From the category archives:

Execution for C Suite

How to Get Out of Fire Drill Mode

September 17, 2009

I work with many tech companies. When I talk to the leadership team, they worry about company strategy and how to make it happen. But when I talk to the troops, their biggest challenge is being told that the 10,000 things they need to do today are of equal priority. The company is stuck in [...]

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Why RoX is the New ROI

September 10, 2009

Wow! SuccessFactors has just picked up a bullhorn and yelled “Hey everybody, it’s about execution!” Today the company unveiled itself as The Business Execution Software Company, kicking off the new era with their manifesto Return on Execution by Erik Berggren, Director of Customer Results & Global Research, and Lars Dalgaard, CEO.
Execution has for too long [...]

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Why Scrappy Tech Companies Should Pay Themselves First

September 1, 2009

I love working with scrappy tech companies. You know the kind: full of fighting spirit, heads-down, close to the customer, focused on delivering excellence day-to-day. These aren’t the kind of people that put together a slide deck to shop around for funding or put their toe in the water and dabble with a company idea. [...]

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How to Snuggle with your Customer

July 16, 2009

“Hire product managers when you want to sell to someone who is not just like you” – hard earned experience by NetApp’s David Hitz. I’ve worked with many tech companies that, sadly for their customers and for their business, don’t want to invest in marketing and product management isn’t even on their radar.
Product Managers [...]

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INSEAD Expands Entrepreneur Mentor Program

July 16, 2009

INSEAD expands the Entrepreneurship Network mentor program for student entrepreneurs to include remote EIRs (including yours truly). Peer Kolendorf describes the delights and challenges of advising ideas from students from “more than 70 different nationalities, I listen to business ideas from all other the world.” A great program, I look forward to working with you.

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Keep on Rolling

June 2, 2009

You start your new company, full of energy and momentum. Your team is aligned under the banner of simple yet powerful values. You company is agile, takes risks, innovates and solves problems as they arrive. Then you grow the next notch, implement a budget and planning process, and wait, do I hear those entrepreneurial wheels [...]

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Let's Not: Management by Piñata

April 27, 2009

It is ten minutes into the status meeting.  The pressure is on because deadlines and milestones are looming large. The Person In Charge is reading off a list – could be action items, project plans, Gantt charts, it doesn’t matter. The PIC then pours on what they perceive as their value-add. It consists of three [...]

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