Jason Fried Change of any kind can be controversial. Even the smallest changes can provoke big reactions. New features, new policies, new places and new people often cause knee-jerk reactions and undo irrationality. It’s normal, and it should be expected. But if you make it through that first rough week, things should settle down. Jason …
Author: John Stevenson
Moms make it happen – Why moms make great entrepreneurs
When you look at family life and compare it to entrepreneurship, there are some interesting parallels. Running a successful family is more similar to running a successful business than you might think. Jill Salzman Jill Salzman started The Founding Moms in 2011. It’s a collective of offline meetups and online resources for mom entrepreneurs. She gave a Ted …
Out-teach your competitors – Brilliant book bit from ‘Rework’ by Jason Fried
Brilliant Books Series: ‘Rework’ on Teaching Rather Than Selling Jason Fried “Instead of trying to outspend, outsell, or outsponsor competitors, try to out-teach them. The Hoefler Type Foundry teaches designers about type at Typography.com. Etsy, an online store for things handmade, holds entrepreneurial workshops that explain “best practices” and promotional ideas to people who sell …
Embrace constraints – Brilliant book bit from Jason Fried and his book ‘Rework’
Brilliant Books Series: ‘Rework’ on Working with Less Jason Fried “I don’t have enough time/money/people/experience.” Stop whining. Less is a good thing. Constraints are advantages in disguise. Limited resources force you to make do with what you’ve got. There’s no room for waste. And that forces you to be creative.” That’s from Jason Fried, the …
Hire great writers – it pays off big in the long run
Brilliant Books Series: ‘Rework’ on Writers Jason Fried Last week we started our Brilliant Books Series featuring Jason Fried’s “Rework.” In this series we pull out and share pieces of great books. Fried is dedicated to simplicity and economy in all things. He published “Rework” in 2010 but the ideas are timeless. In his section on Hiring, …
Rethinking work – Brilliant Books Series begins with ‘Rework’ by Jason Fried
‘Rework’ Brilliant Books Series Begins We like to highlight authors and their books in this weekly note, but it’s impossible to include all their best points in this small space, so we’ve created the Brilliant Books Series. The idea is to share more great parts of Brilliant Brooks we like, still in bite size pieces …
Asking for help – how to do it more often and better
How to get better at asking for help. Self-reliance is an admirable quality to develop in ourselves and others, it’s also self-limiting. The Dr. Wayne Baker fact is, you can’t really be successful in any endeavor, business, or career if you don’t ask for help sometimes. Help is hard to ask for, so how can …
One more thing – asking that one additional question can make a big difference
The lost art of questioning is the key to finding better answers. Disheveled, yet persistent and friendly, Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk) of 70’s TV fame was famous for his shrewd case-solving capabilities. photo credit: Lieutenant Columbo via photopin His investigative style was to simply ask question after question, frustrating his suspects (and colleagues) to the point of …
The wisdom of Wooden – offering the right amount of coaxing and criticism
Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden dominated NCAA college basketball for 12 years. Here are a few leadership lessons on how he did it. March Madness coverage is upon us and with it comes the numerous historical references to teams, coaches and players from previous eras. When it comes to coaches, John Wooden’s legacy is perhaps …
How to make better presentations – engage and inspire action
Presentations should engage and compel action. Here’s how to build them for better outcomes. Nobody really wants information presented to them. In fact, there may not be a more painful experience than having bullet points read to you during a PowerPoint presentation. And the only thing worse than that is a presentation without a clear point – why should …