StartUp Tip #110: Take accountability

Sometimes you are the problem. And you blame everyone else except yourself. Take accountability for your actions. You can take all the credit in the world for the things you do right, as long as you also take responsibility for the things you do wrong. It must be a balanced equation. You don't get it…

StartUp Tip #109: Quality time in, better quality out.

When you invest your time in, the quality tends to increase. If you are intent on building a quality business, you have to invest time, lots of time in building it. Often I hear people say "don't work hard, work smart." as if both are mutually exclusive. I believe that those who work hard and…

StartUp Tip #108: Trust vs. transparency

In the information age, where data and information is readily available in large quantities, trust becomes more critical. Fake news are increasingly becoming more common. Twitter accounts by robots is increasingly becoming more common. Fake social media accounts is becoming common. Scams have become more common. Meeting people online portraying to be something that they…

StartUp #107: Keeping a low profile

Sometimes entrepreneurs prefer keeping a low-profile so that they can focus on what's important. The idea is not be distracted by the media, and the public. The other idea is not to give away your secret away to the public. In a world of public relations, social media, and other media publications, keeping a low…

StartUp Tip #106: Be last to speak

Asked one day how did you learn to be a great leader, Former President Nelson Mandela, responded that, he would go to tribal meetings with his father, who was a tribal leader as well and he observed two things at those meetings: They will always sit in a circle; and His father was always the…

StartUp Tip #105: Want to be more creative? Get bored

One of the rare things that happens to people today is that they hardly get bored. In the information age, people are surrounded by information 24/7 and are connected to other human beings than ever before. We have smartphones, tablets, laptops, internet, social media, pay-TV, series TV, Reality TV that keeps us hooked all the…

StartUp Tip #104: Vital few vs. trivial many

Being able to distinguish between what is vital in your business and what is trivial is a critical skill for successful entrepreneurs to have. The tricky thing is that it is not a skill you can just sit down and learn. It is forged in the fires of trial and error. You learn this one…

StartUp Tip #102: There is always a boss

Everyone has a boss Maybe it is your biggest customer. Maybe it is your wife. Maybe it is your chairman. Maybe it is your dad. Whatever. It does not matter who your boss is. It just matters that you don’t forget it. Especially as you become successful. When you find success its easy to think your…

StartUp Tip #101: Build a culture of caring

Caring is not cheap. To care for someone may actually cost you, time, money, resources, emotions etc. But in the long run, caring pays for itself. We care because caring is part of being a human. Create a culture where peers inspire peers, in which each employee acts like a leader, pushing the culture forward.…