Read With Aubrey is an online platform based in the U.K. that connects complete strangers with each other so they can read a book together. It’s not like a 2-person reading circle though. There’s a twist. You connect and spend just a few minutes reading the book aloud to each other. People are reporting solid experiences, connecting with a complete stranger simply because you both agree to read the same book to each other. 

Part of me wonders how we got here. To a place where such an app has an audience. But life and technology have changed. So I embrace it. 

Just a few years ago nobody would have considered meeting a future spouse via some online platform, but today eHarmony and a host of other providers serve a growing market. The same could be said of hopping in the car of a complete stranger, but Uber and Lyft changed that. And Airbnb has turned the hotel industry on its ear because we’re willing to book a reservation in the home of a complete stranger.

“Strange connections” doesn’t mean they’re weird or odd. It means they’re strange because they’re unfamiliar. At least until they become familiar. Uber and Airbnb aren’t strange to us anymore. Many of us can’t imagine not having those services. Are you in love? Married? You were strangers until you weren’t. There was a time when you weren’t familiar with one another. Then a connection formed.

This time of year I’ll walk 4 to 5 miles every morning. Early. There’s a nice dog park along the route I walk. Admittedly, I’m a dog lover. I smile every time I see dogs bound out of the car anxious to go run and play with other dogs. Dogs they’ve never seen before. Their urge to socialize with other dogs is pretty remarkable. 

Read With Aubrey is just one of the more recent examples of how people can make a connection with a single commonality. In this case, reading the same book at the same time. The people may have nothing else in common, but that one thing is enough. Only experience and intuition make me believe that they likely discover other commonalities as they embark on reading the book to each other. 

You’re at some social gathering. As you mill about the room you encounter people without any successful connection. But suddenly you encounter a person wearing a pair of New Balance shoes that happen to be your favorites. You approach this stranger and remark, “Those are my all-time favorite shoes.” They confirm they love them, too – and own six pairs. Shoes! One point of connection. And 30 minutes later you both know quite a lot about each other. 

That’s how it happens. 

Today is Monday so I want to encourage you to seek some strange connections because you’ll discover value. This morning as I walked past that dog park I was thinking of the benefits we get from connecting with people who aren’t already part of our circle. As I watched those dogs hop around playfully together I thought of the valuable business benefits of collaboration – people who discovered a connection through just one single point of commonality and went on to help each other. Would we have known Jobs without Woz? We’ll never know. 

The value of strange connections isn’t about how high you’re flying today. It’s about how high could you fly if you had a few more connections with whom you shared very important interests, beliefs, convictions, or whatever else – like New Balance shoes. 

In a few months when the north winds start to blow we’ll see many flocks of geese and other migratory birds flying south for the winter. They’ll be squawking, flying in formation. We won’t see them flying alone. They’ll always be together.

You can read all the details by visiting ThePeerAdvantage.com. Today I want to take a few minutes to share how I got here and why YOU should enroll. I’m also going to give you some value as you embark on your own growth journey.

People provide the power. 

We began our businesses to serve people, our clients and customers.

We were taught some important things by people. Family, friends, teachers and mentors have helped us along the way. 

Experience taught us some other things. We tried a few things, saw how others responded (or failed to respond) and we made adjustments…all based on the feedback of other people. 

We needed some help and began to hire other people to help us find and serve customers. 

Everywhere we look, there’s a reminder of how important people are. And it doesn’t matter if we’re in a high-tech manufacturing space, or if we’re building custom homes. It doesn’t matter if our business is Saas-based, online or mostly offline. Maybe we sell cars, or jewelry, farm equipment or real estate. We may be in the service industry where we provide training, support or tools necessary for other companies to do their job. From the medical field and other health industries to aerospace manufacturing and all points in between, business ownership and entrepreneurship success is determined by people. 

Every business needs customers. If there were no other people involved, that would certainly be enough reason to concentrate more on how we can attract, connect, influence, serve and satisfy other people. 

