"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
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
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 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
Learning Trees: 7 steps to structure and accelerate your learning
It used to be that people would spend the first part of their life going to school, the second part of their life applying what they learnt in school, and the third part of their life retired and potentially teaching others. Things are changing rapidly nowadays. It used to be sufficient to accumulate knowledge in … Continue reading Learning Trees: 7 steps to structure and accelerate your learning
Generating Value Through Execution: 7 Steps to Rising in a Start-Up
The pinnacle of generating value within our companies is the ability to execute. Unless you're in a corporate environment with a strict career ladder, the opportunity to grow within a company and attain more responsibility is determined by your ability to generate value for your team and the company as a whole. As we will … Continue reading Generating Value Through Execution: 7 Steps to Rising in a Start-Up
Henrik Zillmer, AirHelp founder, on being part of Y Combinator and moving to Silicon Valley as a foreigner
Henrik Zillmer has been a friend of mine for some years now. In the past, we built e-commerce companies across the continents, but nowadays, Henrik works on AirHelp, which he co-founded and now heads as the CEO. AirHelp was picked to be part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2014 Class and has since succeeded in helping … Continue reading Henrik Zillmer, AirHelp founder, on being part of Y Combinator and moving to Silicon Valley as a foreigner
Lessons on Flow State and 9 Ways To Get There
As many others, I have often worked long into the night and until the early morning. Nowadays, it is rarely because I have to. There is rarely a pressure for me to work until 4am or the expectation for that sake. Most often when I sit up late at night, whether in the office, at … Continue reading Lessons on Flow State and 9 Ways To Get There
Danny Dover on Fulfilling The Bucket List and Beating Depression
In AntarcticaThe second part of my interview with SEO expert Danny Dover delves further into his personal development and his bucket list. You can read the first part which is about SEO and his career here. When I spoke to Danny Dover we got off-track early on. I remember asking him a few questions about … Continue reading Danny Dover on Fulfilling The Bucket List and Beating Depression