Entrepreneurship & Game of Business Archives
Here you’ll find a collection of blog entries published under the Entrepreneurship & Game of Business category.
Interruptus Horribilus? Maybe not…
By Marsha Keeffer on June 11, 2008
In Ars Technica, John Timmer has an interesting piece on effectiveness and work interruption. Turns out that having huge uninterrupted time to complete a task isn’t the holy grail after all - and interruptions aren’t the awful derailer that…
Will Europe Let Google Out of the Penalty Box?
By Marsha Keeffer on March 6, 2008
Saul Hansell of the New York Times feels that Google’s year in the penalty box may be over. Reuters and Bloomberg report that the European Union is preparing to approve Google’s pending acquisition of DoubleClick, the advertising technology firm. The…
Walking the Walk.
By Nilofer Merchant on July 16, 2007
This story is telling! Jeffrey Swartz, the CEO of the Timberland Co., strode purposefully into a New York office packed with McDonald’s executives. Dressed in a blazer, jeans, and Timberland boots, he was there on this mid-August day to convince…
Sustainability.
By Nilofer Merchant on June 6, 2007
Why don’t businesses talk about sustainability more? I think of it as a core business philosophy for the company I’ve raised. Sustainability and Reinvention to me as part and parcel of a strategy. Yesterday, another “consulting firm” (aka a solo…
How to do PR like Apple, or be Einstein, or Win Markets
By Nilofer Merchant on March 22, 2007
A friend, Joel West, sent an email on Apple PR…an interesting article on Apple’s PR. The article answers: how does Apple do it? Well Graham has you and every other corporation in the world covered by providing seven easy steps…
Execute revenue growth, or not
By Nilofer Merchant on March 12, 2007
I was just reading Double Digit Growth by Michael Treacy. Yes, during work hours. Call it my version of eating bon-bons. I needed a break. And his book is one of many in my recent pile of acquisitions. Recent being…
The Dreaded F (ired) word
By Nilofer Merchant on March 2, 2007
I’m on vacation today and a little reflective about life, and life lessons. I’ve been sitting here on the balcony of a hotel in Mill Valley thinking about the tangible and intangible dimensions of success. Success is relatively non-linear. Probably…
Things I learned from Carol Bartz
By Nilofer Merchant on February 8, 2007
I had a chance to work with Carol Bartz, CEO and now Chairman of Autodesk. She’s a dynamo and one of the best mentors I’ve ever had. I thank Augie for reminding me today on what I learned from Carol….
2 Parts Enlightenment, 1 Part Truth, and a Smidge of Creation
By Nilofer Merchant on January 31, 2007
A colleague (on the client side) is preparing a Microsoft defense strategy, and talked to my team recently about what to do to prepare. We helped him in terms of process steps: the need to build a common data set,…
What if I just say it louder?
By Nilofer Merchant on January 27, 2007
I’m reminded again that getting others to follow you is an art, not a science. When I set about setting the agenda for our kick-off for the year (January) company newsletter, I wanted to do something different than normal. Normal…
Samurai vs. Senate
By Nilofer Merchant on November 14, 2006
Entrepreneurs and go-get-em self starters act much like Samurai’s. They get to the goal, risking a lot because in many ways there’s not as much to protect. With a unit of 1, it’s relatively to translate idea into execution, strategy…
Carly, 2.0
By Nilofer Merchant on October 20, 2006
Carly 2.0 was released this week. Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of HP, is on tour for her book, Tough Choices. Yesterday, I went. Are you surprised I went? I was. I had heard enough stories here in the Valley…
Live is to Choose
By Nilofer Merchant on October 5, 2006
My firm is growing, and growing up to be something significant, and so this entry is my reflection on growth and what drives it. On a personal level, I believe that to live is to choose. But to choose well,…
Workforce dynamics
By Nilofer Merchant on September 15, 2006
I met with a remarkable executive this week, and she shared a painful thing going on in their management team. Two people are playing some rather competitive games. It’s causing frustration. Lots of it. And it’s taking their eye off…
Alpha Dog: Strategies for Entrepreneurs
By Nilofer Merchant on September 10, 2006
This last week, I was on a much, much (MUCH!) needed solo vacation. No client, staff, or family responsibilities. No email, no phones, no computer. Instead, I packed the normal trashy magazines so I could read about shoes and frivolity….
Dream More, Learn More, Do More
By Nilofer Merchant on August 7, 2006
This week, Rubicon is about to reach a new economic threshold which represents another level of performance and scale. It’s a small milestone in the scheme of things, but a measure of how far we’ve come as an organization and…
Adaptability & Change is a High Class Problem; 5 things to review
By Nilofer Merchant on August 3, 2006
As a CEO of my own firm, and a change leader working with CMOs of world-class brands, the constant in my life is helping organizations to adapt to new situations and challenges. As Bryan Ward used to say, this is…
Customer Delight Produced by Delighted Employees
By Nilofer Merchant on July 18, 2006
One thing that’s been keeping me up at night is ways to scale Rubicon. I know that ultimately we need to add staff as we have a high-class problem of serving our customers well and with the range of what…
Courage is the frontier of leadership
By Nilofer Merchant on May 4, 2006
We need more courage in organizations today. More courage to speak the truth, more courage to call out an issue, more courage to praise the tough choice. More courage to be better people while we work. Here’s 3 ideas for ways to do it.
Small Business Marketing: Clarity on Customer is Key
By Nilofer Merchant on April 13, 2006
While I work with many mid to large size software firms in my day job, my other hat is being CEO of a small company. A small company with many, many competitors. Because consulting has no standard definition, anyone can…