People provide the problems. 

Multi-generational workplaces (which include most larger companies with a headcount of 100 or more) are facing new challenges due largely to the technology of the last 20 years. It’s a terrific opportunity, but it’s also challenging. We’re working harder to foster the culture we want, the collaboration we need and the communication required to elevate the performance of our company. 

From engineering to operations leaders and executives lament how badly they need help leading their teams. All the skills learned in school, and previous jobs, can be leveraged toward greater future success. But it all go for naught if people find it difficult to communicate with and understand their co-workers. 

The most sophisticated development engineers will tell you that the processes and the code aren’t nearly as challenging as making sure everybody is on the same page, supporting the work that needs to be done. 

That’s why there are so many companies, organizations and individuals conducting leadership workshops, team communication workshops, and other team building related programs. The people problem is enormous in both scope and scale. 

Where the head goes, the body will follow.

Grassroots movements are real. They can happen. They’re bottom up, which is why we use the word “roots.” Mostly, these are organic activities that erupt based on something people in the trenches feel is unfair or unjust. Or it could be for a cause the group feels isn’t being supported enough. Grassroots movements can happen inside your business, too. It may be a subtle shift in your culture where you see teammate erode because some employees feel overlooked. Or where employees are confused about what they’re supposed or do, or why they’re supposed to do it. 

The thing about grassroots movements is you likely have little or no influence on them. And they can take on a life of their own. A life you’ll be stuck trying to figure out and trying to manage. If it’s something you need or want (which would be a great bonus), then it’s easy. Unfortunately, that’s not often the case. 

Texas Instruments said Tuesday afternoon that CEO Brian Crutcher resigned for violating the company’s code of conduct related to personal behavior. I’m sure in the coming days we’ll learn more. Crutcher had been with the company for 22 years when he was just recently appointed CEO effective June 1st. Chairman and previous CEO, Richard Templeton will reassume the roles of president and CEO. The company said this is a permanent move, not interim. 

Barnes & Noble. Intel. Texas Instruments.

It just keeps on rolling. Bad behavior from the high places.

It doesn’t defy explanation. Maybe power does corrupt. It certainly presents the temptation. 

Or maybe it’s what you often hear said of fame or wealth. They amplify who we really are. If we’re jerks, then our jerkiness is amplified.  If we’re decent and upright, then that too is amplified. 

Who knows? Really, who cares?

I’m tired of excuse making. And explanations. Not because I don’t want to understand, but because I already do. Some people behave poorly. Some always have. Some will always find a way to behave badly. 

Ethical and moral behavior are not outliers. I rather believe they’re the norm. Not because I’m naive, but because I’m optimistic. 

We decide how we’ll behave. We choose. I have no idea what the TI CEO did, but he’s accountable. Responsible. 

His salary was $1 million. Stock options and other incentives would have compensated him over $9 million a year more. TI is a $15B company. Money can’t buy wise conduct. It’s priceless with no cost of entry other than a mind made up. 

I’m not going to deliver an ethics lecture. What I will do is encourage us all to behave ourselves. 

For four years or so I coached a local college roller hockey team. The players were good. We went to the national tournament each year, achieving the Elite 8 one year (our best result). These were college guys who would hear me repeatedly admonish them with a single word, “Behave!” They weren’t highly compensated CEO’s who had been elevated from the COO role like Brian Crutcher at Texas Instruments. They were young college guys, but they clearly understood the instruction (okay, it was more of a plea). Behave. 

I’ve got a grandson who is almost 3. He understands the command. Yep, for him it’s a command. We figure he’ll learn otherwise soon enough. Until then we’re doing our collective best to instill in him that behaving is non-negotiable. Because in our family it is. 

What does it mean to behave?

It means you do what’s right. Unless we’re sociopaths we know what’s right. Well, to be fair, I suppose even sociopaths know. They just don’t care. Psychopaths may not know, or care. But I’m not trained in such things. No matter, I’m hoping you’re neither of these things so what does it matter?

