Retrospection is well-established as a critical business tool. Whether we’re comparing this year’s sales results to last year’s, providing employee feedback, or analyzing a project’s success, we all agree on the value of looking backward in time, to see what it can teach us. However, when it comes to the personal, we often discourage each other from too much looking back. We have a library of cliches and platitudes. “Don’t […]
Sure, yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. But did you know Saturday was World Labyrinth Day? Neither did I, nor did I see the point of labyrinths. Which is why I knew I had to try one. Ever the adventurer, I’m endlessly curious about ways the external world can heighten insights on our inner truths. I also know that the things I resist can be my best teachers. And I just happened to […]
If you’ve brushed up against corporate hiring practices lately, you’ve probably encountered the concept of Culture Fit—the idea that you should screen job applicants so that you only hire people whose beliefs and behaviors will integrate smoothly into your organization. It’s true that hiring people who don’t integrate well with your company culture can be highly disruptive. If you bring highly-competitive people into a highly-collaborative environment, or order-takers into an […]
With the success of companies like Uber and Slack, it would seem like there is no better time for startups. While this is true in many respects, especially in the Silicon Valley where venture capital is flowing (helping startups to scale quickly), the truth is that most startups are barely able to survive. Having a good product is an essential requirement for the startup to become successful, but not the […]
The other day I was chatting with a client in the entertainment world who was dealing with an all too common problem. His career wasn’t moving as quickly as he would like it to. When I prodded a little bit about the folks he had reached out to who could help his career and the introductions he received, I found that he had connected in person with some really solid […]
Alex Nelson is a Pregame Guest Expert and the CEO of Impact Capital Management LLC, working with business owners to secure the right funding for their startup needs. Join Alex this month at The Finance Five, our April business finance workshop on April 30 at Pregame HQ. >more info & sign up What was the motivation for your recent career move? My desire to work closely with borrowers who are traditionally ignored by the […]
Did you know that the original marathon runner from ancient Greece, the guy who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce victory over the Persians, delivered his message, keeled over and died? True story. So why did we “modern” humans insist on taking a bad idea—running obscenely long distances— and turn it into a competition? Not only did we turn it into a race, we decided that running 26.2 miles […]
A question I get a lot is: “How do I pitch myself to ___________ podcast, article, investor, etc.?” And this for many people is the holy grail of attention. If you can get someone to share your ideas with their audience or invest in you it certainly does help. But I see many people going about this process all wrong. So here is my most important rule about pitching anything: Create […]
I’m ashamed to admit that I avoid talking about diversity because I worry that I will open my big mouth and commit some gross gaffe, causing extreme discomfort for everyone and and intense shame for myself. I worry I will reveal an “implicit bias” that unveils what an unconscious bigot I am and I will be rejected. By everyone. But, we are all biased. Our brains would self-combust if we […]
It’s been 10 years since acclaimed author and CEO Chip Conley’s best-seller PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, compelled a generation of leaders to increase employee performance and engagement by creating a culture of purpose. Yet today, when 66% of employees and 68% of executives surveyed agree that businesses don’t do enough to instill a sense of purpose, his message seems more relevant than ever. Conley first […]