So you want to start a business or create a new app, but you can’t write a lick of code. No problem – just hire a great programmer and then let them work their magic.
But how can you tell what makes someone a great programmer?
In the age of information, intellectual property law is a red-hot topic: it’s been enforced to support entire industries, challenged as antiquated in a digital era, celebrated for allowing that same era to flourish, and maligned for holding it back. Needless to say, it’s a hugely complex issue. But since it’s also a hugely important one, taking the time to understand the basics is something everyone should do – especially innovators. (more…)
Bigger isn’t always better. Although large companies can bring a lot more muscle to bear to face their problems, they’re not as adaptable as small ones. Worse, they can fall prey to the kind of thinking that sank those too-big-to-fail banks at the outset of the financial crisis: that they’re invincible, and don’t need to stay as vigilant or as vital as others.
As a smaller, leaner company, there are plenty of things you can learn from the lumbering mistakes of the big guys. Here are a few of the biggest teachable moments. (more…)
We can all stand to get better. And that doesn’t mean a whole new paradigm, like winning the lottery or being dropped into a new career. Sometimes it’s just about making the wheel run smoother than it did before – not reinventing it. Staying focused on efficiency is committing yourself to renewal. It’s not just improving things; it’s believing you can improve things.
So how do you go about making your business run better than it did before – and keep on getting better? There are some habits of mind and routine practices that will make all your projects and processes run a whole lot smoother. (more…)
Let’s face it: it’s been hard. Building a business is never easy. Weathering a stagnating economy hasn’t been a picnic either. There’s been a whole lot of work to do for a long time, and you can be forgiven for feeling that maybe you’ve let things stagnate a little. It could be you haven’t been paying enough attention to the fun stuff – the little things that add up to make the difference between a bad business and a good business. (more…)
We all have a certain image of leadership in our heads – a romantic ideal that makes the whole thing seem, among other things, lofty. When we actually get the opportunity to lead, it’s a bit like a first date for someone who watches too many rom-coms: we’re trying a bit too hard because we’re expecting a bit too much.
If you’re really a great leader, you don’t act like one. You don’t have to. All those abstract qualities that people find in their leaders they find on their own. You’re not supposed to make them up or try to project them. Fundamentally, what people actually respond to is a matter-of-fact approach to the business at hand – with a minimum of self-seriousness. (more…)
You’re sitting in a crowd with thousands of people. A presenter walks on stage. She announces that your startup wins the award for ‘best company culture.’ Entrepreneur magazine and Ideator are going to write about it.
What do you want us to say? To answer that question, we must first look at how founders create great culture. (more…)