Last year there was an interesting article in The Guardian entitled, “Crazy at the wheel: psychopathic CEOs are rife in Silicon Valley, experts say.”

“A true psychopath is someone that has a blend of emotional, interpersonal, lifestyle and behavioral deficits but an uncanny ability to mask them. They come across as very charming, very gregarious. But underneath there’s a profound lack of remorse, callousness and a lack of empathy,” said forensic and clinical psychologist Michael Woodworth.

The article points out that investors and HR departments can protect the founder/CEO in Silicon Valley. And presumably elsewhere. 

Here in Texas high football is legendary.

First of all, don’t ignore and hope things will improve. Avoiding a problem isn’t a wise way to solve it. The sooner you jump on it, the better. Speed is key.

This means you have to see reality quickly. Your measurements – whatever dashboard you have – need to be speedy and accurate. There’s no excuse to not have real-time data today. There’s no excuse to say, “I don’t know” when it comes to the critical measurements that show whether you’re moving forward or not. I’m talking about the key performance indicators necessary to operate your business. 

It’s foolish to manage the work with knee-jerk reactions. You miss your targets one day. That doesn’t mean you burn down the processes, hammer all your people or some other foolish reaction. A day doesn’t a trend make. 

First responders are people willing to go in first. Fire fighters. Policemen. EMT’s. Soldiers. As the leader of the organization, you have to be a first responder. This means you have to be the first person whose curiosity drives you to find out what happened, what is currently happening and what is planned to happen. Curiosity is manifested with questions. Your job in tackling performance and growth problems is summed up in one basic activity, asking great questions. 

“The quality of our questions determines the quality of our business.”

As the top leader asking questions – great questions – it’s important how you ask. Tone matters. 

Harold Geneen, the tyrannical leader of ITT, arguably the first conglomerate, was notorious at berating and asking such difficult, challenging questions he could reduce top executives to mush in front of their peers. It would seem that much of that was intentional. He was successful. But I’m not prone to argue against success because it is what it is. What I may argue – and usually do – is formed as a question, “How much better could he and ITT have performed?” I’m always focused on what could be, searching for the potential to grow. To improve. To be better.

You know you can gather the troops in a conference room and start bombarding them with very challenging questions. You’ve got the right. My question is, “Why?” Why do that? If you answer, “Because I’m the boss,” then okay. True. You are. And don’t the people in that room already know that? Are you so insecure you have to remind people, during times of trouble, that you’re in charge. Honestly, I’d rather remind them when things are great.

B2B isn’t necessarily so different from B2C, but today let’s talk about selling in the business-to-business space. One major distinction between B2C and B2B is the sales cycle and the need for relationship building. B2B is usually far less transactional than B2C. It takes longer to close the deal. There may be many more influencers involved in the decision. It’s usually more relationship-oriented, to boot.

B2B sales cycles can be extremely long, requiring patience and lots of follow-ups (and follow-through). There are tons of sales experts you can follow. Many of them are quite good. I especially enjoy the work of Jeffrey Gitomer, whose work I’ve followed for the last 30 plus years. Did I tell you about the time I ran into him at the Sky-Harbor Airport in Phoenix? I was about to board a plane as he was just arriving. I approached him telling him how much I had enjoyed his work. And I told him (truth) that his book, “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless,” was easily the book I gifted most. That’s still true, too. I have no idea how many copies of that book I’ve purchased and given away! We swapped business cards and were on our separate ways. Two days later a FedEx package arrived to my office. It was an autographed copy of Jeffrey’s most recent book at the time. The man is prolific, but he long ago told the world the secret to his ability to crank out books. While the rest of the world is becoming an expert at whatever popular TV show may be airing…he’s writing. But the point is that Jeffrey, while in Arizona had his office send me a copy of his most recent book via FedEx. He’s a man who isn’t driven by transactions, even though buying a book is very transactional. It’s why I love him and his work. 

