Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2023

With today’s rapidly changing environment, I see many business leaders reverting to the “ command and control ” leadership model, in an effort to be more responsive, rather than leading with their heads and heart. I believe that a fully engaged team is the key to both productivity and agility in the face of change.

Leadership 280

Leadership Agile Demand Search 280

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

Most of the entrepreneurs and business owners I work with recognize that they must occupy and practice a primary leadership position , but many will admit that they are not thriving in this role. Accept the fact that authenticity is necessary for leadership effectiveness. This is a tough challenge for every coach and mentor.

Leadership 227

Leadership Entrepreneur Agile Demand 227

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2020

Entrepreneurs inherently understand that they have to be the initial leader of their startup, but often they don’t have the experience or the training to know where their leadership competencies lie, or how to build a leadership team. That’s intelligent leadership. Marty Zwilling.

Leadership 433

Leadership Startup Restful Developer 433

deal architect

APRIL 15, 2020

I had enjoyed his book, Done Right (my review here) because he had so many examples. Alex Shootman, CEO of Workfront is one of my favorite tech execs because he is always positive - and that in an authentic way.

Technical Review 326

Technical Review Leadership Conversion 326

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

The key elements of leadership in a company, both individual and organizational, are less tangible, but very critical in setting a market value for investment, acquisition, or going public. In the investment community, these leadership elements are often called “goodwill.” Execution leadership. Leadership brand development.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

The key elements of leadership in a company, both individual and organizational, are less tangible, but very critical in setting a market value for investment, acquisition, or going public. In the investment community, these leadership elements are often called “goodwill.” Execution leadership. Leadership brand development.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2020

I found some good insights and details on this approach in the classic book, “ How To Be A Great Boss ,” by Gino Wickman and René Boer, who speak from years of experience working with leadership teams of both small and large companies. Understand both leadership and management. Train yourself to follow leadership best practices.

Leadership 380

Leadership Demand Management Founder 380

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2022

One 11-year study of over 200 companies over a decade ago, detailed in the book “ Corporate Culture and Performance ,” found that those working on their culture improved revenue by 516%, and increased net income by 755%. I saw a good summary of these in the classic book, “ Ethical Leadership ,” by Andrew Leigh, an expert in this area.

Software Review 291

Software Review Offshore Entrepreneur Leadership 291

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2021

Provide effective leadership. Remember that leadership is both upward, as well as downward to direct reports and employees. A good CEO provides leadership to the Board of Directors, company investors, and stockholders. There are several books written on this subject. Create and sell a financial model.

Exit Strategy 407

Exit Strategy Leadership Founder Networking 407

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2021

I also enjoyed the classic book, “ 63 Innovation Nuggets for Aspiring Innovators ,” by George E. Research published by Harvard many years ago in a book, “ The Innovator’s DNA ,” concludes that innovation is about 30 percent individual genes and 70 percent learnable and driven by motivation. Innovations come from people, not culture.

Technical Review 431

Technical Review Leadership Operations Networking 431

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

A while back, I spotted a book for change management leaders in large organization, and I realized that many of the issues they face are the same as ones faced in every growing startup. Phil Buckley, in his book “ Change With Confidence ,” provides practical answers to fifty of the biggest questions that keep change leaders up at night.

Metrics 387

Metrics Technical Review Leadership Framework 387

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2020

YouTube did it with videos, Instagram did it with photos, and Amazon did it with books. Of course, once you have a brand and more resources, it can pay to expand your book selling to a full e-commerce site. Ongoing market leadership requires continuous innovation. The first-to-market advantage doesn’t last long.

Startup 424

Startup Bandwidth Distribution Agile 424

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2022

In the classic book, “ Fish Can’t See Water ,” Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Incidentally, I love that book title, which seems to me applicable to most aspects of business (and even people), as well as business culture. A particularly critical moment is when the founders hand over the leadership to a more managerial regime.

Dilution 355

Dilution Startup Merger Flash 355

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2023

I found some good insights and details on this approach in the classic book, “ How To Be A Great Boss ,” by Gino Wickman and René Boer, who speak from years of experience working with leadership teams of both small and large companies. Understand both leadership and management. Train yourself to follow leadership best practices.

Management 291

Management Leadership Demand Founder 291

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. As I was reminded again by the classic book from Dennis Perkins, “ Leading at the Edge ,” this isn’t a new concept.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 308

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2023

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members. Rising stars.

Employee 267

Employee Leadership Cofounder Matching 267

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2022

Based on many years of experience in business as an executive and consultant, I have long been convinced that emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) in leadership wins over logical intelligence (IQ) every time. Thus, I was pleased to see the steps detailed in a new book, “ The Emotionally Strong Leader ,” by Carolyn Stern.

Leadership 352

Leadership Partner Developer Management 352

YoungUpstarts

JULY 10, 2020

by Deb Boelkes, author of “ Heartfelt Leadership: How to Capture the Top Spot and Keep on Soaring “ Happy employees are the best kind. In my book “ Heartfelt Leadership ” I laid out the path to heartfelt leadership. “You can’t do blanket leadership.

Employee 275

Employee North America Leadership Technical Review 275

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2022

They don’t realize that it takes more to succeed in business or a career – it takes leadership skills to get people to follow you, including peers, a team, business partners, and customers. Luckily, you can learn needed leadership skills. Celebrate small successes in your leadership efforts.

