Being part of building a seventh company taught me many things. It taught me that tech entrepreneurs can’t do everything — more than that, I learned that honesty about how your skills and expertise line up with what you’re trying to build is much more important than a passion for what you’re selling.
Read MoreMany entrepreneurs believe that being led by their passion is a prerequisite for starting a successful organization. Definitely for starting one that they’ll enjoy running. The problem with this narrative is that passion does not equal success. In fact, I would argue that too much passion in a business leads to failure.
Read MoreFor many young or small companies, managing processes and meeting goals is pretty straightforward. They have a team of three or four people committed to the mission. They’ve defined roles and responsibilities. There are few barriers to communication. Then they start to grow. Now they’re a team of 15 or 20, and they’re not sure why exactly, but things aren’t going so well. That’s where an organizational assessment can help.
Read MoreIn 2005, I was working as a consultant, doing some due diligence on software for a startup. The company, founded by two patent attorneys, was attempting to create an online marketplace for swapping books, music, movies, and video games—back when those were all physical objects that needed to be physically traded. The founders had patented their ideas and written hundreds of pages of specs. They’d already hired, fired, and had sued one software development firm. When the second firm they’d hired went past budget on a fixed price contract before completing the software, the founders reached out to me.
Read MoreConflict is inevitable. Everyone is different—different backgrounds, different scripts, different personalities, and different goals. Difference creates conflict. If we’ve learned anything from the last few months of civil unrest, it’s that embracing differences in our lives and in our organizations is critical. Workplace conflict will happen. By treating it as an opportunity for growth, we’ll help ourselves, our organizations, and our employees.
Read MoreMentorship is a deeper, long-term relationship between two people. Even if it doesn’t start out that way, it becomes so from time spent together and mutual care for each other.
The relationship with a mentor is a meaningful one. We reached out to our clients to get deeper insight into how having a mentor can impact people’s lives. A couple of stories stuck with us and showed the power of effective mentoring relationships.
Read MoreAny successful business that’s been around for more than a few years has found themselves on that plateau, trying to figure out why their growth stalled or why they feel stuck. The plateau itself isn’t a problem. In fact, it may create an opportunity to look at your business, your product, or your market through new eyes.
Read MoreEach year, we share a summer reading list to suggest how you might use downtime to read about leadership, entrepreneurship, or personal development. Given it’s 2020, we’re going to do it differently this summer.
Read fiction. Not just any fiction. Science Fiction. Billionaires like Elon Musk and Warren Buffet, and self-help gurus like Tim Ferriss, want you to read a lot more, and don’t want you to only read how-to non-fiction books.
The experience left a big impression on me. Leadership isn’t theoretical. There are real, perhaps even dire, consequences to poor leadership. Fudging it doesn’t work, and pretending that two wrongs add up to a right could end with you thanking your lucky stars that you don’t have to explain to your board how you blew up a BMW test engine.
Read MoreAs business leaders or owners, we can no longer remain silent about racism. I’ve avoided talking about it for a long time because it’s uncomfortable. I was scared if I spoke up, I might say the wrong thing or be seen as a racist. Silence is not an option, so I’m starting with an apology.
Read MoreIf it were up to me, everyone in a leadership position, or starting or building a business, would have a coach — not because I want to (or could) coach them all, but because leaders who have coaches are better leaders. At the same time, I recognize that every business leader is balancing dozens of competing priorities, now more than ever. Is it time for you to hire a leadership coach? A better question might be Are you fine staying right where you are?
Read MoreMaking the wrong choice doesn’t make you a poor leader. Being unable to make any choice because you’re trying to please everyone? That could. There are dozens of qualities that interfere with the ability to lead effectively. I’m sharing a few that I see most frequently and how to fix them.
Read MorePoor leadership costs companies revenue, time, staff, and customers. And the leaders at the very top aren’t the only ones that have an impact. Every supervisory role has the capacity to exceed goals and inspire stellar performances or to miss the mark and impede productivity. Building a leadership team that can help you achieve your goals requires careful and purposeful planning. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from my own successes and failures as a CEO as well as from my clients’ experiences.
Read MoreBecoming a better leader isn’t something that happens in a day, or even in a week. Building that set of skills requires intentional thought and effort. Understanding your innate leadership style can help you determine where to start. Once you’ve made an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, you can begin to make change by playing to your strengths and minimizing or mitigating your weaknesses.
Read MoreHaving a great business idea or getting promoted to a leadership role doesn’t automatically make you a good leader. In fact, there are lots of mediocre (or downright bad) leaders out there. I learned a lot about leadership throughout my own journey to CEO. I’ve learned even more over the last ten years as I’ve coached, mentored, and advised hundreds of growth-stage leaders. The most effective leaders are intentional about their leadership, working to develop the skills and characteristics that will make them better able to reach their own goals and to help their teams identify and reach theirs.
Read MoreHow have the companies that have always operated completely remote done it? If they can do it every day, why can’t the rest of us? What kind of lessons could they teach us? I reached out to the leaders of two Trajectify clients who founded and run completely remote companies: Max Rice - CEO and Founder of Skyverge & Caleb Frankel - CEO and Founder of Instinct Science
Read MoreUncertainty is frightening to anyone. But many business owners — especially the introvert entrepreneurs out there — go deeper inside themselves during times like this. They isolate — because stepping out of their comfort zone and into this vast uncertainty threatens things many of us believe we need, including to be in control, to be safe, to be right. What if by reaching out, we expose ourselves as not knowing the answer, as being vulnerable and afraid?
Read MoreIf you’re still reeling from the news of the last few weeks—or days—you’re not alone. Businesses all over the world are scrambling to protect employees, figure out remote work schedules, reforecast revenues, or simply keep the doors open. No organization will manage all of this perfectly, but some will find ways to strengthen the relationships with their customers and their employees, to expand their understanding of their business, and solidify their own commitment to their values.
Read MoreIf you run a business, lead a team, or head up an organization, there’s a good chance you’ve considered hiring a coach—or at least looking to someone else for guidance. A coach is focused on unlocking your potential. They work with you to improve your performance. As with anyone that you bring into your confidence and your business, you want to make the right choice. We’ve been on both sides of the equation—as coaches and as clients.
Read MoreAt least once each year, I attend another coaching program. I enjoy getting coaching while I benefit from watching how others work and learn new techniques. Last month I attended a four-day program in NYC that was eye-opening, by definition, because it was my first awareness training.
I was able to do a lot of personal development at the program and will share in this article some of what I learned. First, let me explain awareness training.
Startups and Small Businesses sometimes find themselves at the edge of a chasm. With success in developing and growing their business, a stage is reached where they find that the "next step" is a big one! Trajectify partners with the entrepreneur to build momentum and trajectory to be able to cross the chasm.
We offer private and group (Mastermind) coaching and hold frequent events and seminars.
Trajectify is founded my Mike Krupit, veteran of eight startups. Mike has helped dozens of companies grow and mentored and advised hundreds more.
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