1: “The hard thing isn’t setting a big, hairy, audacious goal,” Ben Horowitz writes in The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers.
“The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal,” Ben notes.
Not the hard thing: Hiring great people.
The hard thing: “When those ‘great people’ develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things,” … continue reading
1: Hollywood tells us that being an entrepreneur is all about being a “high-flying, confident risk-taker who beats the odds and retires young,” Ron Shaich writes in his outstanding book Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.
This week, we’ve been analyzing Ron’s rise as the founder of Panera Bread. In 2017, he and his team would sell the company for $7.5 billion, one of the largest … continue reading
1: Ever said, “It’s just quicker if I do it myself?”
Probably.
Yesterday, we looked at the powerful results of “the ownership program” at the New York City restaurant Eleven Madison Park where junior team members were given ownership of different types of beverages, including coffee, cocktails, and tea.
“I’m not going to lie,” General Manager Will Guidara acknowledges in his book Unreasonable Hospitality, “it’s much easier to … continue reading
1: “My dad had his own platoon in Vietnam,” Will Guidara writes in his terrific book Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect.
“He’d be the first one to tell you it wasn’t a great one,” Will shares, “In fact, it’s highly likely he got it because nobody else wanted it.”
One of the soldiers in the platoon was nicknamed Kentucky after his home … continue reading
1: As the CEO of his company, Brad was tired of all the “upward delegation” he was experiencing.
His team members would line up outside his door to ask for his guidance to help solve their problems.
By the end of the conversation, somehow Brad now owned the issue.
“These problems were sucking his time and energy,” Dan Martell writes in his book Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim … continue reading
1: No one ever gets it right.
“That’s one thing many entrepreneurs think,” Dan Martell writes in his book Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire.
The good news? There’s an easy way to solve this problem.
Dan calls it: A Definition of Done. Or, simply: A DoD.
“I use this for every person at every level in my company,” he writes.
“For … continue reading
“Many of the opportunities you have in your life are generated by the energy you create around you.” —Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica
1: It’s Tuesday. Time to take on the day.
There is, however, a hidden enemy working against us.
“Every time we switch tasks,” Dan Martell writes in his book Buy Back Your Time, our “brains have to switch focus.”
The technical term for this is “context … continue reading
Yesterday, we looked at how Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, Tom Clancy, and Andy Warhol spent their time.
How can we apply the lessons from this diverse group of incredibly successful people? Dan Martell asks in his book Buy Back Your Time.
We begin by creating a 2×2 matrix where we analyze how valuable each task we are doing in terms of (1) money and (2) … continue reading
David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, was among the first executives to embrace the power of purpose.
Back in 1960, talking to HP’s training group, he said: “I want to discuss why a company exists in the first place,” he began.
“In other words, why are we here? I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a … continue reading
1: “Most companies don’t execute well,” says JPMC CEO Jamie Dimon. “This is about execution and getting disciplined, like it’s exercise. It’s about getting to the specifics, looking at the right measures and making the right decisions.”
Yesterday, we looked at the importance of metrics and analytics. The next important lever is leading team meetings. It starts with setting expectations for attendance.
“Unless you’re in the hospital or … continue reading
