Culture
What Moral Obligations Do CEOs Have To Their Employees?
Thank you again, ideal employee, on everything you continue doing. We could not achieve what we want without you. I asked you to be loyal, be a positive force, do your best always, recruit your friends, have the company’s best interest always in mind, own up to your mistakes, don’t wait to tell us about…
Read MoreLearn How Using Empathy Gets The Ultimate From Your Team
“There are a lot of negotiators that really will give in on a deal because being understood is more important than getting what they want.” Chris Voss, the FBI’s former lead hostage negotiator said. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] In fact, the first thing master-negotiator Voss teaches…
Read MoreHow Do You Build A Large Company When Your Top Employees Are Leaving?
Have you ever heard the story of “The Traitorous Eight?” You can read about The Traitorous Eight here. I’ll give you a quick overview to save you some time. Back in the mid 1950’s, a brilliant scientist and Nobel Prize winner named William Shockley started a company called Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories. The company was based…
Read MoreMy Secrets To Building A High-Energy Work Environment
Can you believe the best work environment I was ever a part of I used to call “The Pit”? It’s true. And, not surprisingly, the company that had that work environment was the most successful company I ever worked at. The most successful company I every worked at was Maxim Integrated Products. Maxim was a…
Read MoreShould A Startup Fire An Underperforming Intern?
Let’s be honest. The amount of money you are going to save over the next month by firing him isn’t the issue. The real issue is a lot more important. Remember, everything you do as CEO is analyzed (and overanalyzed) by your employees: Why did you come into work later than usual today? Why did…
Read MoreWhat Are Some Signs Of A Bad Startup Culture?
I was interviewing an engineering candidate a while back. Everyone on the team really liked him, and we were set to hire him if our interview went well. It turned out that I liked him too. He was smart, passionate about his work, and I felt he would fit into our culture quite well. He…
Read MoreCan I Fire My Cofounder The Week Before His Shares Vest?
Every CEO on the planet has to ask themselves a really simple question: What type of CEO do I want to be? Do you want to be a CEO that acts with integrity and does the right thing, even if it’s going to cost the company a little bit of equity or money? Or… Do…
Read MoreWhat’s The Right Way To Ask For A Promotion?
By Brett Fox “Move up to Oregon, prove you can recruit engineers, and then we can talk about promoting you,” the CEO told me. This was not how it was supposed to go. “Promote me first, so you have skin in the game,” I responded. That seemed more equitable to me. We had just acquired…
Read More20 Pearls of Wisdom From Warren Buffett’s Last Annual Letter
Berkshire Hathaway board member Bill Gates calls Warren Buffett’s 2014 annual letter his best ever. Now that’s saying something since Buffett has produced 50 of them, and Gates is not easy to impress. Truth be told, I love Warren Buffett. I think he’s brilliant, and he just oozes common sense. So I am fan, and…
Read MoreThe Dreaded Holiday Party…A Guide for Employees and Employers
“We can’t bring our spouses to this year’s holiday party!” a very close friend told me today. “Why?” “I don’t know,” she answered. “The holiday party is at 7pm this Thursday night up in the city. I really don’t want to go. I can’t bring my husband. It’s going to suck without him.” “Yeah, I…
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