Category: CEO

Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe fourth quarter starts on October 1 and many companies will begin their annual planning rituals for 2019 and beyond.   For many, the ritual assumes a future that looks pretty much like the past and produces a slightly larger version of what they already have.  This is comforting but bound to

Reading Time: < 1 minuteMost of us have participated in a planning session using SWOT analysis  (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).  Often, participants offer suggestions that however well-intentioned, are just “top of mind” or limited to their own area of responsibility or expertise.  This is especially true for weaknesses and threats which often come from outside

Reading Time: < 1 minuteMany CEOs have taken a great salesperson and turned them into a mediocre (or worse) sales manager. The folly of this is almost a proverb, yet many leaders keep hoping their superstar in the field will be able to share his or her “secret sauce” with their entire sales force.   Taking

Reading Time: < 1 minutePeter Drucker once remarked that “Demographics is the history that has already happened.”  This is obviously true for society at large, but there are particular implications for the aging  Baby Boomers who own businesses and are starting to look for the exits. Factor in a smaller cohort of Millennials coming of age

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIf you’re looking to start a business, or advising a young entrepreneur to do so, a fundamental choice is what kind of business to start.  A very successful venture capitalist suggests that many people only look at the type of businesses they see succeeding around them, or that they themselves buy

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIf you’re thinking about starting up a business, or know someone who is, an article from Forbes may save some time or trouble. Richard Harroch, Managing Partner at venture capital firm Vantage Point has watched many start-ups succeed,  and mostly fail. He offers a valuable checklist of thirty five steps to buy

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIf you like TED Talks, check out financier Michael Milken’s Annual conference website. Top notch thought leaders in a wide variety of fields, not just business, are featured in compelling video recordings of this year’s Milken Conference. There are dozens to choose from and you can search by topic and by

Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn the late 1700s, Captain James Cook made history by being the first European to discover Hawaii, circumnavigating the globe in the process. During these long sea voyages, a disease created by lack of Vitamin C known as scurvy was very common among the crews and very difficult to treat

Reading Time: < 1 minuteOne trait we don’t normally associate with great leaders is introversion.  Instead, leaders are often chosen for a winning, outgoing personality, which, sadly, sometimes is all that disguises an “empty suit.” Recent research from the Harvard Business Review may give cheer to introverts and a new perspective to those hiring

Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhat You Might Some Day Tell Yourself:   In addition to what CEOs think you should read,  here’s the advice they would give their 22 year old selves if they could go back and offer themselves a stern warning.