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Recently, CB Insights tabulated the top 20 reasons startups fail. There are some fascinating conclusions in there, but I simply want to focus on the top reason, the one which contributes to 42% of failures:
No market need.
At one level, this is the most obvious conclusion, not worth more thought. But let’s look further.
Read the rest of this entry »Maybe you’ve been discouraged because the better future you’ve been hoping for still doesn’t seem to be on the horizon.
At some point, though, you’re going to have to make it happen. It’s going to take focused, intentional effort. That’s what it means to be a leader.
I was thinking about this because of my recent health scare. Thankfully, I survived this time due to the talent of some great doctors. But it got me pondering the larger questions in my life.
Read the rest of this entry »We all struggle with the idea of when to change and how much. And when you’re leading a team of people, everything you do is magnified in impact – both positive and negative.
But there’s a key which helps give you some direction.
Know your foundation.
Read the rest of this entry »No doubt you’ve heard the term that’s been in vogue with entrepreneurs for a few years: Pivot your business.
As a skeptical outsider, it looks like an excuse for someone getting bored, who can’t commit to the hard work of building and running a company. And there is some truth to that.
But it’s not the whole story.
Read the rest of this entry »I needed the support of so many people to get through 2019! After being pronounced free of prostate cancer, I’ve had the chance to reflect on how important that was.
We don’t like to ask for help.
Especially in the business context, we want to present this image of professionalism. Having it all solved and sorted. Being in control.
Read the rest of this entry »This is SUCH a common phenomenon; I see it all the time. You’re busy doing a million things, but you’re in a fog about why.
Time to climb up above the murkiness, my friends.
And look at the big picture.
Read the rest of this entry »This is an insanely busy time for some of you, while others are taking the chance to settle back a bit and prepare for next year’s challenges.
But wherever you’re at, it’s always good to maintain perspective. That’s what leaders do, right?
Read the rest of this entry »I’ve noticed there are industries with “innovation fatigue.” Social media has been this way, with the rate of change going faster than people can absorb.
It wears people out.
The interesting part is that this rate of fatigue is different for each person and situation. I’ve been a tech geek for over five decades, so I tend to enjoy these innovations more than most people do.
But even I stopped looking for the ultimate word processor 25 years ago. I stopped investing in the latest and greatest laptops a bit later.
Read the rest of this entry »Last week I talked about the depressing race to the bottom. That’s a strategy of focusing on reducing prices over all other considerations.
When several companies do this at the same time, it destroys profit for everyone and can even kill an industry. We see this all the time.
Fortunately, there’s a different strategy you can embrace. It’s not any easier, but it sure can be more rewarding.
Read the rest of this entry »I’ve heard several reports recently which talk about companies doing everything they can to drive profit. And of course the quickest variables to fiddle with are cutting quality and cutting employees.
Cut expenses, then you can reduce prices, so you’ll gain market share and win more profit. Here’s the problem with that logic. In a competitive market with multiple companies doing the same strategy, you don’t gain market share (or profit) at all when you reduce prices. Not unless you can do that faster than the competition for some reason – but that destroys your profit.
Unless you have a magic wand, of course. Most people out here in the real world don’t have one. You just have a bunch of companies all racing to the bottom, where NOBODY is eking out any kind of profit.
Fortunately, that’s not the only way to play the game.
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