Tag: Improving communication

The Culture Driven Company!

About ten years ago, Reed Hastings co-founded a small company in Los Gatos, CA (Silicon Valley) that would mail you DVDs.  Ten years later, they are a force to be reckoned with and are disrupting how you watch TV and movies!  With an IPO price of $15 (May, 2002), today their stock is trading at over $240/share and the company has a market cap of over $12B!

One reason for Netflix’s ongoing success is the company’s culture, which emphasizes performance, freedom, and responsibility.  If you want an example of Employees First and Customer’s Second, search no more!

Continue reading “The Culture Driven Company!”

Gone in 60 Seconds!

No, we’re not talking about that awesome movie with Nicholas Cage… we’re talking about someone bailing on you when you ramble on about your idea!

It’s all about the ‘art of the pitch’.  When you have an idea that you want to share, it’s important to understand that your ability to sell the idea, in the beginning, is potentially more valuable, than the idea itself. Continue reading “Gone in 60 Seconds!”

Conjunction Junction – What’s your function?

I received a call from a friend the other day seeking some guidance.  He’s newly unemployed and we were discussing his options.  He said, “I’ve never really been in this position before… not sure if I should start something on my own or if I should go back and take up a new job?” In the midst of the conversation, my mind froze!  There it was!  The infamous grammatical conjunction that stops us in our proverbial tracks almost every time we use it.  Can you guess which word I’m referring to?  It’s the word, “OR”.  Don’t get me wrong… the word ‘or’ can be critical at times when faced with the difficult decision of choosing between the lesser of two evils.  For example, would you like to be audited by the IRS or spend a week with your mother-in-law?  Depending on your circumstances… the IRS may not seem so bad! Continue reading “Conjunction Junction – What’s your function?”

Employees First, Customers Second

It absolutely goes without say that today’s business environment is ultra-competitive.  Over time, brick-and-mortar evolved to click-and-mortar which essentially leveled the competitive playing field.  Today, your new competitors may not only be located around the corner or in the next town over, but half the way around the world!  In fact, technology advancements have created the new “self-serve” business models whereby customers no longer need to interact with an employee to seek out what they are looking for.  For example, do you need a customer service rep to help you open a new account on Facebook or Twitter… or hundreds of other companies online? Continue reading “Employees First, Customers Second”

Communication – 101

After having worked in both the entrepreneurial and corporate worlds, I’ve realized the value of communication and its direct relationship to being successful. Below, are some tips that I’ve collected over the years that could prove beneficial to you too. Continue reading “Communication – 101”