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Never tire of telling your story
When we raised our first Foundry Group fund in 2007, I did 90 meetings in three months before we got our first investor commitment. By meeting 87, after hearing "no" a lot (we got about 30 no’s out of the first 90 meetings before we got a yes) I definitely had pitch fatigue. But every time I told...
The success secret you can’t see, smell or taste
If you put 100 executives in a room and ask them to define “strategy,” you’ll likely get 200 different answers. People use the term loosely. However, when you’re talking about business strategy, it’s too often used as a synonym for important, critical, large, thoughtful or expensive. It can be all...
Strategic assumptions
One of the most daunting tasks leaders face is getting the corporate strategy right. One aspect of developing an effective corporate strategy is acknowledging that assumptions are being made in the development of the strategy. What often happens is that strategic assumptions are rarely clearly do...
The all-important internal customer: Part 3
(Editor’s note: This is the last of three parts. Read Part 1 and Part 2.) To build an effective two-way partnership with your internal customers, use these key points to guide your thinking and efforts: 1) The partnership with an internal customer has one purpose — contribute to the business goals. 2) The success of […]
Mickey D’s, why have you forsaken us?
Used to be that sending a kid to work at Mickey D’s for the summer meant you’d get back a half-man/half-mattress that now had some sense of work ethic. He’d know the basics of customer service, accounting and getting along with others. I’m not sure it happens like that anymore.
The all-important internal customer: Part 2
(This is the second of three parts. Read Part 1.) Teams and employees may have “the right stuff” — they are knowledgeable, skilled and hardworking. But this is insufficient to meeting key business goals. If these skilled and committed employees work in isolation, or separate, from their internal customers — those dependent on their work […]
Chef Laura: Trust hang-ups
As business pros, you need to protect yourself and your company, but not at the risk of offending potential customers. Are you inadvertently sending signals that you don’t trust them? Maybe requiring convoluted contracts, chaining a ballpoint pen to a counter or installing cumbersome hangers?
Employers and LGBT equality
The world has watched with keen interest how the treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has taken center stage in politics, entertainment and daily life. Employers, too, have kept a watchful eye on how the trend towards LGBT equality may affect their employees, policies or bottom line.
The video-conferencing conundrum
I’ve decided not to travel for the rest of 2013. There are a lot of inputs into this decision, including the fact that I’ve been travelling more than half of the last 20 years and I’m just tired of it. I also have realized that my endless travel introduces a lot of friction into my […]
Entrepreneurs, get in the leadership lane
While not everyone gets to experience a Bill Gates-type success, many entrepreneurs do just fine. But merely being one doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an above-average leader. In other words, just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you know how to lead.
Fun and games on the job
Looking at diverse companies across the country, just about anything goes, from Wii games to a 3,700 square foot “Nerditorium” theater for meetings, to in-house Olympics and Nerf wars. Imaginations don’t have to run wild to create some playfulness in your workplace, however. Fun can be a simple th...
One easy way to increase motivation 500 percent
The best for-profit and nonprofit organizations I’ve worked with had leaders who involved the whole team in the development of their vision, mission, strategic plan and values. The leadership teams for both organizations drafted the mission, vision and strategic plan then worked with all employees...
