The perfect ski run

I watched the crazy downhill guys on TV yesterday. As these skiers were getting ready to plunge down the icy slopes of a mountain at speeds of up to 140 km per hour, they prepared themselves by closing their eyes and envisioning skiing the course, turn for turn, in an...

Starting at the End

I often get everything backwards… ass backwards. Whether it is in my life or with my business, I often get things turned around the wrong way… and this causes me to struggle and flounder. While running a small business I am continually confronted with problems and challenges that are complex...

“How much to buy your baby?”

All mothers think that their babies are beautiful. OK, if not really beautiful, then certainly much more special than all the others... There is something primal in humans that makes us seek to find endearing qualities in our offspring. How much would you be willing to sell your baby for?...

Picking the Winners

How do you pick future champions while they are still young and developing? How do you identify a talented team of entrepreneurs at an early stage? How do you measure the real potential of a startup business? (more…)

Be Careful What You Believe

Henry Ford is one of my heroes. He was a pioneer of large-scale mass production, he founded the Ford Motor Company and he produced the Model T in 1909 - a product that forever changed the world’s idea about what was truly possible. (more…)

When Life Leaks In

I had an email exchange with a business associate last night. What started as a work discussion, emerged into a dialog about life and death, values and meaning. She wrote that she had received some bad news lately. I inquired what it was. She told me that she has recently...

Worshiping Genius

“Italy worships Genius, but has not yet figured out how to create a culture of entrepreneurship”. This was an interesting statement made by the Executive Director of the Italian Angels for Growth, Lorenzo Fanchini at last week’s semi-final of the European Venture Contest (EEVC) held in Turin. Italy is a...

“If you are so smart… why are you not rich?”

“If you are so smart, why are you not rich?” I saw this written on a T-shirt the other day at a gathering of entrepreneurs. It was a blatant challenge and it made me stop and think. In looking back on my 20 years as an entrepreneur, have I failed...

A Crisis is a Terrible thing to Waste (Part 2) – Smoke Signals

When I was a boy I loved to watch “Cowboy and Indian” programs on television. The plots were always the same. They usually started with a group of settlers – who were traveling in their covered wagons towards some dream of a better life in a faraway place. Then would...