Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2018

One of the things I’ve learned in working with aspiring entrepreneurs is that managing and leading a team is a scary venture into the unknown for many people, even if they have worked as a business professional for years. Understand both leadership and management. You don’t have to be a boss to be a leader or a manager.

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Management Leadership Demand Founder 218

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2017

I’ve been a manager in business for many years, and like most of you, I’ve also had my share of bad managers, as well as a few good ones. Here are ten tips which may surprise many of you, but I have found to be real difference makers: Go ahead, get close to the people you manage. Solicit volunteers for unpopular tasks.

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Management Employee Reputation Hiring 146

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2018

Performance goals set without team member input, and without support and feedback, are a sure sign of managing by fear. Be conscious of your eye contact, facial expression and tone of voice. Impossible stretch goals are never challenged. Both are still struggling to change their culture.

Management 239

Management Technical Review Social Media Hiring 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2012

Use existing team to find a new manager or peer. If you already have some technical people on board, like software developers, and need a new manager, you supply the candidates based on credentials, and let them do initial interviews and make recommendations. Outsource your technical requirements.

Technical Review 230

Technical Review Technology Founder Management 230

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2022

As a business consultant with experience in large companies as well as startups, I often hear about dysfunctional management hierarchies, as well as the value provided by exceptional ones. We have all heard about the successes of flattened management organizations in the last decade at Facebook, Valve, Zappos, and others.

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Management Dilution Forecast Leadership 333

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2017

Employees are still too often thought of as a commodity, to be acquired “just in time” for the lowest cost, and managed as a disposable asset. Most companies I know will claim to be busy collecting and analyzing data, but very few actually use it to drive people management. These should not be seen as two separate efforts.

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Management Analytics Open Source Hiring 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2013

Everyone can recognize a great manager a mile away, so why is it so hard to find one? Almost every one of us in business can remember that one special manager in their career who exemplifies the norm, who commanded our respect, and treated us like a friend, even in the toughest of personal or business crises. " Plan and delegate.

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Management Technical Review Leadership Employee 259

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

illustrates this with humor for each of fifty dumb mistakes that smart managers don’t make. Managers who speak critically of team members, customers, friends or family members, have something going on within them that needs to be examined. Real leaders embrace and manage these feelings, rather than complain to associates.

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Leadership Management Cost Entrepreneur 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2021

As you expand the business into new geographies and market segments, focus on culture inclusivity rather than trying to manage multiple subcultures. Attempts to do this have resulted in more confusion than value, as well as high management and marketing costs. Accommodate and integrate multiple cultures.

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Leadership Management Brazil Differentiation 426

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2022

They know leadership is all about managing their own complicated, illogical, and fallible human foibles, as well as the people they depend on. Managed effectively, stress is a good thing, leading to survival. Leaders need to manage these dynamics to keep from falling prey to negative group behaviors. What causes a star to fade?

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Management Merger Leadership Affiliate 297

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2015

Every person, no matter what their passion, needs to revisit the principles of time management from time to time. Effective time management skills are often the best competitive edge. Time management is a learnable skill, but it takes continual focus. Seize opportunities in the marketplace. Marty Zwilling.

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Management Technical Review Social Media Email 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 1, 2021

Your challenge as a leader is to encourage and reward healthy conflicts, while managing them to productive and innovative results. Of course, any highly emotional and unmanaged conflict can certainly lead to chaos and a dysfunctional organization.

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Management Metrics Naming Email 363

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2020

The real solution is better time management to put you back in control of your life. The real reason is that these people don’t manage their time well. I still remember the classic book on this subject by Dr. Jan Yager, called “ Creative Time Management for the New Millennium.” There is just not enough time! Skip those.

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Management Business Plan Networking Startup 301

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2021

Jan Yager, in her classic book, “ Work Less, Do More ” talks about procrastination as a primary obstacle to efficient time management. The result is that certain things just never seem to get done.

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Management Hiring Partner Internet 326

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2021

A successful entrepreneur must be accountable for all commitments, and manage expectations to make this possible. Either of these approaches always make a difficult situation worse, often leading to guilt or a later accommodation.

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Management Matching Entrepreneur Conversion 397

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

There are many books written on this subject, but this classic by Chris Ducker, “ Virtual Freedom ,” manages to pack a lot more practical guidance into a small space that many others I have seen. Contractors and freelancers, like any other business, manage their own internal processes, but they can’t manage your business.

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Cost Philippines Bandwidth Cofounder 346

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2022

Trying to be a business leader by instilling fear in your employees and partners is never a good approach, but it is particularly devastating in a startup.

