Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). Lack of communication.

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Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

I’ve always wondered if there was some way that I could quickly deduce a new entrepreneur’s “sweet spot,” and optimize my mentoring to those strengths and weaknesses, maybe similar to the Myers-Briggs type indicator for business professionals. Ultimately, most get the best help from business advisors and mentors.

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Entrepreneur Framework Mentor Web 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Ironically, as a startup investor and mentor, I have seen too many failures caused by just the opposite – too much money spent too soon, taking time to get product perfection, and assuming customers will wait. Startups funded by rich uncles rarely think about productivity. Rethink or reframe the challenge.

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Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2020

In her classic book on this subject, “ Who’s That Sitting at My Desk? ” Here are the key ones I have experienced, as paraphrased from her book: Acquaintanceship. Too many relationships never advance beyond this stage, resulting in poor communication, no cooperation, low trust, and low shared productivity. Workship - Mentor.

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Mentor Competition Summary Coach 135

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Yet I find, as a mentor and outside consultant, that many of you focus only on working conditions and compensation as the key factors determining team engagement , health, and productivity. Thus I was pleased to see a much more complete and broader perspective of employee support recommendations in a new book, “ Employees First! ”

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Technical Review Mentor Social Media Customer 141

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2022

These challenges, with recommendations for addressing them, were detailed nicely for me in the classic book, “ The Boomerang Principle ,” by Lee Caraher, who has built several companies, and has helped many others manage Millennials, reduce turnover, and improve satisfaction and the return hire rate.

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Mentor Coach Satisfaction Training 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

Every business needs repeatable processes to grow and thrive, but modern business processes need the right people to make them efficient and productive. The right people make productive processes, not the other way around. On the other hand, I see teams with almost no process that are tremendously productive.

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Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

It has a huge impact on productivity, as well as morale and loyalty to the company. If you are looking for specifics, as well as the science behind it, you should take a look at the classic book, “ Trust Factor – The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies ,” by Paul J. He says trust is the key to a good culture.

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Claremont Mentor Study Startup 172

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

Yet there is more and more evidence that jumping tasks on every alert for a new email, text, or phone call actually decreases overall productivity. Practicing these will ensure greater productivity, less stress, more job satisfaction, and an improved overall sense of well-being. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

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Email Activity Product Social Media 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2021

As a new business advisor, I am no longer surprised that every new entrepreneur believes the hard part is creating the first product and the business. The importance and reality of this need has been detailed well in the classic book, “ State of Readiness ,” by Joseph F. Your task is follow-up in support, mentoring, and setting goals.

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Tips Startup Mentor Press 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain.

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Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2023

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. If your team has trouble finding you, you won’t make productive connections.

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Technical Review Development Team Review Startup Activity 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2017

Leaders who are able to optimize these find multipliers of 20 percent up to nine times the average productivity. Organizational silos, limited spans of control, and too many layers of management can dramatically reduce the productivity of even your best people. As a role model, what you practice is more important than what you preach.

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Product Startup Guide Framework 58

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

For example, I’m an introverted product guy who doesn’t care so much about building the personnel relationships needed to keep a motivated team. Or you may be easily bored by the needed focus on key objectives, or the day-to-day challenges of driving results that balance the books. Build business relationships and a personal brand.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

Most entrepreneurs assume that success is dependent on their product expertise, coupled with some knowledge of how to run a business. In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business.

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Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2015

In building successful businesses, I find that creating a new and innovative product or service is usually the easy part. I saw a new approach in the book “ Leadership Transformed: How Ordinary Managers Become Extraordinary Leaders ,” by Dr. Peter Fuda a while back, which identifies seven leadership themes, presented as metaphors.

Product 103

Product Coach Framework Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2023

In this context, I was impressed with the insights provided in a new book, “ Stay Sane In An Insane World ,” by peak performance coach Greg Harden. Listen to your team, mentors, and customers to recognize real successes and failures, and surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps. We all have strengths and weaknesses.

