The World's Best Book Summaries
Is strong momentum good for a startup? How can momentum derail your business from its intended direction? All entrepreneurs are excited to see their venture grow. However, as your business’s momentum picks up, it’s easy to lose sight of which activities are worth your while. To ensure your business isn’t derailing from your intended direction, follow these principles.
Looking to improve your leadership skills? What steps can you take to become a better leader? Improving leadership skills can help you move up the corporate ladder, get a raise, gain the respect of your colleagues and employees, and more. In the process, you may even find that you’re not only improving as a leader, but as a person as well. Here are six ways to improve your leadership skills.
Why is it important to evaluate a business model? How do you know your model will actually work given your product/service and your target market? Once you’ve defined your business model, you’ll need to evaluate if your organization is prepared to move forward with it. There are a number of tools that you can use to evaluate the viability of your business model. In this article, we’ll explore four business model evaluation strategies you can use to analyze and optimize the effectiveness of your business models.
Is The Oz Principle worth reading? What does the story of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz have to do with leadership? In their book The Oz Principle, authors Roger Connors, Tom Smith, and Craig Hickman use the story of The Wizard of Oz to show how being accountable for your successes and challenges is the key to improving results on both an individual and organizational level. This The Oz Principle review takes a look at the book’s impact, background, and key strengths and weaknesses.
How does a company culture develop in a startup? How do you ensure a healthy company culture in a new business? A startup company culture develops over time through consistent positive actions, not by installing foosball tables or espresso machines. Once established, company culture solidifies and becomes very difficult to change. Therefore, it is important to keep your eye on its evolution and intervene when necessary. Here are six principles to cultivating a healthy startup culture in which staff members do their best and enjoy their jobs.
What is The Oz Principle about? What is the underlying idea behind the authors’ Oz principle? In their book The Oz Principle, Craig Hickman, Roger Connors, and Tom Smith lay out four steps to accountability that will move you to success both in your personal life and in your organization. The authors explain how to journey, like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, from a mindset of victimism to one of accountability. Below is a brief overview of the key points.
Do you dream of starting your own business? What are some things you should know before you take the plunge? Starting your own business to become your own boss is a dream come true for many people. The vision is exciting, but the reality is not so much: Running a business on a tight budget, making decisions, and being a jack-of-all-trades takes both an emotional and physical toll. From those who’ve been there and done that, here are 10 essential tips for beginning entrepreneurs.
Why is it important to define shared values within an organization? How does having clear organizational values help improve both morale and performance? Effective teams are built on shared values, so as a leader, your first job is to define the organizational values that will guide you and your team. Clear organizational values help guide your team’s behaviors and choices so that they stay on the path toward organizational goals. Establishing your organizational values is a two-part process: 1) figure out your values, and 2) affirm your values amongst your team. We’ll discuss both of these concepts below.
Who are 37signals? What do the company founders attribute their success to? Co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of 37signals, a company that creates project-management software and other online management tools, believe that anyone can start and operate a business with fewer resources than they think. Based on their own startup success, they champion a simpler, cheaper, less labor-intensive way to manage any company. Here are 10 insights they gained while keeping 37signals intentionally small and lean.
How can you form a coaching habit? What difference would it make in your leadership? The Coaching Habit teaches you how to turn coaching into an informal, effective daily habit by asking team members seven essential questions. Listening instead of speaking for just 10 minutes a day can refresh and revamp your interactions with your team members and ultimately transform the way you and your team work. Keep reading to learn the fundamental principles of The Coaching Habit.