January 2012
5 posts
Sh*t Entrepreneurs Say →
“I’m not your typical entrepreneur.”
“Trust me. Someday equity will be a lot more important to you than salary.”
“R & D is only for people who don’t have a clear vision.”
“Our culture is the most important thing.”
“I can’t tell you what we’re working on. Just know that it will be huge.”
“If it’s not at...
7 Things Highly Productive People Do →
You have more important things to focus on than, um, focusing. Get back on track with these tips.
Work backwards from goals to milestones to tasks.
Stop multi-tasking.
Be militant about eliminating distractions.
Schedule your email.
Use the phone.
Work on your own agenda.
Work in 60 to 90 minute intervals.
Read full article
Are Your Employees Destroying Your Business? →
Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about and cultivating our ideal business tribe, but hardly any time creating our best possible foundational tribe. Why is that? We need a strong foundational tribe in order to be able to create an awesome business tribe. It’s basic common sense: if you feel alone and unsupported, all of your endeavors, business and otherwise, are going to be a heck...
The 5 Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2012 →
Although the economy continues to face many challenges, the startup and tech industries are very much alive. The IPO window slightly opened up for companies like LinkedIn, Pandora, Groupon, Zynga, and Carbonite. We saw monster rounds of funding for companies like Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox. The appetite for seed and angel investing was extremely active. Tech incubators and accelerator programs...
December 2011
3 posts
5 Leadership Lessons from Newt Gingrich →
Kevork Djansezian/Getty
Love him or hate him, here’s what you can learn from the GOP’s new front-runner about running your business.
1. If you mess up, fess up.
2. Drop the phony, formal business talk.
3. It’s your over-sized ego, stupid.
4. Get on message and spread it like wildfire.
5. Remember, campaigning is not equal to leading.
Read full article
“In the midst of this frenzy for innovation, we may be ignoring a simple...”
– Jessica Stillman, Do You Secretly Fear Creativity?
9 Things That Motivate Employees More Than Money →
Don’t show ‘em the money (even if you have it). Here are nine better ways to boost morale.
Be generous with praise.
Get rid of the managers.
Make your ideas theirs.
Never criticize or correct.
Make everyone a leader.
Take an employee to lunch once a week.
Give recognition and small rewards.
Throw company parties.
Share the rewards—and the pain.
Read article
November 2011
5 posts
“Little start-ups are ridiculously overfunded…The market is ridiculously...”
– Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder and Facebook president
Overworked? 4 Signs You Need to Recharge →
A few of the same techniques endurance athletes use to detect the need for additional recovery can be used to indicate when you need to recharge your work batteries. Where elite athletes are concerned, chronic overtraining can actually defeat the fitness purpose and result in decreased stamina, power, and speed; sometimes the harder they work the slower they get.
Check your resting heart rate.
...
“A lot of people are focused on taking over the world or doing the biggest thing,...”
– Mark Zuckerberg
“Wind power genius creates product everyone can use! While saving the...”
– Lindsay Lohan
Dying to get retweeted by a celebrity? Here are 20 celebrities that will tweet about your business for a price.
October 2011
11 posts
Sit. Breathe. Be a Better Leader. →
Russell Simmons meditates. So does Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s biggest hedge fund. New research uncovers the management benefits: increased focus, control, and regulation of emotions. Om.
How do you do it? Here are five easy steps to meditate and establish calm.
1. Pause. Turn off cell phones, blackberries, and computers, and give yourself a moment of quiet. The immediate physical ...
Best Countries for Start-ups 2012 →
Believe it or not, it’s easier to start a company in Rwanda, Singapore, or Macedonia (pictured) than in the United States, according to the World Bank’s latest report. Heres a countdown of the Top 9.
9. Belarus 8. Rwanda 7. Georgia 6. Macedonia 5. Hong Kong 4. Singapore 3. Canada 2. Australia 1. New Zealand
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2011's World's Coolest Offices →
The Bastard Store: Milan, Italy
Achilleus: Anan City, Japan
Thinkgarden: Milan, Italy
Atelier Tenjinyama: Tokyo, Japan.
More Here.
Steve Jobs Remembered →
Upon news of Steve Jobs’ death, entrepreneurs from Mark Zuckerberg to Bill Gates shared an outpouring of personal condolences.
View slideshow
What, in your mind, will be Steve Jobs's greatest... →
Steve Jobs, 1955-2011 →
Apple co-founder Jobs was one of those people who kept topping himself, writes veteran technology journalist Lee Gomes. Here’s a look back through Jobs’s life as entrepreneur, designer, and ultimately, icon.
5 Ways to Kill a Brainstorming Session →
Illustration by Cannaday Chapman
As brainstorming has become customary, has it also lost its sparkle, and value, for your company? Here’s where you may have gone wrong, and what to avoid in the future.
1. Pass judgment or comment.
2. Tidy up.
3. Think ahead.
4. Worry.
5. Wander.
Read full article
“The grim reality is that most start-ups fail. Most new products are not...”
– CREATINGTHE LEAN STARTUP
How Eric Ries developed a scientific method for launching profitable companies
Photography by Emily Shur
Squandered capital, wasted efforts, shattered dreams. Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, is on a mission to save entrepreneurs from such a fate. Ries, a serial...
Gilt CEO: Interviewing is a Waste of Time →
What’s the best way to find talent?
Kevin Ryan, the founder and CEO of Gilt Groupe, a flash sales site that has grown to 850 employees and $500 million in gross sales since it was founded in 2007, offered his perspective on hiring and managing this morning at the Inc. 500|5000 Conference. His advice to CEOs? Don’t waste your time on interviews.
“I don’t want to be...
