to Investors: How to Calculate their actual return
This article explains how to calculate the rate of return you’re giving investors. After all, they want to see a 900% return in six months, and to do a credible job of proving you’ll do it, you have to know the math… Continue reading
The Power Focus Time: A terrifying way to make sure you’ll actually get stuff done this week.
Want to get more done in your life? Use focus time. Use intense focus time. Here’s how… Continue reading
Get a Life While You Still Have the Chance (it’s easier than you think)
How do you achieve work/life balance? Firm boundaries can help! Here’s how to make it happen. Continue reading
EBITDA: The Phantom Measurement. (What’s EBITDA all about, anyway?)
EBITDA is an oft-touted financial measurement that’s flat out meaningless. I side with Warren Buffett in considering it an abberation of good accounting. Here’s why it makes no sense… Continue reading
Making Space for Success: Controlling Clutter
Too much clutter, even if you deal with it, obscures what’s really important. Take control of your results by taking control of your clutter. Continue reading
Division of Equity: How equity gets divided initially and at harvest
How much stock should each person get? When should they get it? Why should they get it? Here are some answers, some questions, and some thoughts on equity distribution in startups. Continue reading
Fund Raising Destroys Value! Do it wisely and carefully.
Executives, CEOs, and entrepreneurs talk about fund raising as if it were somehow a good thing. It’s not. Fund raising inherently destroys value, and should only be done in dire circumstances. Continue reading
Thoughts of a Business Plan Judge: Who Gets $30,000?
A few reflection on my experience as a judge of both the Harvard Business School and Brown University business plan competitions. Continue reading
Operating at Your Peak; Sleep and Good Food are Underrated
Sometimes working long hours isn’t even productive in the short term. Before pushing yourself hard, know what that does to your results and thinking ability. It may be best to go out and party instead. Continue reading
Anatomy of a Business Model: What is one of those things, anyway?
Every business needs a business model. Yet two businesses that do exactly the same thing may have very different business models, leading one to succeed, and the other to fail. What is a business model, and how do they work? Continue reading
Stever’s flame on why ASPs, Web 2.0, and everything new is really just old again
Stever sounds off: Think ASPs are new? Web 2.0? *Yawn* Give me a break. We keep changing the technology, but it’s basically the same old stuff we’ve had for the last 40 years. Continue reading
Don’t Judge a Business by its Distribution
Talking about businesses like “B2B” or “B2C” is silly. It confuses an industry (like “steel”) with a distribution channel. There’s no reason that B2B businesses should have any similarities, other than the selling process, whatsoever. Continue reading
Organize Your Life With 2 "To Do" Lists
One way to keep on top of your TO DO lists is to use two of them… Continue reading
Lessons from Wentworth by the Sea
Wentworth by the Sea hotel reopened a couple of years ago. Through a combination of history, customer service, and community integration, they produced a Quite Fabulous Experience for customers and employees alike. Continue reading
Linking Leadership and Management with Powerful Strategic Planning
What’s more important: leadership or management? Both, it turns out. Management is the tool through which leadership turns into reality. And strategic planning is the process that links leadership and management. Continue reading
Take Responsibility as a Leader Before It Takes You!
Taking responsibility is an oft-overlooked aspect of leadership. Here’s how to start taking responsibility for yourself and your organization. Continue reading
Root Your Leadership in a Strong Vision
Leadership requires vision, plain and simple. You can’t align people in an organization unless you give them a compelling future to move towards. Continue reading
How to Appreciate Your People
Having their accomplishments recognized makes a huge different for people. Here are some suggsetions as to what and how you might show appreciation. Continue reading
Balance Rights with Responsibilities
It’s not enough to enjoy the rights of leadership; to be truly effective, you must embrance the responsiblities as well. Continue reading
Don’t Make the Same Old Mistakes—Make New Ones
Rigorously learning from your mistakes is one of the best ways to insure success. Continue reading
Five Great Ways to Tank Customer Loyalty Before It’s Begun
The best way to keep loyal customers is not to lose them to begin with! Yet some companies are destined to lose their customers just by virtue of how they price and market their services. This article explores five common mistakes that tank customer loyalty. Continue reading
Tragedy Helps us Lead
How tragedy can help us be more powerful leaders. Continue reading
Management Skill vs. Leadership Skill
Which do you need more: leadership skills or management skills? Both are necessary for a healthy company. Here’s how they’re different, and what you need for both. Continue reading
Step up to Leadership in Times of War
When there’s a way going on, you need to step up to leading those around you by providing a stable, but realistic sense of direction. Continue reading
How Junior Programmers May be Setting Your Strategy
Your junior programmers may be setting your strategy through their technical decisions. Learn how technical decisions can determine your strategy, with examples drawn from web site design and its impact on customer behavior. Continue reading
Don’t let bad IT decisions hold your company hostage
Non-technies rarely understand the extent to which IT decisions can have profound business implications. Technical folks rarely link technology decisions with the business and strategic considerations. Here are a few hard-learned lessons from a business strategist who “gets” technology. Continue reading
A Rant About CEOs Who Don’t Know
Some CEOs don’t get it. They really don’t get it. Which ones? Well, this article names some of the names that really tweak me. Continue reading
A Tribute to Ignorance: Your Greatest Leadership Tool
Saying “I don’t know” just may be the most powerful thing you can do in business. Continue reading
Creating Your Identity as a Leader
It isn’t enough to have the title that means “boss.” In fact, the title may even be a hindrance. When you have the identity of a leader, you can align people and build a strong organization. Continue reading
Motivating employees: Bring Out the Best in Everyone Around You
This article shares a powerful technique for bringing out people’s best: use your expectations to cause them to rise to the occasion. One caveat: your expectations must be real! Continue reading
The Myth of Digital and Technology Convergence
“Convergence” is one of those buzz-words that just won’t go away. The Next New Thing is always some kind of bloomin’ convergence. Well convergence is a myth, when it comes to markets. This article tell you why. Continue reading
Remember community in the rush to riches
There’s more to life than just making money, “the economy,” or what’s good for productivity. Just ask your kids. Continue reading
Warren Buffett on CEO Measurement
Warren Buffett’s commentary on CEO measurement and pay. Continue reading
What is a CEO’s job?
