All in Entrepreneurship
Today's episode recounts a decision I made many years ago that, in the grand scheme of things, was relatively minor. It was my decision to get - and then remove - my earring before I went to Business School.
Not a huge decision in most contexts, but it was definitely one that taught me about why we make the choices we make - and WHY we should make the choices we make.
Today's episode is a reflection on Bono, U2's legendary frontman. It's based on a post I wrote shortly after watching them perform The Joshua Tree live in Chicago.
Bono represents the ideal when it comes to achievement. He does what he loves, has achieved tremendous success and uses this fame and success to do more for others. It's an ideal worth us pursuing in our own ways.
Today's episode focuses on a story from Live Aid back in the mid-Eighties and a moment that set the band U2 on the path to global stardom.
But on the day, it didn't seem like it to the band - and represents a lesson about risk-taking that we can all learn from.
Today's episode focuses on the age old debate of nature versus nurture. We love to argue whether talent is innate or developed, or whether entrepreneurs are born versus made.
In the show, I argue that it doesn't matter - our only choice is to move forward to strive to achieve what we want. The alternatives aren't worth considering.
Today's episode focuses on the one and only fundamental of success - doing the work.
Our role models from the sports to the business worlds understand this. The one commonality amongst all of them is that they've paid their dues. They put in the effort and did what was needed to lay the foundation for their success. If we aspire to that success, we need to do the same.
Today's podcast speaks to the perception that many of us have that we need to be (or at least show we're) perfect in front of those we live and work with.
The problem with this approach is that it's founded in insecurity and the idea that our vulnerability is something we should hide, when in fact, it's actually our strength.
Today's episode focuses on the myth of the all-rounder.
We're programmed to try and be good at everything, and when we don't hit the mark, we taught to judge ourselves negatively. But the fact is we all have spikes and, while general knowledge is a good thing, our spikes are what really matter.
Today's episode focuses on the value of experience when starting a new business.
Often, we'll hear about start-up success stories that are driven by founders with no prior history in that sector. I talk through why that happens and how that should probably be more the norm than the exception.
Today's podcast talks about our ideas of perfection, specifically in people.
I relate a war story from my consulting days about how reputations of specific individuals can be both accurate and inaccurate at the same time. The quicker we learn that, the easier it becomes to forge solid working relationships.
Today's podcast focuses on the idea of silos within our organizations and teams.
There will always be tensions among different teams and that's actually not a bad thing. It's only bad when we let those tensions stop us from figuring out how to work together. When we truly collaborate, we're able to create great art.
Do you expect a musician to be good at financial analysis? Do you expect a financial analyst to be good to creative work? Of course not. Then why do we define "good" in our teams in specific, narrow ways?
Today's episode speaks to focus on our colleague's strengths and not class people as good or otherwise based on preconceived notions.
As the podcast hits 100 episodes, I close out this month's focus on lessons from popular culture.
In particular, today's episode talks to the idea of putting our past in context. That we need to not only prize our prior experiences but also focus on moving forward. That our past doesn't define us - we continue to define ourselves.
This month's podcasts draw lessons from popular culture.
Today's episode is about legacy. I've always been intrigued by the fact that, when we leave, our world tends to go with us. So how do we leave something behind? How do we ensure that some part of our world, our experiences, remains well after we are gone?
This month's podcasts draw lessons from popular culture.
Today's episode speaks to the importance of self-talk and our choice of words. But not simply in the most overt sense that we need to recite affirmations, but even in our most casual conversations with ourselves. Our self-talk matters.
This month's podcasts draw lessons from popular culture.
In today's episode, I discuss a quote from Thom Yorke of Radiohead about this idea of exposure and vulnerability and the role it plays not only in art (which we tend to accept) but also in business (which we often don't).
This month's podcasts deal with matters of culture.
In today's episode, I speak to how the most important subject in business is also the least valued at business schools: soft skills and specifically, working with people. It's a tension that isn't likely to abate anytime soon, but it's still one we need to maintain a laser focus on.
This month's podcasts deal with matters of culture.
In today's episode, I discuss the problem of apathy - that is, when apathy arises in an organization, then we're all in trouble. The only solution - for everyone - is to engage.
This month's podcasts deal with matters of culture.
In today's episode, I speak to the value of assessing cultural fit when we're bringing new people into our teams, and when we're evaluating the long term impact of existing team members. It's not easy and it's tempting to look at hard metrics, but these soft ones can be the most critical to our success.
This months podcast deals with matters of culture.
In today's episode, I speak to the Sumo concept of Hinkaku - that is, how being a champion is about more than tangible measures of performance. It also has to do with how we behave.
