I was giving a talk the other day at S.U.R.F Incubator in Seattle for startups and got an interesting question – what the heck is “intentional culture?” I asked several follow-up questions about the questioner’s background. He was on his third start-up. The other two … Read more
I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Office Influencers are in High Demand” that talked about the efforts companies are making to engage, and dare I say “use,” those who are good connectors and in turn, good influencers. Salesforce.com has an … Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why some companies make it and others don’t – especially small entrepreneurial companies – and why some grow and others stay right where they started, with every day a struggle. I think it has to do with speed … Read more
Those of us in Seattle are still celebrating the first Super Bowl win for the Seattle Seahawks and the 12th man. It was an awesome day for the team, the fans and all of us here in the Northwest. You’ve all heard the negative media … Read more
I just finished reading Daniel Pink’s new book, “To Sell is Human,” where he discussed the fact that we are really always selling, whether we call it that or not. He has some great tips on how to embrace selling, become better at it, and … Read more
This is the launch of a new monthly feature I call, “Leadership Puzzlers.” The “Puzzlers” are stories in business that I will share to show where one of the puzzle pieces was not properly in place, or not being utilized, and how ultimately the problem was … Read more
It’s the beginning of the year and a lot of us are working on goals for 2014. When it comes to goal-setting I often get asked which is more important to track – the result or the activity? The answer is, it depends. Both are … Read more
As you review the performance of your investment portfolios, there is one investment that you might want to look at as well – your business. There seems to be an emotional blindness to looking at one’s business like you would any other investment, but CEOs … Read more
As entrepreneurs and leaders sometimes we move so fast that we forget to “smell the roses,” as they say. One of those roses often ends up being recognition of our employees. And let’s be clear, without our employees, there is no company. So in honor … Read more
Recently, I read a blog post by Richard Branson discussing Richard Stengel’s biography of Nelson Mandela. Branson talked about the impact it has had on his life and I was intrigued. The reason I want to read the book is for the key lessons from … Read more