Company Development Articles

The Best Fictional CEOs

Via Fast Company on No Responses

There are plenty of valuable lessons to be learned from fictional CEOs.

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Fictional CEOs always seem to lead with reckless abandon. They disregard the rules and make their own. Some real-life CEOs do this, too, and they’re equally entertaining. The list of great fictional CEOs is fairly brief: Scrooge McDuck, Monty Burns, Captain Kirk, the father from Family Guy and others. All of them have qualities that executives can identify with. When asked which of these CEOs he sides with, Aaron Patzer, CEO of Mint.com, chose Scrooge McDuck. He said McDuck’s frugal nature…

In-House Organizational Change is a Thing of the Past

Via Fast Company on No Responses

No company is an island.

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And in today’s world, none of them are isolated from outside influence. A century ago, you could have had a company that functioned on its own plane. The only thing it needed was a revenue stream to keep it functioning. Today, social media has changed the way this works. Transparency is king at all companies; laws have been made to shine light on companies that once would’ve been operating under a cloak. That said, change in your company is going to be prompted by the top tier,…

How to Encourage Achievement—Without Yelling

Via Seth Godins Blog on No Responses

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According to Seth Godin, there are three main ways for management to encourage achievement and promote teamwork, but only one sure-fire way to maintain the momentum. They are: Yell Create Competition Open the Door Which do you think Seth recommends? That’s right! No. 3. He writes: “Give people a platform, not a ceiling. Set expectations, not to manipulate but to encourage. And then get out of the way, helping when asked but not yelling from the back of the bus.” Yelling—a motivational “tool” used by many stellar sports coaches and other influential leaders—stops…

Evaluating Leadership and Management Tips for Success

Via TLNT on No Responses

Are leaders born or made?

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Perhaps natural leaders are born and other leaders are made? Regardless of the validity of that question, it’s vital to realize that there are plenty of tips available to help shape any slouch into a leader. It’s a matter of willingness and openness, in addition to dedication to your craft in order to achieve thought leadership in your field. One of the most pressing challenges when it comes to scaling a business is ensuring that your management teams are performing at their highest levels. So it’s important for you…

Is This the End of PowerPoint?

Via Free Management Library on No Responses

Image provided by: Mike Licht

PowerPoint: the go-to tool for presentations. But what if you’re actually using PowerPoint as a crutch? PowerPoint isn’t the best communication tool, especially when it comes to employee training and development. Jack Shaw has a thoughtful piece on the Free Management Library about “when learning takes place” and whether PowerPoint gets through to audiences—or if the presenter is missing a key human element. “Good communicators constantly look for feedback. I am a fan of PowerPoint but I know many a presenter who use it spoon feed information and think just because…

What is Your Competitive Advantage?

By No Responses

Creating competitive advantage may be the single most important concept for emerging growth stage technology companies. It may also be the least understood. I’ve written in the past about how competitive advantage creates a link to developing and executing business growth and company development strategies. After all, there’s an undeniable relationship between creating competitive advantage and building exceptional software companies. But competitive advantage can sometimes fall flat as a business buzzword. To truly harness it, companies need to better define it. So, what is competitive advantage? Generally, it is creating something that’s different than your competitors. That something, however, must…

Recognizing Employees who haven’t Entirely Embraced Sales

Via The Sales Blog on No Responses

A hiring mistake can cost a company much more than the salary of the person filling the position.

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When it comes to sales, a new hire can easily identify themselves as the source of a lot of lost revenue. And many times, the warning signs with the new hire are overlooked. Certainly, they’re recognized in hindsight once it becomes evident that the person isn’t full dedicated in the role. One of the most obvious signs of a disinterested salesperson can be found in their resume. If you’re in the midst of your…

Hiring for Company Culture

Via Harvard Business Review on No Responses

Not every company will subscribe to the same hiring practices.

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But whether you’re dealing with startup recruitment or looking for the best available candidate for your particular position, you should evaluate your priorities. First, it’s important to establish that skills alone don’t dictate how valuable an employee may be to your company. Besides, you can always improve the skills of your team through employee development. If you understand the value of culture, you know that it can supersede applicants’ qualifications. Some applicants, no matter how qualified they may be, don’t fit into the overall…

There is No Such Thing as Marginal Software Costs

Via Enterprise Irregulars on No Responses

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… This is the claim of Basab Pradhan on Enterprise Irregulars. Let’s take a look at what Basab means and how it may affect your business model and decisions on pricing. Using the example of an App Store, Basab writes, “… when I say that apps on the Mac App Store have a marginal cost of zero, what I am saying is that the next user of Angry Birds or Evernote or Omnigraffle, incrementally costs these companies nothing.” He goes on to say that engineering costs are fixed and related to upgrades—they have…