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Management Leadership Affiliate Security 353

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2020

Cohen and John Kador, in their classic book “ What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know ,” includes these great points of practical advice on this subject: Manage expectations before the fact. For entrepreneurs, friends and family money usually represents the smallest increment of funding, yet requires the most time to manage.

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Management Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of discussion about bringing the work back home, since costs have gone up in less-developed countries, there are issues with intellectual property, and time zone and language differences make management difficult. Internal services, like marketing and accounting, are more manageable and have less customer visibility.

Software Review 285

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property 285

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2019

If you are in this second category, you probably don’t like the references behind your back that you are a “control freak” or a “micro-manager.” This means only about one manager in ten really knows how to empower others. The challenge is delegating the right things, and not delegating the wrong things. Avoid reverse delegation.

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Management Social Media SEO Hiring 241

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

Leaders are judged on key elements of execution, including a focus on priorities, ensuring clear accountability, managing decision making, mobilizing others, adapting quickly, and communicating execution urgency. Good performance management is more about rewarding desirable behavior than penalizing bad performance.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

The distributed model draws on a diverse pool, helps manage costs, and captures regional insights and focus necessary to win local customers. Manage risk – don’t just “move fast and break things.” Managing risk is about determining upfront which risks are acceptable and which are non-negotiable.

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Global Silicon Valley Marketing Indonesia 345

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

Most people can’t manage more than five items in their head, and when your list gets longer, it seems infinite. Relentlessly reprioritize your list and complete them in order, resisting the urge to skip over the tough ones. Keep a written to-do list. Write it down, but even then, keep it to the top ten priority items or less.

Management 216

Management Demand Hiring Entrepreneur 216

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Manage customer service. Personnel Manager. On the other hand, there are some roles in a startup where Boomers are probably not the best candidates: Constantly-on-the-road sales territory management roles. Boomers are more likely to give you the time and guidance that you need, and give your executive team additional visibility.

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Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

It’s amazing how quickly these activities lead to leadership or management opportunities. Hone your project management skills above all others. Project management is essential to getting things done on time, with a minimum number of problems and crises. Stretch here also increases job satisfaction.

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Flash Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 303

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

There are many books written on this subject, but this classic by Chris Ducker, “ Virtual Freedom ,” manages to pack a lot more practical guidance into a small space that many others I have seen. Contractors and freelancers, like any other business, manage their own internal processes, but they can’t manage your business.

Entrepreneur 303

Entrepreneur Philippines Bandwidth Cofounder 303

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2019

In summary, it’s important to remember that online reviews can make or break your business today, so you can’t afford to be too busy to monitor and manage this activity. Don’t count on the government, or Internet providers, to protect your online reputation – that is your responsibility.

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Reputation Management Intellectual Property Internet 216

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

This is a positive in uncoupling them from a dependency on a single company or boss, but the downside is that they have to suddenly manage all facets of a business, including finances, strategy, and savings for the future. Sales Professional.

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Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure. The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

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Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2021

illustrates this with humor for each of fifty dumb mistakes that smart managers don’t make. Managers who speak critically of team members, customers, friends or family members, have something going on within them that needs to be examined. Real leaders embrace and manage these feelings, rather than complain to associates.

Leadership 342

Leadership Management Cost Startup 342

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2022

According to a classic book on people management by Professor Derek Torrington, “ Managing to Manage: The Essential Guide to People Management ,” it is the listener who determines the extent to which a message is understood, and that is shaped largely by their own experience and background.

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Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 342

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

I too often see people who are quick to make excuses, blame failures on peers or customers, or see management as the reason for their lack of productivity. Don’t expect your manager and other leaders to always see your contributions. Accountability requires that you manage your own efforts, as well as keep others up to speed.

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Philadelphia Technical Review Engineer Metrics 274

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of discussion about bringing the work back home, since costs have gone up in less-developed countries, there are issues with intellectual property, and time zone and language differences make management difficult. Internal services, like marketing and accounting, are more manageable and have less customer visibility.

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Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Software Review Technical Review 306

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors. As a mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, here are my best recommendations for keeping the burn rate low, planning ahead and maintaining credibility with investors: Manage cash flow personally every day.

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Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2020

One of the things I’ve learned in working with aspiring entrepreneurs is that managing and leading a team is a scary venture into the unknown for many people, even if they have worked as a business professional for years. Understand both leadership and management. You don’t have to be a boss to be a leader or a manager.

Leadership 380

Leadership Demand Management Founder 380

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Managing people and results require the ability to track progress and reward the right people. Managing time and priorities for maximum impact. Using metrics to measure results and commitments. Keep the focus on efficiency and growth.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Technical Review Leadership Metrics 284