A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen, with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” The initial monologue usually ends with the question “How much money do you think this is worth?” In my opinion, ideas are a commodity, and are really not worth […]
Leadership
Leading by Example: How to Create Dynamic Leaders in Your Business
As an entrepreneur, your business is like your child… You were there during its creation and you watched it grow and blossom into the successful business it is today. But just like raising a child, you had help along the way in growing your business. It’s not easy starting your own business and building it […]
Real Entrepreneurs Must Make Good Decisions Quickly
Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. Why is it that his idea which seemed so fundable only months ago fails to attract investors today? The team is the same. The company’s market is the same. The only change might be a […]
Developing Leadership Skills as a Small Business Owner
Leadership is a crucial skill to develop when you own a small business. Oftentimes small business owners feel the weight of the world on their shoulders and it can show in their management tendencies. Instead of trusting the people they hired to get the job done, they micromanage and obsess about getting everything perfect, often […]
Are Leaders Responsible for Employee Burnout?
Think you are setting the right example by working all hours and rewarding your employees when they do the same? Perhaps this isn’t you at all, but you can’t understand why your employees seem burnt out? The Guardian reports that burnout has become a sinister and insidious epidemic. Last year CNBC reported that nearly 40 […]
Are Your Chairman and CEO the Same Person?
Here’s one that targets most any company that has taken investments at any stage, as well as more mature companies. Why would you split the positions? More and more today, shareholder organizations recommend that the positions of chairman and president (or CEO) be split, so there are checks and balances at the board level in the […]
The Best Things About Your Company Board
For weeks, we’ve highlighted both good and bad things about boards of directors for your company (or non-profit.) This week, let’s focus upon number one—aside from the requirements of boards to protect the company itself (not the shareholders.) Normal functions of boards Boards of directors fulfill numerous important functions, both legal and structural. Boards provide […]
5 Proven Ways to Keep Employee Morale High
We’ve all heard the phrase “happy wife, happy life.” There should be another similar phrase when it comes to running a business, “happy employees, more successful company.” While it doesn’t have the same rhyme (unless you change company to companies) it’s still an idea that plenty of bosses and business owners should have in mind. […]
So Your Board is Dysfunctional. What to Do?
It happens. Boards are elected by the shareholders, sometimes with preferred shareholders holding seats by right of their investment. In that instance, often the investor selects the board member and the CEO goes along with the choice, mostly out of having no alternative at the time. How the board can arrive at dysfunction Then there comes […]
CEOs Change the Deeper Meaning of the Ultimate Bottom Line
As I read this morning about the Business Roundtable changing this fundamental principle, I was really glad to see it. It’s about time. Several hundred influential CEOs got together and agreed to revise priorities. The next quarter’s profits—which maximizes short-term share price—are no longer the supreme goal and top priority. Here’s the story: AMERICA’S CEOS JUST […]
