Those of us with an entrepreneurial mind tend to be bling-hogs (guilty as charged). Our bling is new books, new systems, new processes, new products, latest recruit, newest client… One of the worst impacts of this is that we can allow our obsession with bling to obscure what we really need for positive change. We […]
Founders and Owners
The redundant founder / CEO
The majority of my work these days tends to be with companies that need support in scaling up. That may be because they’re on a rapid growth path, and need to ensure that the business scales robustly. Or because they’ve plateaued (or started a slow decline), with a myriad of symptoms to boot. In almost […]
Don’t build a business to sell
A lot of early-stage startups that I meet want to talk about their exit strategy. They spend a lot of time figuring out how to build a company that they can sell for a good price. If exit is your goal (and remember it may not be the only way to build something that meets […]
All it takes to turn an idea into a business
At the BCS talk that I recently did on growing a business with profit and purpose, I asked the audience what it takes to turn an idea into a business. “Grit”. “Determination”. “Hard work”. “Action”. I suspect that came from the entrepreneurs in the room. “Passion”. “A why” (eugh). “Purpose”. “Courage”. I suspect that was […]
Founders – your team aren’t all entrepreneurs. And that’s a good thing.
A common story I find when working with founders is frustration with the managers that they appoint into their business. Not responsive enough. Not thinking big enough. Not hungry enough. I always need to remind them that this is why *they* are founders, and their team isn’t. Typical founder traits are both a strength and […]