A suggested checklist for your end of year planning efforts. End of year planning checklist to prepare for 2024 This is the season to think about next year! It’s time to assess what has worked well in the past year that you want to build on, where to cut your losses, and what new things […]
End of Year Planning Checklist To Prepare For 2024 Read More »
Every year we design experiments – new things we try. Our 2023 experiment was doing short 2 minute videos – chalk talks. Below is a roundup of some of our favorites.
2023 – This year’s experiment Read More »
Some examples of recurring problems in startups with self-debugging questions to help point you to root cause corrective actions.
Managing Recurring Problems In Your Startup Read More »
Holly Hester-Reilly offers a briefing on how to apply continuous product discovery and lean product principles in a B2B environment.
Holly Hester-Reilly: Lean Product Principles in B2B Read More »
A great short briefing by Mark Brinkerhoff, President of Fusion Design on how starting with a sketch saves money; he uses a simple HVAC design example but the technique is broadly applicable.
Mark Brinkerhoff: Starting With a Sketch Saves Money Read More »
Howard Dernehl documents common perceptual biases and offers suggestions for how to cultivate awareness and perceiving without bias.
Howard Dernehl: Awareness and Perceiving Without Bias Read More »
This post explores three insights from Dr. Edward Baker’s “Scoring a Whole in One.” First, individuals must understand the enterprise context they operate in; second, leaders must serve and connect; and third, practice is necessary for improvement but does not lead to perfection.
Three Insights from Dr. Edward Baker’s “Scoring a Whole in One” Read More »
This newsletter is devoted to practical advice for entrepreneurs on how to build, borrow, and keep trust.
Newsletter V2021 Issue 1: Building, Borrowing and Keeping Trust Read More »
Entrepreneurs starting their first business often hunt for a cookbook of recipes to make sense of a journey that is alternating between bewilderment and frustration. But startups fight for existence in a competitive and evolving environment, where changes in the technical or social substrates can invalidate their strategy or enable competitors without warning.
Entrepreneurs Cannot Rely on a Cookbook or a Manual Read More »
Tips to cut the stress of a startup: plan for learning, take time to recharge, join a peer support group, don’t compare yourself to others.
Q: How Can I Manage the Stress of a Startup? Read More »
Business leaders today are faced with business challenges and a level of uncertainty that is unprecedented in recent memory. Established approaches and well-tried options no longer work, forcing us to make business decisions in uncertain times. This article collects some useful tips for making better business decisions that I have learned over the last 40
Making Business Decisions in Uncertain Times Read More »
In “The Dance of the Possible,” Scott Berkun outlines four tests for understanding the real work involved in translating observations and creative insight into a solution.
Scott Berkun: How to Translate Observations and Creative Insight Into a Solution Read More »
Paul Tyma defines the Old Man’s Business Model as taking the sure way, even though it may be longer than shortcuts that may not work. Tyma calls it a “trade-off of investment up-front versus brute-force hope.” The “old man” invests up front instead of hoping a quick and dirty approach may work.
Paul Tyma on “The Old Man’s Business Model” Read More »
One documentary worth watching to get some context on the history of entrepreneurship and venture capital is “Something Ventured.” It’s a series of interviews with venture capitalists talking about their investments and their risk mitigation strategies in the 1950’s through 1970’s. It’s clear that they paid a lot of attention to “minimum viable products” and
Something Ventured: Make Money and Change the World for the Better Read More »
Constructive Pessimism: to anticipate problems you have to be willing to acknowledge their possibility and look for them. Many entrepreneurs who are naturally optimistic make a serious mistake in discouraging pessimistic thinking instead of putting it to good use. The clever utilization of constructive pessimism is one of the keys to success.
Constructive Pessimism Read More »
Some models I like for change management in organizations. Startup entrepreneurs frequently have to navigate the challenges managing change as a part of the sales process. Intrapreneurs should find this list useful as well. I welcome any suggestions for additions, refinements, or improvements.
Managing Change in an Organization: An Incomplete Resource List Read More »
The targets that founders set for a startup, and the metrics they choose to measure their progress toward these targets, are key decisions in the definition of the business. The wrong targets–in particular selecting only targets that are easily achievable–will not only postpone difficult choices that will bring clarity but may doom a team from
Choosing the Right Targets and Metrics Read More »
Some excerpts from insightful remarks by Dr. Jessica Richman in “Citizen Science and Mapping the Microbiome” that I use as points of departure for additional commentary on open source models for collaboration.
Citizen Science: An Open Source Model For Collaboration Read More »
An interview with Jerry Weinberg where we explore the applicability of his Fieldstone Method for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, the implications of Stewart Brand’s “How Buildings Learn” for Weinberg’s dry stone fence metaphor for creation, and managing a crisis as marker for an end of an illusion.
Jerry Weinberg interview Read More »
Timothy Gallwey’s “Inner Game of Tennis” came out in 1974 and sparked a revolution in coaching and how athletes should approach improving their performance. There are several lessons that entrepreneurs can use in improving their personal performance and coaching others.
“Inner Game of Tennis” for Entrepreneurs Read More »
