Maya Angelou is well known as a poet and an activist, but I find what she says full of common sense and much of it applicable to the workplace, especially to entrepreneurs.

First and of great importance Angelou warns, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” This refers not only to the obvious prejudices, but also the more subtle ones, such as schools, age (young if you aren’t and older if you are), neighborhood, etc.

The following seems focused directly on a large portion of Millennials, “There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.”

Angelou also offers the same advice Steve Jobs did on how to be successful, “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
Creativity is something that every manager wants and being creative is something that every person is, whether they realize it or not, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

People talk all the time about “having it all” and “doing it all,” but, as Maya advises, “There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.”
She also share some hard won wisdom that entrepreneurs and others in the work world would do well to remember, “I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.””

Finally, Angelou offers us the ultimate advice; definitely worth remembering, “Nothing will work unless you do.”

Flickr image credit: Adria Richards

I’m an article sender. I constantly send articles to family, friends and clients. Some because they are of direct interest to the recipient and others because they are interesting, fun, weird and, occasionally, bizarre. Today I thought I’d share a few of them with you.

The first two I just saw and although I know I’m a digital dinosaur I wonder if I’m the only one who finds both these articles tending to the bizarre.

The first really is bizarre; I do not doubt that the condition is real, but I still find nomophobia—the fear of being without one’s phone to be bizarre.

Characterized by an overwhelming fear of being phoneless—so much so that it results in physical symptoms, such as panic attacks, dizziness, sweating, nausea…

The second doesn’t really qualify as bizarre, probably more a glimpse of the future. One in which parents substitute a tablet or smart phone in place of investing themselves in their young kids—exactly the way a previous generation of parents used television only portable.

…it’s not really because you want to stimulate his little brain or nurture his grasp of gadgetry.  You do it to shut him up for a few minutes.

How do you take your caffeine?  Do you sip, slurp, gulp or just inhale it? Don’t laugh, the last option is now available.

Caffeine inhalers are a byproduct of the energy drink craze and began emerging on scene at the peak of the drink’s popularity.

Of course, inhaling doesn’t quench your thirst when it’s hot, so an enterprising entrepreneur created caffeinated water.

This final link is definitely weird, possibly bizarre—unless you have a billion dollars and plan to live to 125.

Because he is 87, it makes him an unusually robust specimen [He has never been sick], which is what he must be if he is to defy the odds (and maybe even the gods) and live as long as he intends to. He wants to reach 125…

Enjoy your weekend!

Flickr image credit: pedroelcarvalho

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Most people consider it wrong to take something, whether tangible or intangible, from someone’s home without asking—it’s called stealing.

Most people will be highly offended, if not downright pissed off, if someone goes through their cell phone, contacts their friends or reads their texts and emails.

Companies, on the other hand, see nothing wrong with it—unless they are caught.

I’m not referring to sleazy porn sites, but to the biggest names in mobile and social, the ones that are role models; names like Google Android, Twitter, Foursquare, Apple i-Whatever (Apple claims they prohibit it, but Yelp, Gowalla, Hipster and Foodspotting all do it) and a host of startups and app makers.

The address book in smartphones — where some of the user’s most personal data is carried — is free for app developers to take at will, often without the phone owner’s knowledge.

Heck, appropriating data was actually industry standard, until they were caught, that is.

Now they all claim to be changing their practice and giving users notice when they take personal data.

Does that give you a warm feeling or do you still feel violated the way you would if your home was broken into? (Most people spend more time with their phone than their home.)

Do you trust them to be upfront/authentic/transparent/honest in the future?

Or do you wonder what else they are doing that they haven’t mentioned and probably won’t unless/until they are caught.

Trust is fragile and difficult to fix once it’s broken.

Even oblivious Americans are starting to notice.

Option Sanity™  is trustworthy.

Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation process; so easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.

Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.”
Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Flickr image credit: HikingArtist

Did you start your company to become a millionaire in a few years?

If so, you’re in for a rude awakening.

If candidates’ reason for joining is to become rich when the company exits should raise more than red flags; it should ring every alarm you have and send you running for the nearest exit.

That’s true no matter how badly you need his skills or how much the team likes him.

Candidates who join because they believe they’ll be millionaires in a few years are walking time bombs and hiring them could be your worst nightmare.

Why?

Because, as the man once said, “It ain’t gonna happen.”

This isn’t about the well know statistic that half of all startups fail (they don’t), but it is based on some interesting stats I came across in a blog called the “MarketInfoGuide” sponsored by China Research and Intelligence, a market research and consulting firm in Shanghai.

Slide sold for 200 million dollars to Google, but the employees made almost nothing, because so little was left for the common stock shareholders after the preferred shareholders were paid back.

I bounced it off Matt Weeks to see how solid the information and numbers were.

“Math is wrong regarding the participating preferred, but the main point is still pretty accurate… don’t join a startup to make a million in 3 yrs.”

Also, some phrasing slants the text in a decidedly negative way, but that doesn’t change the stats.

So why should you start a company?

To solve a problem, make a difference in people’s lives, maybe even help solve one or another of society’s ills and create a happy place to work.

Why should you join a startup?

To work on the bleeding edge of technology, contribute to something amazing, be challenged, grow exponentially, be happy.

Whichever side of the table you are on remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, Google was founded in 1998 and IPOed six years later; and Facebook was founded eight years ago in 2004.

Even when it happens it doesn’t happen fast.

Flickr image credit: Alan Cleaver

Do you struggle to remember people and events from the past?

Hazy memories of someone or something that loomed enormous at the time?

The author of this short mantra is unknown. I took the liberty of broadening it to encompass more of life than just people, because, for me, it says something very important about growing and letting go.