I hate transactional selling. I used to hate it because I wasn’t suited for it, but through the years I’ve learned to hate it because it reeks of selfishness.

Old school sales guys taught me early all the well-known (and some not so well-known) tactics of the day. I grew up in retail, taught by merchants. Real merchants. Operators. But old-school guys leveraged something over all the tactics and strategies. Standing on their word. Past all the embellishment, exaggeration and other sales tactics was a real where-the-rubber-meets-the-road honesty. If they stood toe to toe with you and shook your hand, you could trust it. As a teenager, it was puzzling to me because it didn’t quite fit. One minute they’re telling a prospect things that weren’t quite accurate, but at the end of the deal, they were also shaking the customer’s hand telling them how they’d stand behind it. And they would. It’s like there were two stages of the sales process for them. First, say what you need to do get them to buy. Second, guarantee you’ll take care of them. And mean it. 

I quickly adapted to altering the first tactic to fit my personal beliefs. I’d ask questions to figure out what they needed to know in order to buy. Looking for hot buttons. Points of interest. Features they wanted and were willing to pay for. The word that always trumped it all for me was congruency. I wanted the customer to buy what best fit their needs and desires. It didn’t matter what I wanted. That made that second tactic super easy – standing behind it. Within a year of selling I had figured out so many things, chief among them – a sales isn’t a sale if it doesn’t stick. I didn’t want any returns. Or complaints. 

Today, nothing has changed. Apply those tactics in the B2B spaces and I’m prone to always (that’s right, always) add another component. Evangelism. 

Many years ago I studied call reluctance.

Watch or read almost any biography of high achievers and you’re going to hear a story of somebody in their life who expressed extraordinary confidence in them. And not the stereotypical parents who tell their child, “You can do this.” Something more precise. More powerful. 

John McEnroe was recently on Joe Buck’s TV show, Undeniable With Joe Buck. As a teenager, a reporter saw him play and wrote that within 5 years he’d be the number 1 player. Here was somebody, not a close friend or family, who saw something McEnroe admitted he didn’t even see in himself. But you can tell it fueled within him possibilities he may have not fully understood. It speaks to the power of somebody else believing in us.

I’m not discounting generic parental encouragement. But…there’s something remarkable about somebody else – a person who we know has a different perspective – perhaps a person we know is more objective (or more of an expert), encourages us. Directly or indirectly. McEnroe was encouraged not by what was said to him, but what was said about him. 

The “who,” the “what” and the “when” of the encouragement matter.

Think about your own life. Reflect on the people who have served you in one way or another. Was there something somebody said about you that made a major impact on you?

Who were they? What did they say? When did they say it?

All three matter. 

Who. We’ve all learned the truth of the phrase, “Consider the source.” We most often use it whenever we’re talking somebody off the ledge about some unjust criticism they feel they’ve suffered. We listen. We console them and we say, “Consider the source.” Meaning, their opinion doesn’t matter. 

Sometimes people get lots of compliments and encouragements, but there’s somebody they’re not getting it from. Somebody who’s encouragement would mean more than all the others combined. I’ve seen it all my life. Especially among younger people who have an older mentor not as forthcoming with praise as peers. Now that I’m older, I have a clear understanding of it. I don’t necessarily have a clear knowledge of how to best execute it, but I’ve got some ideas. 

The older mentor sees all the praise and adoration lavished on the young person and fears too much will create a swelled head. As you grow older it’s easy to understand because through the years we’ve seen it happen. Somebody with excellent skills receives many compliments. We can feel like we’re throwing gasoline on a fire that won’t serve them well. Instead, we fear it will make them overly confident, even arrogant. I’ve seen it happen many, many times. So I get it. I understand the reluctance. 

The source of the encouragement determines the weight of it. When a mom tells her daughter what a great singer she is, that’s cool. But when Simon Cowell tells her, that’s epic. He’s an expert. Mom can’t really help her daughter’s career by recognizing her talent. Simon can. Because what Simon says matters more.

