Over 30 years of business insight in one place.
I've been a business owner for over 30 years. I was a remote CEO starting in 1993. I've been a coach helping other owners learn from my mistakes since 1995. Since 2006 I've been posting, writing, making videos and tools for my clients. In my semi-retirement I'm putting all that stuff here in a (mostly) organized fashion for free.
Productivity
Starting the New Year with Zeros and Ones
January 3, 2012
Here's a picture of my desk. It's got ZERO papers on it. If I'm working on something I'll put that ONE thing on the desk. Then put it away when I'm done, or when I'm interrupted. This concept is new…
Marketing & Sales
Think Backwards for Better Sales
December 18, 2011
Most sales people think they are in control and they move prospects through the various steps toward a sale. I'm suggesting that you think backwards - and look at the process from the buyer's side. The buyer goes through 4…
Personal
Occupy Wall Street – Like the 60’s Only Better
October 18, 2011
I visited Zuccotti park on Sunday (Oct 16, 2011) and it brought back memories of marching against the Vietnam war in the 60’s – and yes, despite the fact that I remember the 60’s I really was there. In once…
Advisor Stack, Coaches
When Not to hire a Business Coach (and when you should)
October 15, 2011
Shadow Coaching. Surgeon Atul Gawande has a great article in New Yorker about hiring a coach to help him become a better surgeon. He doesn’t call it this, but what he’s describing is “Shadow Coaching”. A shadow coach watches you…
Growth & Plans
Why Good Companies Stop Growing
September 6, 2011
Imagine you’re climbing a mountain and the fog rolls in. You can’t see the trail as far as you’d like, but you know you’re trying to reach the top. So you figure as long as each step takes you higher…
Community, Conditions, Personal
We Survived Hurricane Irene – and why that matters to Your Business
August 29, 2011
Living in Connecticut with some big trees in the yard, we stocked up on water, food we could eat without cooking, propane and then slept in the finished basement. We spent the entire time with running water (hot AND cold).…
Organizational Design
Why Most CEOs do Nothing All Day
July 12, 2011
By "most CEO's" I don't mean most of the people who have CEO on their business card; not those in charge of very large, public companies. Most of us run companies with less than 100 people. In fact, 50% of…
Community
Is business Bad for Politics or the Otherway Round?
May 23, 2011
I posted four years ago that typical pro-business political positions are often actually bad for business because they are short sighted. In my experience working with business owners, lack of strategic planning is something they are almost always "too busy"…
Growth & Plans
SoloPreneur
April 6, 2011
What makes a SoloPreneur is not the lack of employees. Some companies without employees contract everything from sales, to production, to answering their phone. They are functionally equivalent to one of the other groups because the management frustrations you face…
Growth & Plans
1-15 Employees
April 6, 2011
Companies at this stage have employees doing different jobs. But usually they lack formal departments or managers of those departments. Most employees wear several hats and do what’s needed at the moment. This is not always a bad thing. In…
Growth & Plans
15-50 Employees
April 6, 2011
This is a critical stage for a CEO. For the company to grow you need to stop acting like a one-man band, and more like a conductor. But with a difference. An orchestra conductor makes none of the sound him…
Growth & Plans
50+ Employees
April 6, 2011
Can you go away for a week? A month? As your firm grows beyond 50 employees the CEO spends less time dealing with day to day situations and more time planning for the future. That means you need systems and…
Growth & Plans
Startups
April 6, 2011
Every start-up by definition is a small company and they all have the same problem: They don’t have enough revenue to pay for ongoing operations. However there are different ways to solve this problem and choosing the right one depends…
Management
Chicken Stock Makes You a Better Manager
March 1, 2011
My wife broke her leg recently so I’ve been doing all the driving and grocery shopping. She is able to use a wheeled stool to get around the kitchen and cook again which she is very grateful for – as…
Business Model
How to Build a Scalable Company – Part 2 of 4
January 28, 2011
How to Build a Scalable Company - Part 2 of 4. This is a 1 hour talk given Sept. 7, 2010 by John Seiffer at the CTECH incubator in New Haven. The topic is why some companies scale and some…
Business Model
How to Build a Scalable Company – Part 3 of 4
January 28, 2011
How to Build a Scalable Company - Part 3 of 4. This is a 1 hour talk given Sept. 7, 2010 by John Seiffer at the CTECH incubator in New Haven. The topic is why some companies scale and some…
Business Model
How to Build Scalable Company part 4 of 4
January 28, 2011
How to Build a Scalable Company - Part 4 of 4. This is a 1 hour talk given Sept. 7, 2010 by John Seiffer at the CTECH incubator in New Haven. The topic is why some companies scale and some…
Business Model
How to Build a Scalable Company – Part 1 of 4
January 28, 2011
How to Build a Scalable Company - Part 1 of 4. This is a 1 hour talk given Sept. 7, 2010 by John Seiffer at the CTECH incubator in New Haven. The topic is why some companies scale and some…
Company View
4 Types of Risk
January 17, 2011
In any new company, there are 4 distinct types of risk to a successful business outcome. It's my experience that seeing these risks in different ways is often at the root of problems between investors and entrepreneurs. Technology Risk. This…
Information & Communication
In Defense of Meetings
January 3, 2011
Jason Fried says that the office is a lousy place to get work done because of 2 things: Managers & Meetings. If that's true, then you're not doing it right. And, of course a lot of people aren't doing it…
CEO Mindset
Become a Better CEO
December 23, 2010
How working with a Business Advisor can help you run your business better. Talks about the things that inspire a company owner to work with a business advisor and become a better CEO.