Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2021

Studies have shown that work productivity is related to a happier work culture , and customer satisfaction and loyalty are also dependent on the culture. For example, CEO Mathilde Collin of Front has implemented 25 ways her company has translated their strong in-person culture to the new remote reality.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2023

Everyone knows and admires a few trusted leaders in business, for example, Richard Branson , founder of Virgin Group and Warren Buffett , founder of Berkshire Hathaway. With fewer levels, people are incented to accept more accountability for their actions and get more personal satisfaction from their contributions to results.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2023

For example, a while back a passionate entrepreneur approached me with an innovative solution for reducing world hunger, but hadn’t focused on the fact that hungry people often don’t have any money, and governments are not easy customers. A legendary pivot example in social media was the transformation of Odeo into Twitter.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

Of course, drivers have to be backed up by some realities, like necessary resources, adequate skills, relentless determination, and a market of people interested in supporting your dream. An example of an entrepreneur who pioneered the success of this strategy many years ago was Yvon Chouinard when he founded Patagonia.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

For example, Bill Gates founded and grew Microsoft, and Michael Dell built a great technology company, both with no outside funding until they went successful enough to go public years later and sell shares to common stockholders. Of course, this can be positive if you really need the help and experience in making key decisions.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2020

Set up training courses that highlight agility, and adopt agile working practices. For example, when I was with IBM, in an era where constant change was necessary to compete, we made job rotation and training a prerequisite for good performance ratings, so that team members sought change and new learning, rather than passively resisting.

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Metrics Training Satisfaction IBM 122

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

For example, we all have experienced a few difficult relationships, perhaps including an insecure boss, the ultimate pessimist, a passive-aggressive peer, or the perennial victim. For example, recognize that the affinity bias is the unconscious tendency to favor people who are like us. You don’t have to agree to get along.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2021

For example, most people thought Twitter was a total snoozer, when Jack Dorsey was looking for funding, especially with MySpace already owning that territory. For example, many products are now offered by subscription, which was a concept from the services world. Yet today, Twitter is a fifty billion behemoth, and MySpace is forgotten.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2022

We have all heard the examples of the great new company cultures, popularized by Google, Zappos, and Facebook, which seem to imply that company perks are the secret to success. Of course, these are great, but they don’t happen without enlightened leadership coming first.

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Custom Customer Coach Satisfaction 152

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2019

Unfortunately, work and satisfaction have become an oxymoron in many businesses. For example, I’m a problem solver by nature, and have worked in several support organizations, but I get bored when all the answers are already known. Of course, keeping up with the technology on tools is a never-ending task, and it costs money.

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Tips Satisfaction Training Mentor 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2022

Of course, my years of experience in business gives me insights that you might not yet have, but I’ve found that the major value from coaching comes from getting you into the right mindset. For example, you may find out that being your own boss is a driving force in your life. Envision and focus on getting to that destination.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

But very quickly, it is becoming obvious to startups that the value and satisfaction exceeds the costs. A few examples of well-known benefit corporations in the USA include Kickstarter, Etsy in New York, Patagonia in California, and Seventh Generation in Vermont. Startups can use social responsibility as a competitive advantage.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2020

Of course, most of you expect that raising money will be difficult, as well as staving off competitors, and handling that occasional toxic customer. YouTube and Facebook, for example, both advertised themselves as dating sites until they recognized from results that the dating market segment was already over-saturated.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2021

For example, no one should be convinced that Elon Musk is following someone else’s lead as he charges ahead with Tesla, SpaceX, and other initiatives. Of course, this kind of leadership has a big risk, since you have no one to blame if you get it wrong. Personal leadership is setting your own direction and making real decisions first.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2023

Both ends of this spectrum fail to bring long-term satisfaction or success. For example, the handmade-item platform Etsy sponsors free entrepreneurship courses for underemployed and unemployed people, including assistance in setting up a store on Etsy, thus adding more artists and artisan sellers to their platform.

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SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 11, 2010

This month’s big question is Examples of Big Impact from Technology and I’ve taken it as an opportunity to go back and look at the elements of different projects that I’ve worked on over the years that have had a big impact. I’ve seen that in courses and in design specs many times, and it’s a HORRIBLE IDEA.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2022

For example, non-computer types should consider delegating their social media, website, and SEO activities. Of course the work must be done well, but your way or the highway is not the right way. It will inspire loyalty, provide real satisfaction for work done, and become the basis for mentoring and performance reviews.

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Startup SEO Social Media Satisfaction 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 1, 2021

Of course, any highly emotional and unmanaged conflict can certainly lead to chaos and a dysfunctional organization. For example, in a conflict over the right branding logo , it may help to understand who and how the ultimate decision will be made, including key elements driving the decision, such as targeted customers and competition.