What is said matters. McEnroe read that a tennis reporter declared he’d be number 1. It seems John didn’t think of himself at a scale that large. It’s hard to separate the what from the when. At least in John’s case. When this was said he hadn’t yet formed the dream to be great at that scale. Perhaps that remark fired within him the determination that he could compete at the highest levels possible. Not merely being an NCAA champion. Or a regional Queens New York phenom. 

The specifics matter. Simon Cowell can tell the girl she’s got a pretty voice, but she won’t ever make a living singing. That’s not the same as telling her she’s sp...

Two interconnected topics have been the focal point of most of my conversations – culture and leadership. 

People, communication, emotional intelligence. These are at the heart of “soft skills.” 

I was speaking with a young leader about some of his challenges. After half an hour or so he blurted out, “I don’t know they’re called ‘soft’ ’cause they’re anything, but.”

Soft skills are hard because the focus is people. Namely, OTHER people. And for quite a few folks, other people are difficult. 

There’s an awful lot of conversation today about the multi-generational workplace and the impact it’s having on culture. In many organizations, there are people in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Just think about the difference in the world in 1950 versus 2000. That’s 50 years, but arguably the most disruptive, technologically advanced span of time in human history. It has an impact because each generation has a point of view. That’s always been true, but the technological advancements of recent years have likely widened the gap even more. 

Heart is at the heart of soft skills. Empathy is seeking understanding or actual understanding. It’s a focus on others. There are no technological advancements required. Or even allowed. People are people.

Personality fuels our behavior. Much of it is innate, it’s simply who we are. Some of it is experiential or our environment and surrounding. 

It begins in our heart. And how determined we are, how curious we are to really understand others. Without it, softs skills aren’t just hard…they’re impossible. Situational recognition – the ability to read people in a variety of circumstances – doesn’t exist in equal measure to all of us. That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon.

The major reason soft skills are so hard is because selfishness is so easy. We’re prone toward self-interest. It’s manifested in casual conversation where we’re not listening to the other person because we’re busy rehearsing in our head what we want to say next. It’s manifested in our desire to make sure we’re in the most favorable position possible. 27/7/365 we’re living with ourselves, wanting what we want. It’s about us. 

Another reason soft skills are so hard is because we get better reading people and situations with repeated experiences. The more we see something, or hear it, or have to deal with it…the more we figure it out. But in a business environment, we’re often experiencing things for the first time. Situations we’ve never seen before. These co-workers are brand new to us. The people and the circumstances are all unique. Until we’ve seen them and experienced them, we’re often unsure of how to make sense of them. Or read them accurately.

But today’s show title – Why are soft skills so hard? – isn’t the real point. The main point is how we can improve them, and make them less hard.

I’ve just given you two reasons why they’re hard: 1) selfishness is so easy and 2) inexperience precedes experience. One of my favorite quotes hits that second one in strong fashion…

Everything is hard until it’s easy.

Here are just 2 things everybody can do to improve their soft skills.

One, focus on the other person or people. There are some crucial elements to help us do this effectively. First, incorporate grace. Be willing to extend grace to others. Consider conversations and points of view not as right or wrong, but simply as perspectives worthy of being understood. Next, incorporate gratitude. Be grateful for your blessings. Be grateful to experience other people and the situations youR...

Happy Friday the 13th!

Are you superstitious? You believe stuff just because?

Today is a great day to take an inventory and re-evaluate your superstitions if you have any. I’ll tell you why it’s important — because you’ve got some assumptions, too. They’re not classified as superstitions, but they’re just as dangerous. Or more so. 

Some years ago (March 2006) a couple of my favorite business authors – Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton – wrote a book entitled, “HARD FACTS, DANGEROUS HALF-TRUTHS AND TOTAL NONSENSE: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management.” Most of us claim to be fond of evidence-based management and leadership. And we claim to practice it. But do we really? 

Sometimes our assumptions, like superstitions, are formed without merit. I’m sure way back somewhere there was some reason for them. We’ve probably long forgotten about what it was. We just wrapped our arms around it, adopted it and have been living with it close to our heart ever since.

