People People are the most important assets in the company. It’s cliche but doesn’t make it untrue. As the African proverb goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” A business needs the best people to outcompete and grow.

There will be resistance to speak up even if the boss is open

(Excerpt from Extreme Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin) A common misperception among military leaders or corporate senior executives, this was an example of a boss who didn’t fully...

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Leaders must first believe

(Excerpt from Extreme Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin) In order to convince and inspire others to follow and accomplish a mission, a leader must be a true believer in the mission. Even when others doubt...

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Don’t get disappointed about a staff when you were not specific about what you want in the first place

(Excerpt from The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham) When we are disappointed with the performance of an employee, it’s always a result of an unmet expectation. All upsets are simply unmet expectations....

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Culture is not welfare. Culture is accountability and working in unison for a common objective.

(Excerpt from The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham) The vast majority of business management teams—whether a publicly held Silicon Valley behemoth or a mom-and-pop Sioux Falls corner drugstore—have drunk the...

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Fire once and not gradually during a downturn

(Excerpt from “How To Keep Your Company Alive – Observe, Orient, Decide and Act” by Steve Blank) Carpenters use the aphorism “Measure twice, cut once.” The same applies to layoffs. In every downturn...

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The Head/Heart/Hands framework

(Extracted from My top essays/tweetstorms in 2019 on product/market fit, investing, KPIs, YouTubers, and more by Andrew Chen) The idea is that every work culture can be described as a pie chart of these three factors....

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Raise the average with the next hire

(Excerpt from The Star Principle by Richard Koch) Hire to raise the average. Ideally, each new recruit should be in the top 10 per cent of existing employees. That way the firm will constantly get better and better....

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First twenty employees are all entrepreneurs

(Excerpt from The Star Principle by Richard Koch) Unless a business remains essentially the vehicle of the founder – and usually therefore very small – its business idea and character derive from the...

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Conflicts with business partners are too common

(Extracted from Buy then Build by Walker Deibel) As a longtime member of the Entrepreneur’s Organization, I can share that a large number of issues entrepreneurs have relate to working through conflicts with a...

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Winning creates great culture, not the other way round

(Extracted from What I Believe Least by Morgan Housel) I believe companies can create amazing work cultures with intentional perks, autonomy, transparency, and mission. But it’s one of the things I believe least,...

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