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, […]

Management skills don’t make an entrepreneur great. Neither does access to capital or innovative thinking. It’s something much more simple. What makes an entrepreneur successful? Some people believe it’s the ability to innovate. However, many startups are refinements of existing business models or improvements on how everyday products and services are delivered. Being innovative helps, […]

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 […]

  During Social Media Week, Quirky CEO Ben Kaufman said when it comes to product innovation, there are limits to what social media can do. Among the many events currently taking place as part of Social Media Week, Quirky CEO and founder Ben Kaufman spoke Thursday about benefits and, more importantly, the limitations of social […]

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 […]

  Today faith only goes so far. Earning trust is the sure path to success. Brian Halligan, CEO Of HubSpot, shares five tips for building trust fast. All collaboration is built on trust. Whether making sales, building a team, or managing people, without trust productivity falls apart. Often, you’ll take action, requiring trust even before […]

Offer expertise and knowledge to help customers–don’t just sell to them. Content marketing seems to be all the rage right now, right? But as it turns out, businesses have been using content to give customer-value for over a hundred years. Here’s a great example, if you’re a Jell-O fan, in 1904 Jell-O door-to-door salesmen would […]