September 2011
12 posts
“You can’t get out there and touch people on the shoulder that much...”
–
Case in point: A handwritten letter by McChrystal to our Inc.com Editor, Eric.
Read How To Lead Like a General
The October Issue is here. →
Gen. Stanley McChrystal on How to Lead Like a... →
The retired four-star U.S. Army general overhauled communications for troops in Afghanistan. Today, he’s a speaker and educator who thinks business leaders have a lot to learn from military management styles. We’ve broken down the most intruiging lessons the general shared with us.
1. Let your guard down strategically. 2. Communication should be your top priority. 3. Watch your...
What Makes Russell Simmons So Successful? →
You have started a lot of businesses. How did you know when it was time to sell or to walk away?
I start a business and no one understands it. I work the hardest and then somebody else comes along and they start to get it. Eventually there are a few people that share the vision, then a whole team who get it. Usually a few people on the team emerge and they are much smarter in that...
Chat Live With Rachael Chong →
Join us at 1:00 p.m. ET for a live chat with Rachael Chong of Catchafire, a site that connects nonprofits with volunteers.
Watch now!
Innovation Inspiration From Nonprofits →
What can your business learn from the innovative ways nonprofits operate today? We’ve tapped the best ideas and business strategies from seven nonprofits.
Streamline the Payment Process
Make It Fun for Your Customers
Offer Myriad Feel-Good Options
Master Video to Woo Your Audience
Combat Counterfeits with Texting
Track Every Penny
Leverage the Power of Influencers
Read more
Vikram Savkar talks about what it takes to build a...
Nature Publishing Group, which publishes several highly regarded scientific journals and textbooks, was founded in England in 1869, eight years before electric lights illuminated the streets of London. Now, 140 years later, with the help of Harvard Classics scholar Vikram Savkar, the company is beginning to disrupt the traditional textbook model that it helped to create. This month at California...
Building a Better Twitter Brand →
Tech Trends columnist John Brandon tests Sprout Social, a Web-based tool that lets you manage and analyze multiple social media accounts. Here are the results.
7 Must-Have Apps for Salespeople →
GoToMeeting, by Citrix Online Available for: iPhone, iPad, and Android Cost: free
CamCard, by IntSig Information Available for: iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry Cost: $6.99 with a free trial called CamCard Lite
Square, by Square Inc. Available for: iPhone, iPad, and Android Cost: free
Keynote, by Apple Available for: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch Cost: $9.99
DocScan, by IFUNPLAY...
August 2011
2 posts
An Interview With Steve Jobs →
Inc. magazine talked about upcoming technology with the Apple founder in this fascinating 1989 interview.
You see, I think humans are basically tool builders, and the computer is the most remarkable tool we’ve ever built. The big insight a lot of us had in the 1970s had to do with the importance of putting that tool in the hands of individuals. Let’s say that—for the same amount...
July 2011
8 posts
50 Songs to Listen to at Work →
When I was a staff writer at Rolling Stone in the mid 90s, listening to music at work was part of the job description. But back in those days of yore, we had actual [gasp] stereos that played CD’s, even at times, cassette tapes!
But while technology has radically changed, one thing has remained constant: Music in the workplace equals happy time. So whether it’s a rainy weekend...
10 Start-up Incubators to Watch →
Thanks to entrepreneurs like the founders of Y-Combinator (above), these days whether you’re a small arts organization or a pair of college roommates, there’s likely an incubator for you. Here are 10 we think you should keep an eye on:
1. TechStars
2. Y-Combinator
3. Summer@Highland
4. DreamIt Ventures
5. LaunchBox Digital
6. Flashpoint
7. Capital Factory
8. Ben Franklin TechVentures
...
The Social Media Mayor
New media consultant Alex Torpey utilized social media to win the Mayoral Race in his New Jersey town.
There still is nothing more effective than having a one-on-one conversation with a voter. But in addition to actual door-to-door campaigning, I did what I can only describe as virtual door knocking, which was adding as many people on Facebook that live in South Orange and sending an...
Top 5 Business Books, July 2011 →
Are Entrepreneurs Born or Taught? →
Is being an entrepreneur in your DNA, or can it be taught? A new study from Babson College finds the evidence is “overwhelming” that if business students take at least two core entrepreneurship classes, that can “positively influence” them to go on to start up a business.
Professors at the Wellesley, Massachusetts-based college analyzed a survey of some 3,755 alumni...
June 2011
10 posts
10 Leaders and the Surprising Ways They Stay... →
Penn Jillette: Forget Contracts
According to the iconoclastic, tiger-taming showman, contracts should be made with people, not paper. To him, a magician and entertainer, all the fine print and legalese that a meticulous contract entails is a waste of time—leading to endless negotiations and piles of paperwork as lawyers debate minutiae. As he told Business 2.0 in 2008: “The more ...
Cool, Determined, and Under 30 →
They’re among the most intriguing young business owners in America, and they’ve barely gotten started. Meet the superstar start-ups on this year’s 30 Under 30 list.
Read more
6 Lessons on Starting Up →
Columnist Norm Brodsky is a veteran entrepreneur who has founded and built six businesses. Here, he shares his advice for businesses just starting out.
1. Keep Your Message Clear
2. Attract More of the Right Kind of Customers
3. Exercise Sound Inventory Control
4. Understand Your Numbers
5. Charge on the High End
6. Learn to Pursue the Right Opportunities
Read more
How to Spice Up Your Sales Meeting →
Keeping a meeting interesting is something even the sharpest sales reps struggle with. Experts share a few tips on how to mix things up.
Keep It Short
Switch Up the Format
Use Real-World Examples
Engage on a Personal Level
Read more