“The problem of our age is…” Is what? Putting aside the wish that there were only one problem of our age, how would you finish that statement? In 1889, Andrew Carnegie opened his respected “Gospel of Wealth” essay with this answer: “The problem of...
“Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.” ~Simon Sinek “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. …but not so...
This article is the first in a series exploring new approaches to venture creation. “What should be the right level of profit?” is a question few people have asked in the boardroom. The assumption underlying most business plans and decisions...
This is the second article in a series exploring new approaches to venture creation. In the first article in this series, I introduced the concepts of the Economics of Mutuality in which a business seeks to earn profit while attempting to solve...
Ten years ago, one of my newly hired software developers asked me why I hated her. When I asked her why she felt that way, she told me, “Whenever you walk by my desk, you are frowning and look so angry.” Her strong feelings surprised me because...
If you are building a home, you hire a contractor, not a landscaper. If you are adding a retaining wall, then you hire a landscaper—but not a software developer. We know that a business’s purpose is to solve certain problems or...
My seven year old son loves math. The majority of his time is spent doing math problems on the computer, quizzing his family on new math problems he created, falling asleep at night after reading math books, and attending the Russian School of Math...
Written in collaboration with Kevin Nguyen Staying ahead of the many negative externalities impacting our business ecosystem can seem overwhelming. And it surely can be, once a business is in full operation, however, while it’s difficult to...
Most entrepreneurs, myself included, have trouble letting go. They create their venture from nothing and nurture it into a profitable enterprise, so they’re understandably reluctant to relinquish responsibility, even if it’s the right path for both...
My understanding of how to generate financial wealth changed quickly and fundamentally after I sold my first company. I joined the buyer, a corporation with tens of thousands of employees and billions in revenue, as an SVP. Near the end of...