03/9/20

CEO Shoptalk — Staffing

The subject of how companies staff their businesses, manage their employees, and administer the employer-employee relationship has been lingering in my mind for some considerable time. Today, I will try to put some order to it. Staffing.

At the core of every business is people. It starts with the founder(s) and then grows. A company cannot grow without being a capable employer, but little is said as to the system by which that happens.

Allow me to jump ahead. Assume:

 1. You are a founder/CEO who now has some semblance of a product, are struggling with product-market fit, have raised a bit of capital, and will have to hire people to drive and scale the business.

 2. Assume, in the alternative, you are a founder/CEO who has more than 50 employees, plenty of money in the bank, have achieved product-market fit, have 1,000 customers, and are now ready to really scale.

I use these two examples because I hope the logic is universal.

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12/31/12

Wishing you a Gray Haired Eminence for the New Year

Big Red Car here.  Happy New Year!

So The Boss is having a nice bourbon and gingerale with a pal of his and they get to talking about Boards of Directors.  In particular, about Boards of startups or small private companies or small public companies.  So, if you are on the Board of Exxon Mobil this is not for you but you can read it anyway and you will see the similarities.

The Boss has served on lots of Boards and is constantly being asked to serve on more.  He likes serving on Boards as does his pal.

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12/18/12

Developing Talent in the Small Business (The Leadership Series)

Big Red Car here.

The Boss is still in Steamboat Springs skiing and I am still in the driveway waiting for the old boy to get home.  I am wasting a lot talent just sitting here.

Which brings me to the subject of developing talent.

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