Today: The GeekWire Summit Startup technology news site GeekWire held its first birthday party on March 7 with the GeekWire Summit. Speakers included former Microsoft Chief Software Engineer and Cocomo co-founder Ray Ozzie, former Swype CEO Mike McSherry, Hulu CTO Richard Tom, T-Mobile CMO Cole Brodman, Rhapsody President Jon Irwin, venture capitalist/serial founder Oren Etzioni […]
Leadership
Free Advice From a Mentor
(Note: When I wrote this early in my blog’s history, when I was a senior executive for a Fortune 150 financial services firm. Now with the added perspective of an entrepreneur and consultant, I find the words truer than ever.) I have mentored dozens of young professionals over the years, and even though each situation is unique, I […]
You Do Realize This is a People Business, Don’t You?
Bankers sometimes have a hard time understanding why their industry has satisfaction ratings right down there with utilities, cell carriers and bankrupt airlines. Maybe it’s because they sometimes have more in common with these business models than they would really care to admit. Companies and industries that score poorly in customer satisfaction tend to treat […]
Five Leadership Lessons From The Godfather
Today Paramount and Cinemark are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of The Godfather with a one day showing of the iconic film in 55 Cinemark XD theaters. The movie is my all-time favorite (with the possible exception of The Godfather II). In honor of the anniversary (which is actually later this month), I […]
Why Your Team Is Not Successful
Struggling to understand why your team is not successful? As a leader, it’s your job to figure out the answers. Here are five questions to ask yourself: Is everyone on the team clear about the team’s overall goal and their specific objectives? Do each member’s objectives tie out to the overall team goal? Does every […]
Does Your Team Have What It Takes To Thrive In A New Era?
In January of 2010 John Kim of Heidrick & Struggles wrote in a blog piece What bank leaders do you need post-crisis?: There may be little agreement about precisely where we stand in terms of economic recovery generally or financial services recovery specifically, but one thing is certain. When the inevitable recovery gets into full swing […]
What’s the Talent Density of Your Team?
Even though some of the business decisions that Netflix management has made recently have not been well received, I still think that many of the firm’s cultural attributes are worth studying. As Netflix is back in the news again with a new DVD plan, I thought of CEO Reed Hastings’ words in a 2009 slide presentation: […]
Nine Reasons Managers Struggle
Reposted from: Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog: Nine Reasons Managers Struggle. I will have to check my network, it sounds like we may have worked with some of the same people… If I could add a tenth reason, I would suggest: They are on an endless quest for the ‘holy grail’. They spend an inordinate amount of […]