'William Hertling is currently my favorite “near term” science fiction writer. just read a pre-release near-final draft of his newest book, The Last Firewall. It was spectacular. Simply awesome. You can’t read it yet, but I’ll let you know when it’s available. Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears. MORE >>

'This article originally appeared on Inc.com. Like most startup entrepreneurs, when I began my first company in 1999 I had no formal sales experience. did have the wherewithal to visit potential customers and try to understand the pain points that I thought could be solved with our solution. We called our methodology PUCCKA. Compelling Event. MORE >>

'At Renaissance Weekend a few months ago, I heard a phenomenal lecture by Michael Starbird, a mathematician at the University of Texas. Afterwards, I bought his book, co-authored with Williams College professor Edward Burger, called The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking. Clear the clutter and expose what is really important. What’s the real question? MORE >>

'Credibility is everything in the business world. It''s hard to build but easy to destroy. And your success depends on it. In the business world, your credibility is everything. It tells people whether they can count on you. It tells your customers, employees, bosses, and coworkers what they can expect from you. Whether they can trust you or not. MORE >>

'In Lean Analytics , Alistair and I identified five stages that a startup goes through from the original idea to big-time success. Those stages include: Empathy: This is where you work to identify a problem worth solving, mostly by engaging in customer interviews and collecting qualitative feedback. You’re looking for usage and retention. MORE >>