As entrepreneurs we need to pay attention to the details that matter but to achieve even modest growth or scaling we also need to use delegation. We need to allow other team members to contribute their own strengths, experiences, and insights to the project at hand.
Delegation Needed For Growth Read More »
Retrospectives, Post Mortems, and After Action: end of year is a good time to assess what you have accomplished and what you have learned.
Newsletter: Retrospectives, Post Mortems, and After Action Reviews Read More »
LinkedIn allows you to post a professional profile and accept professional recommendations, and perform searches of the professional profiles of others you are considering doing business with. But with groups and posts it aspires to host content and be your first stop every morning. The risk is that it can become a time sink.
Don’t Let LinkedIn Become a Time Sink Read More »
Randy Cadieux, founder of V-Speed LLC, started to post some interesting articles in the Lean Startup Circle Group on LinkedIn in June of this year, in particular his “Working on the Edge of Failure.” The high reliability organization as a lot to teach startups so I decided to reach out to him to compare notes. This led
Scaling Up To a High Reliability Organization Read More »
It’s easy to mis-assess who your real competition is. We worry the most about competition that cares deeply. “You’re competing against people in a state of flow, people who are truly committed, people who care deeply about the outcome.” Seth Godin in “Texting While Working“
Be Wary of Competition That Cares Deeply Read More »
We recently helped a client frame the exploration of an opportunity for acquiring a small software firm. Here are some questions to consider if you are contemplating the sale or acquisition of small software company.
Q: How To Evaluate Acquiring a Small Software Firm Read More »
I remember first learning the principle that leaders eat last from John K. Russell, an advisor on a summer Presbyterian workcamp in Westpoint Mississippi. He had been an officer in the Army and talked about how the officers had nicer silverware and napkins but it was the same food and they ate after the enlisted
Simon Sinek: Why Leaders Eat Last Read More »
John Gardner outlines how leaders detect and act on weak signals of the future by looking beyond the horizon and planning for renewal.
John Gardner: Leaders Detect and Act on the Weak Signals of the Future Read More »
I believe that Patrick Steyaert’s Discovery Kanban offers a critical perspective on how large organizations can cultivate lean innovation methods for product delivery beyond isolated spike efforts or innovation colonies.
Discovery Kanban Allows Firms to Balance Delivery and Discovery Read More »
Dan Scheinman is an Angel investor who targets “seed plus” financing to entrepreneurs with track records (another way of saying “over 35”).
Dan Scheinman’s Blue Ocean Venture Strategy: Target Entrepreneurs Over 35 Read More »
One of the hallmarks for success in a business-to-business market is the ability to form personal relationships as well as professional business relationships. Both require building trust. I am always dismayed when I read advice that advocates bait and switch or other forms of con games that erode trust and make it difficult for any
Building a Business Requires Building Trust Read More »
Getting More Customers Workshop (March 25, 2014) Let’s face it, finding customers can be quite a challenge. In this interactive workshop, we will cover a variety of proven marketing techniques for growing your business: attendees will select one or two that fit their style and develop a plan to implement them in their business in
Getting More Customers Workshop on March 25, 2014 Read More »
This MVP clinic explores some of the challenges Semifore must navigate selling a solution to a team of diverse experts.
Recap Semifore MVP Clinic: Selling To A Team of Diverse Experts Read More »
Semifore execs, Rob Callaghan and Herb Winsted, Share Bootstrapping Lessons and 2014 Scaling Up Plans at an Jan-17-2014 MVP Clinic.
Q: I am considering product market fit metrics for an add-on new product launching in a well established company that makes equipment to test electrical cables (for the last 29 years). We are introducing a new product that is an add-on to existing products (it is only useful if used with the existing product). This is
Product Market Fit Metrics Read More »
One common exit for a bootstrapping team is to sell their startup, here are some rules of thumb for how to thrive after an acquisition.
How To Thrive After An Acquisition Read More »
It can take a while to determine what to ask in an opening conversation and which leads constitute opportunities. You have to follow up.
Living in Anticipation With Schrodinger’s Leads Read More »
Just a heads up that the early bird rates for our next “Engineering Your Sales Process®” Workshop close Sun-Jan-28. This is the same workshop that Scott Sambucci and Sean Murphy offered at the Lean Startup Conference in December 2012 but we are limiting the attendance to 12 entrepreneurs to allow it to be even more
Engineering Your Sales Process Workshop Feb-8 Early Bird Closes This Weekend Read More »
Most successful products start in a niche and expand via a sequence of larger adjacent niches. Impatience for success works against learning.
Impatience For Success Works Against Learning Read More »
Nothing new ever works, but repeatedly trying the same thing without variation is insanity (or bureaucracy). Fix your mistakes; make a change in approach.
You Tried: It’s OK To Make a Change Read More »