Leadership 285

Leadership Startup Networking Engineer 285

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

In my business of mentoring new entrepreneurs and advising small company owners, I recognize that most don’t start as experienced leaders, and most don’t realize that people leadership is a primary key to their future success. I just completed a new book, “ The Self-Evolved Leader ,” by Dave McKeown.

Developer 311

Developer Leadership Demand Entrepreneur 311

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Providing business leadership is a challenge under the best of circumstances, but it is especially difficult in times of market and customer crises. By being proactive in response rather than defensive, your leadership is confirmed rather than questioned. Every case is a new one where prior experience won’t help you.

Leadership 305

Leadership Business Model Customer Small Business 305

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership. I remember the classic book, “ The Three-Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation ,” by Vijay Govindarajan, one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and innovation.

Framework 402

Framework Engineer Leadership Revenue 402

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

I just finished a new book, “ Unfiltered Marketing ,” by Stephen Denny and Paul Leinberger, which helped me put this digital communication transformation into perspective for all business owners. It’s also about you, and your ability to take bold and innovative steps to provide the leadership we all desperately seek.

Customer 433

Customer B2C Technical Review Social Media 433

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. As I was reminded again by the classic book from Dennis Perkins, “ Leading at the Edge ,” this isn’t a new concept.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 269

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2023

I like the specifics on how to do this in the classic book, “ The Agenda Mover: When Your Good Idea Is Not Enough ,” by leadership expert Samuel B. Bacharach, Cornell Professor and cofounder of the Bacharach Leadership Group.

Technical Cofounder 341

Technical Cofounder Founder Cofounder Mobile 341

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2023

For example, only a few people today still think of Amazon as an online provider of books and related goods, now that they have exploded their business world-wide into every product arena, added web services (AWS), television and film production (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), a bricks-and-mortar grocery chain (Whole Foods), and more.

Partner 350

Partner Operations Metrics Leadership 350

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2020

These were outlined well, with some good recommendations for overcoming them, in the classic book, “ Rocket Fuel ,” by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Again, the solution is a partner who is the voice of reason, who filters all of the visionary’s ideas, and helps eliminate hurdles, stumbling blocks, and barriers for the whole leadership team.

Founder 329

Founder Cofounder Bandwidth Matching 329

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

I like the specifics on how to do this in the classic book, “ The Agenda Mover: When Your Good Idea Is Not Enough ,” by leadership expert Samuel B. Bacharach, Cornell Professor and cofounder of the Bacharach Leadership Group.

Technical Cofounder 315

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Mobile Differentiation 315

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

Most people will tell you this is impossible, but I found a classic book, “ Army of Entrepreneurs ,” by Jennifer Prosek, where she seems to have actually accomplished this. The entrepreneurial mindset is a function of motivation, priorities, and risk versus reward, all of which you set or enable by your leadership and example.

Startup 337

Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

During my time in Silicon Valley, I was struck by the fact that most successful entrepreneurs seemed to personally know and regularly hear from all the “movers and shakers” who had the investment capital and leadership they needed. The best marketing requires storytelling skills , with emotions and values.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Technical Review Leadership Metrics 284

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2022

In businesses, this requires a new internal culture and leadership. Yet I believe the role and requirements continue to evolve, as detailed in the book, “ Innovation by Design ,” by Thomas Lockwood and Edgar Papke, based on their studies. None of these are a birthright or require advanced degrees – they can be learned by anyone.

Design 267

Design Dividend Leadership Framework 267

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

I recently found the classic sales training book “ Bootstrap Selling The Sandler Way ,” by Bill Morrison, who has 20 years in sales leadership roles, and I was amazed at how many of his sales lessons are great lessons for new entrepreneurs as well.

Sales 348

Sales Startup Bootstrapping Technical Review 348

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2023

I’m sure you feel this change, and if you are, or want to be, in a leadership role, you need to focus on how to be more human and lead humans. I found some practical guidance to supplement my own recommendations in a new book, “ Be Human, Lead Human ,” by Jennifer Nash, PhD. Like everyone, you have emotional strengths and weaknesses.

Leadership 279

Leadership Employee Community Cost 279

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2023

YouTube did it with videos, Instagram did it with photos, and Amazon did it with books. Of course, once you have a brand and more resources, it can pay to expand your book selling to a full e-commerce site. Ongoing market leadership requires continuous innovation. The first-to-market advantage doesn’t last long.

Startup 287

Startup Bandwidth Distribution Agile 287

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

It’s predictable, there is no reason to get mad about it and with a well-designed play book you can overcome this much of the time. I was amazed at your innovation, approach, cleverness, enthusiasm, leadership traits, background, education, team?—?everything. I call it, “Remind me why I love you again?” everything.

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Starting and building a company is all about leadership – formulating an idea, building a unique plan based on vision and experience, and forging a path over and through all obstacles. Schutzler’s view of leadership is different than many academics and executive coaches, who feel that leadership is an innate character trait.

Leadership 394

Leadership Entrepreneur Developer 394

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

Thus I was pleased to see this subject, and related strategy decisions, covered well in a recent book, “ Brand Vision ,” by Jim Everhart. Mr. Everhart distills his leadership insights from many decades in one of the largest business-to-business marketing agencies, working with companies across the country.

Acquisition 250

Acquisition Cost Customer Sales Cycle 250