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I don't like to write about intelligence. It is one of those topics that for some reason seems taboo. My experience has been that people get angry, defensive, and critical when I bring it up. But I want to break my own rules today and talk about it because I read this article about career […]
Last Wednesday I was sitting at the Louisville Venture Club listening to a presentation by a software company. The presenter went on and on about how huge the market was for his product, and how they “only needed to get 3% of the market to…” Oh no. Not again. An entrepreneur friend of mine sitting […]
HBS Working Knowledge has an article about why employees are unmotivated. Here is an excerpt. The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees' morale sharply declines after their first six months-and continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That […]
Last summer a local entrepreneur contacted me. He had been reading my blog for years, not realizing we lived in the same town. We had coffee and talked business and he told me his latest business was a furniture store. While I don't remember the exact conversation, I do remember that it went something like […]
I want to expand on an important topic that I addressed in the Wisdom of Niches post. The gist of that post was that niches solve very different problems than crowds, and that niches are where entrepreneurs should stay. The primary reason niches are better is that they offer a better chance for products and […]
Tab has a new energy drink, which I noticed yesterday at the grocery. So of course I came home and looked it up online to learn more. After all, why release an energy drink with such a close association to another cola? It seems that Tab Energy is aimed at women, and that the focus […]
There is usually information in what someone doesn't say. Long time readers may have noticed that I have never reviewed one of the most popular business books of all time – "Good to Great." Call me a heretic, but I'm not a fan of it. It's one of the best selling business books ever, but […]
For part 1, of the American Express Open event, go here. Now where did I leave off? Branson talked a great deal about his theories on running a business and I want to sum up what he said. Despite dropping out of school at 16, he considers himself a lifelong learner, and believes that is […]
What do you do when the industry moves on, your products are no longer cutting edge, and you have failed to keep up? You could take a cue from the porn industry and pitch your stuff as 'classic.' Then you can come up with some ways to add value and target nostaligic fans.
In case you didn't see this, it's worth a look. Myth#1 – When I'm an owner, I'll be my own boss. Yeah right. Let's see, when I started a small business, I worked ungodly hours, and put in a six month stretch where I only had one day off. (the crazy thing is that I […]
I'm almost ashamed to admit that I still held some of the ideas mentioned in this post. But this blog isn't about making me look good. It's about my authentic views on business, be they right or wrong, good or bad, wise or idiotic. So bear with my stupidity below I was having coffee with […]
This is right on the money, although most people still don't realize it. To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions. Explanation: AWFUL IDEA = -1 WEAK IDEA = 1 SO-SO IDEA = 5 GOOD IDEA = 10 GREAT IDEA = 15 BRILLIANT IDEA = 20 […]