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Activity Organization Examples Satisfaction 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Of course, there are good ways and bad ways to ask for help. Most experienced business people love to help, but they don’t have the time or interest to give you a course on basic business concepts, like the need to be competitive. Start by helping others, and they will return the favor.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

Both ends of this spectrum fail to bring long-term satisfaction or success. For example, the handmade-item platform Etsy sponsors free entrepreneurship courses for underemployed and unemployed people, including assistance in setting up a store on Etsy, thus adding more artists and artisan sellers to their platform.

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Tips Framework Custom Customer 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2023

Of course, margin and profitability are important, but must be committed to adding more value to the lives of your clients, and making the world a better place. Seek customer feedback on ways to improve value and satisfaction. For example, Toms shoes achieved success by donating a pair of shoes for every pair sold.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2021

Evidence continues to mount that companies with trusted leaders, such as Zappos , tend to outperform others in financial results, as well as team satisfaction, by as much as three to one. For example, you would never use the same words and tone in an email, text message, or on social media. Neglect to set the context for the message.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Of course, you as the business leader have a key role in making all this happen. For example, Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes, set a higher purpose of donating a pair of shoes to the needy for every pair sold, driving a spiritual cause for employees and customers. Occupational satisfaction. Social interactions.

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Technical Review Mentor Social Media Custom 141

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

For example, Howard Schultz at Starbucks was quick to accept accountability for a racial bias incident a few years ago in one of his stores in Philadelphia, and he shut down all his stores for an anti-bias training session, rather than try to blame a single store employee or overall cultural conditions.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2022

It’s been happening for some time, but business changes, accelerated by the recent pandemic, have highlighted the need for all of us to review our positions, image, and satisfaction at work. Now may be the time to build new credentials is this digital age by taking time for education courses and attending digital conferences.

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Social Media Summary Startup Mentor 125

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2021

For example, IBM was the industry leader in mainframe computers for business, and we knew thousands of ways they could be linearly enhanced for business applications. Of course, you have to propose solutions, request funding, and marshal peer support for credibility. Balance the focus on productivity versus creativity.

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Marketing IBM IBM Resource 117

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

Of course, you can be overly confident or unrealistic in your expectations, without the skills or plans to run a business. I often hear entrepreneurs talk about wanting to get rich quickly, when I know that money is not usually the key to satisfaction or happiness. Always be your own best (and most honest) friend.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Satisfaction and commitment come from choosing a path to move forward, evaluation results and customer feedback, and learning from all their best efforts. As an example, CEO Jeff Bezos at Amazon is known for his two-pizza rule : no meeting or team should be so large that two pizzas can't feed the whole group.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

Of course, it’s never quite that simple, but I really like the authors outline of the six key building blocks that have driven Amazon growth since their early days, to keep their current market value hovering around a trillion dollars. Your future satisfaction and success likely depends on your answer.

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Marketing Technical Review Custom Customer 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2020

Of course, part of the change is that Gen Z (born after 1996) now outnumbers the Millennials (born after 1981). Supplement this feedback with more formal modern satisfaction surveys, like the Net Promoter Score. Regularly ask your customers what they think and why. Use new technology to personalize and expedite.

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Custom Customer Social Media Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2019

For example, if your business is landscaping, it’s well worth your time as the owner to make one last call on every customer a week after completion, to check their satisfaction, clear up any oversights, ask for a testimonial, and probably get some follow-on work. Regularly review every customer comment, and reply.

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Custom Customer Examples Sites 86

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2019

As examples, even famous billionaire business leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, have admitted to having mentors (Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett). Of course, coaching only works with people that are coachable. Examples would include sponsoring or orchestrating community events, sports, or travel.

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Coach Mentor Examples Satisfaction 87

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

While this approach appears to cost more on the surface, it often actually costs you less, when you consider the hidden costs of rework, poor customer satisfaction, employee management, and training required. A solution I often recommend, as least in early growth, is the use of outsourcing for critical tasks.

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Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2019

For example, I know people who would love to have their own business, rather than be tied to another they don’t fully understand or believe in. Of course, your experience and gut instinct are relevant, but should never be used alone. For most people these criteria would include relevant finances, experience, interest, and satisfaction.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2019

For example, non-computer types should consider delegating their social media, website, and SEO activities. Of course the work must be done well, but your way or the highway is not the right way. It will inspire loyalty, provide real satisfaction for work done, and become the basis for mentoring and performance reviews.

Startup 96

Startup SEO Social Media Satisfaction 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Example sites include StartSomeGood and the Facebook Cause page. This is a variation on the two previous ones, where investors get the satisfaction of helping, and immediately get a pre-determined reward or perk of value, such as a t-shirt, or other recognition, but no equity or finished product. Good-cause crowd funding.

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Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 99

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2019

We have all heard the examples of the great new company cultures, popularized by Google, Zappos, and Facebook, which seem to imply that company perks are the secret to success. Of course, these are great, but they don’t happen without enlightened leadership coming first.

Custom 92

Custom Customer Coach Satisfaction 92