Superstitions are defined as “widely held but unjustified beliefs in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such beliefs.” Synonyms would be myths, delusions or illusions. What CEO or business owner wants to admit they embrace any of those? None of us. But we’ll all have to admit – if we’re honest – that we hold assumptions. The problem is some of our assumptions are better classified as myths, delusions or illusions. 

It’s not all bad.

All of us operate from some base of assumptions. I don’t know what yours are so I’ll share a few of mine. 

I assume that most people want to do good work. And that they’re honest. I realized many years ago while operating luxury retailing companies that I had an obligation to employees to remove (as much as possible) the temptation to steal from the company. Even honest people can succumb to the temptation if it’s easy. So I always put systems in place to make it hard. Dishonest people who want to steal will find a way. I focused on helping good people remain good. 

I assume that we’re living in the greatest era the planet has ever known. The advantages we have are downright extraordinary. In every area of our life. 

I’ve got business friends and acquaintances who don’t share those assumptions. They assume people won’t do good work without lots of micromanagement. And that things are pretty dreadful, and growing increasingly worse. 

Here’s the things about these assumptions. They’re our beliefs. That means they fuel our behaviors and actions. As a result, daily we prove them to be true. I prove mine. You prove yours. 

It doesn’t matter if they’re total nonsense to somebody else. Or if they’re half-truths, or even completely untrue. That word Pfeffer and Sutton used is important – dangerous. They can be, and often are — dangerous. 

Here on Friday the 13th let’s challenge our assumptions. Let’s do it from a drone point of view rather than getting down in the weeds or the details. We’ll just look at them from 2 points of view: optimism or pessimism and fully accountable or excuse-making. 

Which is it going to be? Optimism or pessimism? 

Look at your assumptions through this lens. Determine which one fits. Then ask yourself if that lens – that viewpoint – helps you grow great, or if it hinders you. 

The hard part is knowing when or if we’re deluded. I’m not a neuroscientist, but I’ve long been fascinated with the power of our mind. I’ve read plenty and continue to study it as a bit of a hobby project. To help myself and my clients.

Benjamin Franklin is quoted to have said: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Did Ben mention these in order of importance? Or was it merely alphabetical? I don’t know. But I do know health is primary because, without it, wealth (at least the financial kind) is fairly useless. To be fair, wealth can be used to help us regain health (maybe). But every wealthy person I know in ill health would trade their wealth for better health.

Let’s talk about the importance of your health. Don’t worry. I’m not going to preach. You’re a business owner. You make your own decisions. And I’m not going to start judging you. I’m just going to share some things I hope will provoke you to think. Maybe they’ll prompt you to make decisions to do some things. Just don’t tune me out. 

It was almost 20 years ago. Not quite. My wife and I went to a hospital to visit an aging friend. He had been in ill health for as long as we could remember. Not necessarily due to anything he had done, or neglected to do. His wife had taken care of him all this time. He was in and out of the hospital quite often. 

On this day we walked out to the parking lot after a nice visit, seeing him in the hospital. My wife was driving. As we settled into the car I turned to my wife while fastening my seat belt and said, “I don’t think I can do that to you.” I wasn’t intending it to sound so judgmental of our sick friend. But that’s what I said. And it’s what I meant. I meant I didn’t want to do anything that would potentially put my wife in a position to have to care for me and risk wrecking her own health in the process – something else we’ve seen with older friends through the years. 

Within just a few days I was sitting in a local gym signing up for a 3-year prepaid membership. It was about $700 as I recall, and included half a dozen personal training sessions. The added bonus was I’d be able to renew each year, starting in year 4, for less than $100 a year. My membership is still intact. I just renewed it at the beginning of this month. I share those details because I was committed. I had flipped some switch in my head and now I had some big money on the line, along with a long-term commitment. I was IN.

