I originally wrote this post in October of 2008 after spending bit of time in probably most costly entrepreneurial ventures I have invested in. Even after 3 years this post still rings true to me, so I am updating it a bit and re-posting it. I was reading “Failure as an event” post on Seth…
Category Archives: Leadership
Building Compensation Package Series (part 1): Startup Equity Compensation Framework 2.0
Let me start by saying that building a total compensation package is HARD! This is an extremely important component of business planning, but many executives end up “winging” it. Instead of taking time to do the math and some modeling, we just slap something together and pray our compensation structure won’t crumble. For me personally,…
Beware of “Normal” People in Startups and High-growth Companies
I needed a little hiatus from my blog, but lately too many people have been asking when the heck I am going to get back to it. Point taken – time to reorganize my priority list. Since I usually recruit talent for my teams, I often hear from acquaintances how they know someone “just so…
How to Avoid Turning Your Startup into a Dysfunctional Family
A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a journalist from Wall Street Journal. We had a great conversation about the current labor market, hiring challenges, and how to build the right company culture. He ended up taking the article in another direction, but now I’m happy to be able to finally share what…
3 Problems With the Way Startups Manage Talent
I am sure you folks have realized that I’ve been “off air” for awhile. The combination of helping out Daily Grommet and joining Pixability has shriveled my capacity for writing to zero. But, I am getting back on the horse and definitely have a lot of material from the “startup trenches” to share. So that…
Does Recruiting a Diverse Team Mean Discriminating Against the Majority?
I recently had a conversation with a friend about the importance of building a diverse team. It is a subject I spend a lot of time on, since my own personal experience and countless research articles have shown that a diverse teams deliver better product and increased efficiency. If you are interested in this research,…
Defining the Difference Between (Business) Operations and Technology Operations
I feel like I correct perceptions about what operations professionals are and are not at least 2-3 times per week. Most folks, especially from organizations in technology-heavy industries, automatically assume “operations” is purely systems management. While an operations person may really just be a senior network administrator in some organizations, the true responsibilities of a…
7 Commandments for Women in Technology (and Other Male-dominated Fields)
I’m sure most of you have read my article “Time to end the frat house culture! We need more women in our midst.” I want to see more women in leadership roles and the ranks of techies, scientists, and entrepreneurs. This not only benefits society, but is also great for business (see my previous article…
5 Rules for Avoiding the Need to Cut Costs
“Cutting costs” has been the buzz phrase for the last decade or so. In some cases, companies got drunk on cheap money and plentiful investors, and in others the unchecked management flaws of greed and vanity led to company bloat. Whatever the root cause, we seem to be only treating the symptoms of the problem….
Earned vs. Need-Based Loyalty
Call me old fashioned, but I cringe every time I hear another claim about how we are moving into the age of “careerism” and “just in time staffing”. Why? Because we always hear about this fad right at the tail end of every downturn. It’s like herpes spread by some “experts” who never had to…