Posted on December 1, 2011
If you sell a solution, make sure the problem is acute. Otherwise, you’ll never close the deal. This is a takeaway I got from reading Nail It Then Scale It. In the book, written for startup founders, Nathan Furr reveals a startling statistic: 90% of startups that fail, fail because they built something no one …
Posted on November 29, 2011
Here’s a rule of thumb for sales: The less the prospects talks, the less they buy. This might run counter to conventional sales-pro wisdom, but in my experience this is true. In my 2nd book (The Likeability Factor) I quote findings from a 2004 study at Yale that concluded that the highly-likeable sales person (with …
Posted on November 17, 2011
For entrepreneurs of all types, your time is by far your most valuable asset. Are you investing it wisely? After all, in this competitive and disruptive environment, you can’t be late when the barn door opens. Every day you waste working on the wrong stuff, gives your competitor a day to gain or you or …
Posted on November 15, 2011
Last Saturday, I spoke at the Identity Conference about Why We Work. It’s a critical topic for all of us. What’s our motivation for our 9-5 efforts? If it’s just ‘making a wage’ we are likely to be as listless as the first of the three bricklayers on the scaffold that architect Christopher Wrenn encountered …
Posted on December 9, 2009
Over the last few months, I’ve been honing my creative strategy. After reading David Lynch and Horst Rechelbacher’s works, I realized that creativity is something you must cultivate and develop tools for. I’ve been using a non-spiritual form of meditation recently: Doing busy work to give my mind time to think/ideate/create. I take a repetitive …
Posted on December 2, 2009
Earlier this week, I gave a talk at a tech company titled “Harnessing The Power Of Great Relationships.” The event was Leadership Day for a business unit of a major company. This unit works away from the core of the company’s business, located over an hour from HQ. As a non-core business, resources are scarce, from …
Posted on November 30, 2009
Earlier this year, I read a provocative article titled How David Beats Goliath by Malcom Gladwell. One story he told concerned the full court press’s effectiveness in basketball. He points out that an inferior team (athletically) can beat a superior team if it employs a full court press. Why? Because the superior team isn’t used …
Posted on November 24, 2009
“How do you feel about meetings? A lot of them!?” That was my opening question after Jon finished his power point presentation, pitching his startup. He had a good idea, a great approach to tech and some understanding of marketing. But did he understand how to run a startup, without it imploding under the weight …
Posted on November 19, 2009
Earlier this year, I gave a keynote for Fidelity Information Services to a few hundred community bankers. Many, if not all of them, were severely impacted by the recession. During the talk, I explained how the mood state was tied to future cash flow (Primal Leadership). From there I made a challenge to the …
Posted on November 17, 2009
Today, a WSJ Article (Thor Industries: On The Road Again) highlights a bright spot in the embattled automotive industry. Sure, they had layoffs, but they didn’t have debt – which was key. Thor Industries is a Phoenix company, that will emerge from the 2008-2009 great recession stronger and more profitable than ever. Two of its mega …
