A seasoned investor offers a handy three-step process to halt panic and get a handle on a challenge that seems beyond you. Ambition is all about pushing yourself beyond your perceived limits. If you’re not taking on reach goals and slightly terrifying challenges than you’re unlikely to reach your full potential. Which all sounds good […]

We learned the hard way: Not everyone is cut out for management. It’s great when an employee does a superior job, isn’t it? The person does good work, shows up on time and is pleasant to work with. Over time, it’s natural that we would want to promote the person. The progression seems logical, obvious, […]

Learning how to delegate is crucial for a successful CEO. However, there are certain areas of your business that should always be under your control. Here are five. There is such a push for leaders to delegate to their subordinates that it would be understandable for a business owner or CEO to think her job […]

  Surely someone’s told you to ’embrace failure’ before. Here’s what that means, actually, and how to do it. Failure can be extremely painful. Indeed, the “normal” psychological reaction to failure is to distract yourself and do something completely different right away. But extremely-successful entrepreneurs typically defy this “normal” reaction. They go back and try […]

When you hear it, advice is just that, advice. You only know if it’s great after the fact. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew in advance? The father of my college girlfriend once told me that digital electronics–semiconductors, to be specific–was going to be huge. That was in 1978. I had nothing better going […]

Adopting a more vibrant approach to teamwork can improve the flow and performance of your organization. During a year on assignment in London in the early 2000s, I (Bill) took the opportunity to watch a lot of soccer. I learned a lot not just about soccer, but about business as well. My recollection is that […]

Forget what you learned in those management books. There’s really only one way to ensure that everyone on your team excels. Management books have it all wrong. They all try to tell you how to manage “people.” It’s impossible to manage “people”; it’s only possible to manage individuals. And because individuals differ from one another, […]

Telling the simple truth is far more productive than trying to fool your employees. By its very nature, managing employees requires a certain amount of discretion. However, there’s a fine line between discretion and deception that, when crossed, creates resentment and job dissatisfaction. This post contains 10 lies that I’ve heard bosses tell in real […]