How to figure out what really matters as a boss
There’s a famous online story about Bill Gates and Warren Buffett describing their secret to success. According to the story, both Gates and Buffett were asked separately to write down one word that explains their success. Both went away, wrote down one word, then returned. Both wrote the same word down: “Focus” Courtesy of CNBC Now, I
Your very own personal leadership development plan
Congratulations!! You just were placed in a position of leadership and are now the boss. You can now kick back and relax on the golf course while all of your people do all of the work. Everyone will be back at the office, but this is going to be you. Photo by Andraz Lazic on
No one accidentally makes a billion dollars
If you’re going to set goals, you might as well set some big ones! Let’s talk about the big “B,” a goal of making more than $1 billion in your lifetime. More than a few people have asked me to write this post. It’s been my distinct pleasure to meet some billionaires over the years. It’s
The unsexy industry best positioned for the future
Business is absolutely fascinating. It’s a 24/7/365 game that we all take part in every single day. Everything we do and everything we use is the product of business. I’m writing this on a couch made by Ikea, with a lamp from Amazon, on a Mac from Apple, listening to music from Spotify. How cool
Insane Productivity is the Price of Success
I frequently get asked the question: “How can I become successful?” Now, there are a lot of different components to success like exercise, reading, consistency. However, one thing is clear: insane productivity is the price of success. Success does not come easy. It demands hard work over a long period of time. But, some people in the world obviously
Your proven 10 minute exercise to become a better leader
If you are in a leadership position, then chances are you’ve struggled at some point. The chances are also pretty good that you’ve read a fair amount of material on how to become a better leader. The reason for both is the difficulty that entails being a good leader. It’s also a fair hypothesis that’s
You don’t need paid marketing until you are at $100M in revenue
As a startup exec, a consultant and someone with a degree in marketing, I’ve seen hundreds of companies and how they think about marketing. Some companies heavily invest in it, some companies ignore it. But there is one common thread and rule that I’ve seen almost-always works: Here’s the headline: You don’t need marketing until you are
The only question a business needs to think about
This morning, a friend and I had a quick conversation at the office about California. We talked about sunshine, Malibu, the high-income tax rate. In other words, we covered the spectrum. After all, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to California! But, there was one unexpectedly interesting staple of California that
How to control a conversation
A few months ago, I was on the phone with a business associate of mine. He’s about 20 years older than me. He makes more than a million dollars a year, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that decisions he makes impact billions of dollars. Essentially, he is an influential dude. He should run