There comes a point in your life when you realize
Who/what matters, 
Who/what never did, 
Who/what won’t anymore… 
And who/what always will. 
So, don’t worry about people and events from your past, 
There’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.

Flickr image credit: Hryck

Consider this a Valentine message from me.

Last summer I wrote that the solution to having employees who care about their work and company was to look in the mirror, since their caring was a direct result of your management and the culture it engendered.

A few days ago Jeff Haden wrote in Inc. magazine about eight things people want that are a function of your MAP as opposed to your budget.

1. Freedom
2. Target
3. Mission
4. Expectations
5. Input
6. Connection
7. Consistency
8. Future

The words and explanations vary slightly, but this is the same advice I and dozens of other culture mavens have been saying for years.

Culture matters; it matters more than strategy, planning and even compensation.

Culture is your responsibility.

Culture is how you show you care.

Culture is you.

Whereas it’s barely possible to effectively live a personal lie, it just isn’t possible to propagate a culture based on one.

Not in ten lifetimes could you implement a culture that deviates from your basic values, your MAP, your essence.

You can provide what people crave, because you can change at any time you choose.

That’s the key, the choice is yours; it can’t be made for you by someone else or made by you because another desires it.

You can change, but only if you want to change.

Valentine’s Day is a good day to choose to start changing.

It won’t be easy; it will take more than a day; but it will take longer if you don’t start now.

Flickr image credit: AForestFrolic

Two recent articles on brainstorming look at research that shows the creative process is fundamentally a lone function as opposed to the current trend towards “groupthink.”

The topic isn’t new, but there is more and more proof that creativity flourishes more in a single mind than in a group, but it doesn’t have to be an either-or function—a better approach probably lies in a combination of the two.

I do a lot of brainstorming with my clients in the course of naming products, creating investor presentations and developing marketing material.

Much of my work is done alone, but my own creativity is substantially enhanced by the feedback I get and the new directions that happen when we discuss what I’ve done or they respond to my questions.

Often the most valuable questions I ask are based on my ignorance.

Why?

Because I have no knowledge base from which to make assumptions clients are forced to drill through their own in order to respond. Doing so often results in an entirely new thought process or direction, which, in turn, sparks yet more creative ideas.

It is an exciting and satisfying process.

It’s important to be aware of how your organization approaches innovation. Here are seven questions to ask yourself when you want to juice creativity.

• Does your company/team use brainstorming as part of its innovation process?
• If so, do you do it together or individually?
• If individually, do you come together to review/discuss/question the new ideas?
• Do people feel safe sharing what are usually still-fragile thoughts?
• Do the questions/discussion lead in yet more creative directions that no one thought of previously?
• Do you investigate the new directions with an open mind?

And probably the most important aspect,

• Is the process about the best possible idea or who gets credit for it?

Flickr image credit: Andy Mangold

Today is Lincoln’s birthday and I thought I would share some of his lesser know words.

However, I’m starting with a very well-known quote, because it’s a favorite of mine “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

Hedge funds are the ultimate expression of capitalism and the capitalist don’t seem to have changed much since Lincoln’s time, “These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people”

There is a reason that today’s discussions of corporate culture focus on the benefits of trust and smart managers would do well to embrace Lincoln’s approach, “The people when rightly and fully trusted will return the trust.”

And if trust isn’t something you’re big on you might rethink your position in the light of these words, “No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.”

Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing;” when hiring be sure not to mistake one for the other.

I’m often accused of being too blunt, although I do try and follow Lincoln’s advice, “Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.”

Finally, advice that was good for the thousand years before Lincoln said it and will be good for the thousand year after—if not longer, “Things may come to those who wait…but only the things left by those who hustle.”

Flickr image credit: USDAgov

Today is not about the difference (if any) or which is more important (you can’t have one without the other).

Which is more important in a CEO, age or experience? With the advent of the Facebook IPO that decades old question is hot again.

The debate typically pits the benefits of creativity and familiarity with emerging technologies against the need for disciplined decision making and experience dealing with hard times.

It’s funny how inaccurate most assumptions are, such as the supposed power of C-suite leadership teams. (Requires free registration.)

But in actuality, the group rarely conducts its work in unison, as a deliberative body or a source of command. Instead, its power comes from its members’ informal and social networks, their determination to make the most of those connections, and their ability to work well in subgroups formed to address specific issues.

Finally, take a look at the winners of the M-Prize on Leadership along with other out of the box approaches at the Mix.

If organizations are going to evolve from the hierarchical, command-and-control structure that has dominated over the past century to a new model where trust, transparency and meritocracy are guiding principles, they’re going to need to change the way they develop leaders.

Flickr image credit: pedroelcarvalho

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Bosses hiring for startups (or existing companies) wax lyrical on the benefits of hiring “stars” and are willing to jump through almost any hoop to get one.

Those of you who crave stars would do well to read the story of Jeremy Lin, who plays for the NY Knicks in the NBA.

Nobody considered Lin a star or even a potential star.

He was cut in December by the Golden State Warriors, his hometown team, after one season in which he rarely left the bench. The Warriors were intrigued enough to sign him but not enough to keep him. The Houston Rockets gave Lin a quick look and cut him.

Of course, his coaches didn’t play him, so they never learned what he could do.

The Knicks almost made the same mistake.

Lin started with two strikes against him; he is Chinese-American and graduated from Harvard—he doesn’t fit “the profile.”

In spite of superb high school playing he received no scholarship offers.

Similar scenarios play out every day in hiring decisions across industries and around the country.

In doing so managers walk by some of the best talent available.

How many Jeremy Lins have you missed?

How many of them now work for your competition?

Option Sanity™ recognizes stars-to-be

Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation process.  So easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.

Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.”
Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Flickr image credit: HikingArtist