I’ve been following, with some dismay, the downward arc of the career of Travis Kalanick (Uber). He seems like one of many we’ve seen before – a very bright and driven entrepreneur who makes poor decisions and goes off the rails. Such a loss of talent. And the disruptions – so costly to a company. […]
The Missing Piece of Your Business
March 10, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Small, growing businesses are often one key hire away from lifting off of the runway and beginning to reach their potential. Companies often begin their voyage with a key leader or two, and some employees. Growth occurs; then a certain inflection point is reached where the company moves either toward elevation, or stagnation. The problem isn’t […]
When Your Business Has Warts
February 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Most businesses go through an uneven – some may even say random – growth process. You start with one thing, then you add this client, that offering, move into this neighboring domain, and pretty seen you have…not growth, but growths. Lots of things sticking out. I call it growth by accretion (def: the process of […]
Stuck and Struggling: Misplaced Persons
February 4, 2015 By Leave a Comment
You’ve heard the phrase about getting the right people on the bus…and then, getting them in the right seat on the bus. Well, it’s true. One of the plagues of companies that are stuck and struggling is having the wrong people on board, or having people in mis-matched roles. And it’s incredibly common. I remember […]
Stuck and Struggling: Navigating the Whitewater
January 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment
“What you’re going through is normal – it’s called growing pains.” I don’t know how many times I’ve said something along these lines to business leaders who suddenly find themselves in a swirl of “issues” as they add new business and employees. It’s like paddling down a river, when suddenly, coming around a bend, you’re […]
Stuck and Struggling: Direction Attention Deficit Disorder
January 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Direction Attention Deficit Disorder (DADD) – have you ever worked with a leader that has a new idea every week? It can be frustrating, yes? I was brought up short once about my DADD by a graphic designer I used to work with. I asked her about any difficulties working with me (dangerous question!) She […]
Stuck and Struggling: the Can’t-Let-Go Leader
January 27, 2015 By 1 Comment
I’ve helped lead sales/marketing for 2 small and growing companies (10 years each); plus, done all the business development for my own consultancy for the past 8 and a half years. And, I’ve consulted with dozens of companies and startups on their strategy and messaging. In other words, I’ve seen a lot of what […]
Becoming the Go-To
August 19, 2013 By 1 Comment
Let’s do a little word association exercise. We’ll call it Name That Go-To. When you think of Entrepreneurship, who are the Go-To people that come to mind? _______________ How about Leadership? _______________ Country Music? _______________ The fact is, for every area of interest, we associate certain people as our familiar experts – our Go-To, top-of-mind folks that we […]
