An ongoing journey of leadership that starts with you
Managing and leading are very different. In order to transform our business, we needed to transform our leadership style, collectively and individually, and that included me.
Risk is opportunity
Over the years, I’ve gained a lot of experience and come to understand my strengths as a business leader, but I’ll readily admit that it’s becoming harder to take risks and push myself into uncharted territory.
Empower your team during times of change
Business leaders learned many hard lessons in our last economic recession. I was promoted to president of The Charles Penzone Salons in 2008, and thinking back, my first critical initiative was to empower everyone to step up and make an even greater contribution to the company, our customers and each other.
Like it or not, you're a technology company
I am dreaming of a world where I, and our customers, can predict and forecast much more accurately. Current hit-or-miss forecasting and demand planning is extremely expensive in lost opportunities, in wasted dollars and in wasted resources. In my dream, we know exactly where a product is at all times and how it is being […]
The pros and cons of nepotism
Nepotism is defined as “the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends.” We normally think of it as negative; but is it really? What are some of the advantages of nepotism? Because you have a pool of family members or relatives of employees, your recruiting costs will be lower, as will […]
Weighing the pros and cons of venture capital
No doubt you’ve followed the rise of billion dollar businesses that start from zero and exponentially grow in a few months, thanks to venture capital firms. But it may not be that easy or even desirable to engage VC.
It can't just be about the money
Your investors are arguably one of the most important assets of your business, so knowing when, and when not to approach them for capital is crucial. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the numbers, and only think of your investors in times of need, but it takes real foresight to loop them into the […]
Plug into your audience for continual improvement
Connecting to your audience is an area of emphasis for a lot of businesses — and it’s something they’d pay money to be able to do. That’s why I found it interesting to hear how the theater company Shadowbox Live does this.
Help your team find greater purpose
The world needs engaged employees in all fields, and for those of us who lead institutions that can never pay more than market rate, finding non-monetary means to engage employees is paramount. Having worked at both for-profit and nonprofit entities, I have been pleasantly surprised to witness employees in both sectors motivated by the notion […]
A look at how Larry Ellison and Oracle got its start
On July 20, 1994, I had the unique opportunity to film an interview with one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world: Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle Corp. The interview was part of a project to capture the unique culture and business environment of the Silicon Valley. What we had learned was that all […]