What Is The Most Direct Reports You Should Have?
As your startup grows, understanding your span of control is critical if you’re going to be successful. In other words, having too many direct reports can severely damage your company. But the question is how many direct reports is too many direct reports? I’ll give you my take in this short video. Read The…
When Should You Hire Your First VP Sales?
The first person I thought of when I started my company was “Ken.” Ken and I had known each other for years. We’d worked together for years too. Ken was, by a long shot, the best sales executive I’d ever worked with. Ken ran Asia sales for Maxim, and I loved working with him. I…
When Should Your Startup Emerge From Stealth Mode?
“That seems like a real waste of money,” I said to Adolfo. We had just closed our initial funding of $12 million, and my co-founder and VP Marketing had just suggested that we publicize it. In other words, Adolfo was suggesting we come out of stealth mode. “Why?” Adolfo asked. “It seems to me that…
How Can You Tell If You’re A True Leader?
Leadership is a tricky thing. You can have your team following you, and then you can lose them, forever, in an instant. In this short video, I’ll explain the one thing you’ll need to do if you want your team to follow you. I hope you like it. Read The Video Transcript Below: It’s…
What Skills Are You Lacking As A Startup CEO?
“I know more about building a company than you do,” “John,” my co-founder and VP Engineering said to me. Those were the last words John ever said to me. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] John was, and probably still is, a brilliant engineer. When I successfully recruited…
How Hard Is It To Find Your Investors?
“Congratulations,” I said to “Ray,” I CEO I have been working with. “Getting funding in three weeks is quite an accomplishment.” “Thank you,” Ray responded. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] “Especially, after what you’d been through in your first two rounds of funding, you deserve a little bit…
How Do You Instantly Get Your Audience’s Attention?
You’re about to present to your audience, and there’s a lot riding on the success of your presentation. Maybe you’re trying to raise money, or maybe you’re trying to present to a potential new customer. Whatever the situation may be, the challenge is the same. You have an incredibly short time, maybe seven seconds, to…
The Easiest Presentation Hack You Can Learn From Steve Jobs
Watch any Steve Jobs presentation, and you’ll likely come away impressed. You’ll wonder, “Can I make my presentations half as good as Jobs’?” In this short video, I’m going to teach a simple Steve Jobs presentation hack that anybody can implement. The good news is this hack will significantly improve your presentations too. I hope…
How Should You Prepare For Entrepreneurship?
“How did you survive here?” I asked my friend Steve. We were having lunch about one month after I joined Micrel as general manager of the communications division of the company. Steve and I had known each other for years, and Steve was now my employee. He was the only competent direct report I had.…
How Do You Make Sure The Best Idea Is Always Chosen?
One of the challenges CEOs face is,, when choosing from multiple ideas, that the best idea is selected. What makes this especially difficult is our natural tendency to shoot arrows at all new ideas. In this short video, I’m going to teach you a methodology that eliminates the negativity, AND, at the same time, strengthens…