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Mentor Startup Coach Satisfaction 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2023

For example, witness the current creation of the space tourism industry, vaccines to control new viruses, or simply providing a free product to the needy for every product sold. I found many non-disruption recommendations in the new book, “ Beyond Disruption ,” by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

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Capital Netflix Resource Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2022

I was pleased to see these personal branding messages highlighted and confirmed in a new book, “ The New Brand You ,” by branding guru Catherine Kaputa. Build a personal marketing plan, as you would for a new product, including regular highlight reports, progress, and results. Seek expert mentors and always evaluate feedback.

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Social Media Summary Startup Mentor 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Ironically, as a startup investor and mentor, I have seen too many failures caused by just the opposite – too much money spent too soon, taking time to get product perfection, and assuming customers will wait. Startups funded by rich uncles rarely think about productivity. Rethink or reframe the challenge.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). ” So Ethan went to work as a product manager at Google Video. I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. I realized that he and I see several common patterns that account for a large percentage of new venture failures.

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Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. It’s the same for customers and products, where analytics have long proven their value.

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Tool Statistics Entrepreneur Metrics 121

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2012

In my own effort to keep up with the times, I finished a book by Julie Steelman a while back, “ The Effortless Yes: Demystifying the Selling Process.” Julie is known as the entrepreneur’s selling mentor, for both men and women. Don’t hope that a miracle will happen and your products and services will sell themselves.

Product 91

Product Mentor Customer Custom 91

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

After years mentoring young aspiring entrepreneurs , I am now convinced that getting along and becoming more productive with other people is a skill that any professional can learn, or accomplish via a dedicated strategy. It is in these contexts that I am often asked for specific advice.

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Startup Examples Satisfaction Mentor 114

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. They rarely highlight their marketing and relationship skills , even though, in my experience, these are more often the key to success in business than product skills.

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Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2020

Yet there is more and more evidence that jumping tasks on every alert for a new email, text, or phone call actually decreases overall productivity. Practicing these will ensure greater productivity, less stress, more job satisfaction, and an improved overall sense of well-being. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Email 170

Email Activity Social Media Coach 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. In her book, Jan devotes a whole chapter to speaking to the media, as a key aspect of public speaking.

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Marketing Entrepreneur Customer Custom 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

For example, many investors I know tell me they look for business plans that allocate the largest portion of a requested investment to marketing, but most often see the top “ use of funds ” to be further product or service development. Of course, you can’t possibly brand yourself if you don’t know who you really are.

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Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail.

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Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2023

I saw the key ones outlined well in the classic book, “ Creating High Performers ,” by William Dann, a leading coach to experienced CEOs. In my own role as advisor and mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, I was struck by how relevant and critical these same initiatives are to even the earliest stage businesses.

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Coach Satisfaction Resource Entrepreneur 93

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2019

Image via Wikipedia The challenge for all of us in business is to improve competitiveness by improving employee productivity and reducing costs. According to Gartner , one of the biggest drags on productivity is employee engagement, still hovering around 30 percent, and costing our businesses over $450 billion per year.

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Tips Satisfaction Training Mentor 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2021

Thus I was pleased to see that it’s consistent with the guidance in a new book, “ Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most ,” by Greg McKeown, a well-respected author and public speaker on business breakthroughs. they still find time to meet and compare notes regularly, and are avid readers of business books.

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Technical Review Coach Satisfaction Mentor 123

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

As the school year kicks off for college students, one of the big tasks of the year is buying books for their courses. One startup, SwoopThat (www.swoopthat.com)--started by a recent college grad Jonathan Simkin --has made it much easier to buy books for student, by pulling up books based on a student's schedule.

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UCSD Course Startup Sites 185

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2013

In today’s uber-connected, social media, everything-is-public, people tell you there’s killing it with these new features, investor & mentor whiplash – it’s hard to avoid the latest thing. 4 months later every f **g product I see looks like Pinterest. The new thing. The shiny object. get me some.

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Course Resource Social Media Design 368

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2021

Entrepreneurs often have formidable technical expertise, key to developing a new product or service, but a great naïveté in management skills. There are also many books on this subject, including this classic from the master on management, Brian Tracy, “ Full Engagement!: Focus on high productivity.

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Startup Organization Training Entrepreneur 171