"What would you need to do to double your revenue (or profit)?" That’s usually my opening question when we have strategic reviews with our businesses. The answer highlights the biggest constraints to the growth of the business. I start with this specific question because many leaders have one problem in common: they come up with … Continue reading What Every Entrepreneur Should Learn From Factory Floors
My Favourite Books of 2020
2020 was a crazy year in more ways than I care to count - but one of the few positives has been that with limited opportunities for social activities, the year provided plenty of opportunities to read. Like 2019, I have gathered an overview of my favourite books from 2020. The list is not limited … Continue reading My Favourite Books of 2020
The Missing Link in Startup Execution
In the past few quarters, our companies have seen tremendous improvements in the operational execution - focus and intensity have increased drastically, which has improved the output per hour. Add to that that we have recruited some very promising talents! It should be a recipe for success. Similarly, we seem to be alright on the … Continue reading The Missing Link in Startup Execution
A thank you note from your future self
I was reminded of an important point today: We are oftentimes limited in the projects we can take on, simply because we don't have enough capable people in our organizations. We have new products to launch, markets to enter, marketing initiatives to execute; why aren't we? Every single one of our businesses has an endless … Continue reading A thank you note from your future self
The Meta-Machine: A Guide to Building a Company
Being an entrepreneur is about building a company. Fast-growing companies may seem chaotic and frequently focus more on firefighting problems rather than on actually building up the company. “The real enemy of execution is your day job!” McChesney et al. argue1. “We call it the whirlwind. It’s the massive amount of energy that’s necessary just … Continue reading The Meta-Machine: A Guide to Building a Company
Practical Thoughts on Recruiting and Interviewing
This post will focus on how we recruit and set the right team. And why and how we spent more time than 99% of companies out there on the interview process. Recruiting is easily one of - if not - the most important challenges for any leader.
On the Exponentiality of Life
There is a common misconception about how success accumulates. I repeatedly see posts on social media along the lines of: I suppose the message is that if we are just a little better, we will be about 38 times as good a year from now. While it's hard to challenge the notion that we should … Continue reading On the Exponentiality of Life
The Best Books I Read in January 2020
January had plenty of travelling time, which - for me - means reading time. My book picks this month were generally disappointing, but three are worth highlighting: One Life. How we forgot to live meaningful lives (Morten Albæk). The book brought a fresh perspective on the absurdity of splitting life into airtight compartments. The impossibility … Continue reading The Best Books I Read in January 2020
The best books I read in 2019
2019 was a productive reading year for me. I got through the equivalent of 27,679 pages over 75 books, audiobooks, and ebooks. Some of them were very inspirational and some less so. I often get asked for book recommendations, so this post serves to go through the best books of 2019 for me. Note that … Continue reading The best books I read in 2019
What Jedis and entrepreneurs have in common
Today, I was reminded of the wise words of a true hero, Yoda, the legendary Jedi Master. I’ll come back to this legend in a second. One of the benefits of my role is being able to speak to all the great entrepreneurs we work with. I’m fortunate to see what works well in each … Continue reading What Jedis and entrepreneurs have in common