The way people define industries is really quite interesting. I've once again been asked to be a judge for the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition. They asked what industries I'm comfortable commenting on. It's a surprisingly hard question to answer,...
entrepreneurship
Here are articles on entrepreneurship
Please work for free. Not.
I'm sure you have never asked someone to work for free. But just in case you know someone who has---or if you've ever been asked---here's the kind of thing you really should say. Today I received this letter: Hello Mr. Stever, I am writing to you on behalf of...
Growing companies: Moments of Truth
High-growth entrepreneurial companies reach points where they must fundamentally change what they do. Here are several of the events that quietly herald a need for major change in a rapidly growing company.
Venture Moments of Truth
As ventures grow and develop, the challenges they present change. Often change is sudden rather than gradual. These sudden changes require a shift in the way the company and/or the top managers do business. These are times when coaching can be most valuable. The...
Use your Smartphone to be More Productive
How to use your web-enabled smartphone to be productive. Or not. I'm quoted today in this
Our Intuitive Knowledge Isn’t Always Right!
I was recently listening to a lecturer discuss how risk-taking is an integral part of "the entrepreneurial mindset." He was very inspirational. Unfortunately, he was also flat-out wrong. There has been a lot of research into the psychological qualities of...
Meritocracy: A Fine, But Mythological, Idea
I love the idea of a meritocracy! It's a glorious myth that makes a wonderful story. But if you look at how resources, wealth, prestige, etc. get distributed, it's very hard to make a case for meritocracy. It's no surprise we believe in meritocracy. We spend our...
Should we take personal responsibility for business’s impact?
Many businesses do things that are legal, are in fact good business practice, but which are shown later to have bad effects for society. In some cases, these effects are huge. For example, the contribution of fast food cooking and recipe practices to obesity and heart...
Success Starts When You Stop Using Your Own Product
Have you checked out your competitors recently? I was just reading a review that says the new Blackberry smartphone is by far the best, speediest, most elegant Blackberry ever. But the reviewer would not recommend anyone buy it. Why? Because it's still missing a lot...
Use An Editor!
If you want to produce extremely high-quality work, it may be wise to find someone to help. It's hard to be objective about our own work. Almost by definition, we believe if we did it, it must be good. But yet, sometimes an objective eye can help us take our good work...