It has been almost a decade since I lost my father to cancer, but the lessons I learned watching him run large companies, creating startups, and turning around languishing businesses are still fresh in my mind. I credit him for my business ethics, “workaholism”, leadership style, and pragmatic yet optimistic outlook. He was a man of few words, but when he opened his mouth, everyone listened. In this post I will share some of the rules of business he taught me…
Category Archives: Leadership
12 rules of business I learned from my father
Difference between “My CEO” and “Our CEO”
Being in operations, I’m usually the right-hand-man for the CEO (and CFO), and have worked with some fantastic ones and a few who should have let someone else pilot the company. Not everyone is cut out to be a CEO and nowhere is this as evident and crucial as in startups. A good CEO can take the company anywhere he/she dreams it to go.
As I search for a head of operations position and talk to employees and founders of startups, one of the key phrase I am listening for is “my CEO [insert the rest of the sentence]”. That is what I want to hear. Yes, many will say “our CEO”, but there is a difference when someone adds emotion to their alliance and proclaims he works for his/her CEO.
How to hire and KEEP overqualified people
I read a Wall Street Journal article today, titled The New Résumé: Dumb and Dumber – Job Seekers Play Down Their Credentials to Avoid Looking Overqualified,” that really struck a nerve with me. This issue is not exclusive to Baby Boomer and reaches all the way into Generation X. We talk about how it is hard to find the right people for our companies, but we are not willing to think just a little bit outside of the box. Here is a novel idea, why don’t we stop forcing overqualified individuals to hide their qualifications and try to make a deal with them, while the demand is low.
Here is my recipe for hiring and keeping overqualified professionals
Lessons from Sun Tzu’s Art of War for startup leadership
One of my favorite books is Sun Tzu’s Art of War. I have read it several times and is one of my top 5 favorite books. Although the teachings are very old (6th century BC), there is much that can be applied to the modern day hyper-competitive business environment. Here are some of the lessons I have learned…
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