What is a CEO’s job? This abbreviated summary of the original article has been replaced by the full article, available at CEOJOB1.HTM. Continue reading
The Joys of Power Yoga
Yoga’s a great way to stay flexible. Power Yoga’s a great way to stay fit. Here’s one man’s (humorous!) account of life balance through Yoga. Continue reading
Building an Internet Business
Ever wanted to start your own internet business? This article tells you who you need and what capabilities you need to bring on board. Continue reading
A Venture Capital panel discussion Q&A, by Stever Robbins
Questions and Answers from a Venture Capital panel discussion. This article tells both the VC side of the story and suggests that you may not want venture capitalists as your Be-All and End-All of financing options. Continue reading
Things I’ve learned about stock … the hard way (this is a paper I wrote for a friend in the late 90s)
Things I’ve learned about stock … the hard way (this is a paper I wrote for a friend in the late 90s) Continue reading
Things to Know about Stock vs. Options
Things to Know about Stock vs. Options. Continue reading
Anecdote on Quality of Life
An amusing anecdote from Mark Albion’s newsletter about what quality of life might mean for an American… Continue reading
Pull Leadership Manifesto
Leadership isn’t about giving orders. It never has been. It’s about making yourself so attractive that people want to follow. This Manifesto lays out how you can stop pushing your agenda and instead become a “Pull Leader.” Continue reading
Mastering Overwhelm at Work!
Too much coming at you from all directions? Slow down! This article provides tips for regaining control of your life. Continue reading
Mastering Email Overload
This article, originally printed in Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge gives several different techniques for helping get email under control. The article was one of the most-read articles at HBS, has been translated into more than 7 languages, and reprinted in Entrepreneur.com, and several magazines. Continue reading
You’re living under a magnifying glass!
In a leadership position, even the small stuff … isn’t. People watch your every move. Get used to it. Continue reading
Monthly Leadership Q&A Column, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
Stever’s monthly column, the Leadership Workshop, on Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge website. Continue reading
Statistics on Startup Success, by Stever Robbins
The IPO is the holy grail of entrepreneurship. It’s publicized, however, precisely because it’s so darned rare. This article lays out the actual numbers on how probable it is that you’ll be the one to make it to IPO. Continue reading
What does a CEO do? A CEO Job Description (part 4: keeping your competence)
The CEO has one of the oddest and least understood job descriptions of anyone in a company. This article is the last in a series of four that outline what a CEO should be doing and how she should be spending her time. Continue reading
What does a CEO do? A CEO Job Description (part 3: pitfalls) by Stever Robbins
The CEO has one of the oddest and least understood job descriptions of anyone in a company. This article is the third in a series of four that outline what a CEO should be doing and how she should be spending her time. Continue reading
What does a CEO do? A CEO Job Description (part 2: measuring success)
The CEO has one of the oddest and least understood job descriptions of anyone in a company. This article is the second in a series of four that outline what a CEO should be doing and how she should be spending her time. Continue reading
Hints on Writing Business Plans
An overview of “Do”s and “Don’t”s in writing your business plan. Continue reading
Growing Pains: Getting a Business Through It’s Awkward Stages, Boston Business Journal, Sept. 2003
Stage 1: you have an idea. Stage 2: you’ve developed the business. Stage 3: you’re making money, it’s for real, you’re successful … so why is everything sudden chaos? This article helps you understand that Stage 3 entrepreneurship requires real changes in how you do business.
Think Before Mixing Business, Buds, and Blood, Boston Business Journal, Dec. 2003
Thinking of going into business with friends and family? Think twice. It may not be the smooth ride you imagine. Continue reading
Making the Jump From Workhorse to Leader, Boston Business Journal, Oct. 2003
As your company grows, you need to change how you think and how you spend your time if you’re to lead the company to success. Here’s how to adopt the mindset of a leader. Continue reading
Activation Required software poses a serious risk to your business
More and more software developers are selling software that must be “activated” after you buy it. Though this seems reasonable on the face of it, it quietly makes the vendor a critical part of keeping your business running. This article explores why activation-required software is a huge business risk. Continue reading
What does a CEO do? A CEO Job Description (part 1: duties) by Stever Robbins
The CEO has one of the oddest and least understood job descriptions of anyone in a company. This article is the first in a series of four that outline what a CEO should be doing and how she should be spending her time. Continue reading
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