It was my fitness and health epiphany. Maybe you’ve had your own. Email me if you’d like to share it. I’d love to hear it. 

If you haven’t had yours yet, maybe this show will provide it for you. 

Going to the gym 5-7 days a week allows me to see lots of different folks. In all kinds of shapes. And all ages. Just the other day an elderly man with a cane was feebly trying to make his way to a treadmill. Stepping up on the treadmill was difficult. I approached him and asked, “Sir, may I help you?” He gratefully accepted, took my arm and I helped him up to the treadmill. Of course, as I went back to what I was doing I feared I may have just helped him to his death, but I reflected on my decision made years ago. And I watched this man slowly walk on the treadmill while holding both sides and wondered about his past. He didn’t’ get into this shape overnight. None of us do. Sometimes our past (or our genetic makeup, or our bad habits) catch up with us. 

What investment are you making in your health and fitness? I’m unable to separate them because fitness is just what it says, our fitness to perform. In our case, it incorporates our fitness to operate our businesses. 

We could think about the high cost of health care, but that’s not why this is important.

We could talk about the people we love, but we often neglect and behave poorly toward them even though we love them. 

We could talk about feeling better,

Bootstraping. You take no debt and fund it all yourself. Some way. Some how.

Family and friends. You take on debt from the people closest to you. The people who believe in you and are willing to help you.

Angels. They’ve got money to invest and are willing to bet on you, or your idea because they hope to get a good return.

VC’s. Venture capitalists are in the business of making bets on founders, or the idea of a founder. They’re willing to invest much more than typical angels, and they’re likely looking for an exit strategy within 5 years or so. 

Loans. Whether SBA, banks or some other source, many business owners get financing for a variety of things.

Money has been plentiful in the last few years. Lots of companies have succeeded in raising multiple rounds of funding, especially tech companies. 

I’m not about to take a deep dive into all the options out there. For starters, I’m not qualified. And this is a daily, under 10-minutes podcast. Besides, I have no way of knowing your specific situation. I’m not a fan of brainiacs who preach absolutes. “You must” or “You should” aren’t optimal ways to start any sentence in a conversation with business owners. We tend to bristle at such things. But the world is filled with experts who enjoy telling us all exactly what we should do. The only thing I know that we all should do is figure it out for ourselves. Yes, I’m a big fan of surrounding ourselves with others who will help us do it, but we each have our own path. It’s one aspect of business building that’s exciting. 

We have to find money to fuel our growth. That much is certain. And depending on the stage and size of your company, that can look very different for each of us. There are some basic principles that never grow old or obsolete though. 

Traction, which is something we all want because without it we don’t get growth, can be hard to achieve. Business is fundamentally about working hard to get momentum, then working even harder to stay in the momentum for as long as possible. 

I’ll confess my bias right up front. I’m not a fan of debt. I’m not a fan of taking outside investors. But I’m not working toward an IPO or some exit strategy either. And you may be. Power to you. This is why we all have to follow our path and figure it out. But in spite of my bias, some things about business building are basic, but too frequently overlooked as business owners try to make things more difficult than necessary. I’m surprised at how complicated some of us try to make things versus how few of us seem to just aim toward keeping things as simple as possible. Or maybe I’m just not that bright! (don’t comment on that)

Runway. We all need it. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business. You still need runway. You’ll always need it. Money is a resource. One of our strongest resources because it provides runway while we grow toward profitability…or greater profitability. 

Maybe you’re just starting. This is really important. Where you put your money will mean everything to the runway. Spend the money on fancy stuff and you’ll shorten the runway. Be super practical and put every dollar on trial for its life, and you’ll extend the runway. It’s not that hard. The hard part is the decision you need to make to avoid trying to impress people who don’t matter. Care more about the company and what you’re trying to achieve. If impressing people who don’t matter is important, just delay it as long as possible. By then you’ll hopefully be so successful that those people who don’t matter will really be impressed by whatever fancy you throw in their face. 

Don’t justify spending money by conning yourself that you “need...