Business Owner’s Blog

Maybe. Ben Stein worries. (Yes - the Ben Stein from Ferris Beuller’s Day Off - he’s a legitimate economist). Check out this article.

I came across this in a letter by Jim Womack, author of Lean Thinking and, to hear him tell it, one of the developers of the Toyota Way. The graphics are mine - which is why I’m not a graphic designer.
All value created in any organization is the end result of a lengthy sequence of […]

I agree with Peter Drucker that this one is overrated when running a company. Skill in management is much more important. Nevertheless, leadership can be a useful skill, and it’s much simpler than you’d believe by reading or listening to the folks who make a living teaching courses in it.
Leadership is the ability to get […]

I’m usually a glass half empty guy for two reasons. I like my surprises to be pleasant, and I figure I’ll get in more trouble if I’m wrong by ignoring a problem than by down playing an opportunity. Kind of like Andy Grove’s book title “Only the Paranoid Survive”.
But this post is written by perhaps […]

Opps, I almost left for St. Louis without telling you. HBO is airing Hacking Democracy tomorrow night (Nov 2). I try not to be political unless it directly relates to business but if we can’t trust that our votes aren’t stolen then it seems pretty important.

You probably know about him from his blog. But he’s a keynote speaker at the International Coach Federation conference this Saturday, and before he speaks, I get to do the introduction.
So I’m off to St. Louis. Probably won’t post again till I return next week.

There is no plot, no love story, no car chases. Only one explosion (and you’ve seen that one before). Sounds boring. Why should you see it?
It will captivate you! It’s about your home, why it’s in danger and what you can do about it. And despite being about an impending disaster, it will give you […]

Terry Wilson-Malam
Congratulations Terry. Her email was picked at random and I’ll be sending her A Whole New Mind (the book anyway).
Thanks to all who participated. See you in St. Louis - please tap me on the shoulder and let me know you entered the contest. But note: I don’t have my beard anymore (it’s an […]

Old style company
New style company

They make something people want to buy.
They can find enough of those people, and sell to them at a cost that allows them to make a profit.
They do it again and again.
As the desire for what they sell changes, the company adapts to those changes and remain profitable. (Some have a […]

DON’T
Says Seth Godin. I think he gives a pretty good alternative.
Takeaways:

Not all VC funding is bad for every company.
Thinking that funding is always the solution is bad for every company.