One of the things I used to struggle with early on in my career was keeping things in perspective. I remember one of my earlier managers telling me “to never get too high on my highs or too low on my lows.” Thinking back, this was really good advice that I’ve learned to apply in many areas of my life. I was working in sales at … Continue reading Keeping Things In Perspective
I have spent this entire week writing an investment report about one of our portfolio companies we are in the process of investing in. Obviously, I like writing because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be spending my Sunday afternoon writing about report writing. Leisurely writing is different from writing an investment report that will eventually be distributed to an investment committee and subsequently to investors. … Continue reading I Love Writing About Startups
I had a conversation with an aspiring entrepreneur this week about her company’s need for capital and how she thought I could help. I’ll admit, I am not that fond of her idea, but I was somewhat intrigued at how open she was about her struggle with convincing others to believe in her. I actually never told her whether I thought the idea was good … Continue reading Money is a Commodity – “You” Are Your Greatest Asset
One of the hardest things for people to do is “focus.” In today’s fast-moving world it seems even harder because there are so many things that distract us from focusing on the things that really matter. Distractions are inevitable. But I think people who are able to limit (or completely eliminate) the number of distractions in their lives seem to be the most successful. My … Continue reading The Power of Focus
As I reflect on the week, there were a number of things that happened (both good and not so good) that I think could make for some great blog posts. I have managed to narrow it down to three key takeaways that I think are universally applicable to almost anyone. Here goes nothing: Key Takeaway #1: Using Constraint Analysis to Identify Areas for Improvement in your … Continue reading Key Takeaways From the Week – V2
I meet with many different kinds of people every day of the work week. I specify the “work week” because it’s usually only in business meetings that I closely analyze people the way that I do. When I have in-person meetings, I subliminally but deliberately watch the way people sit, the way they clasp or hold their holds, their eye movements, the way the sit … Continue reading People Skills vs Technical Skills – Which is Better?
At the end of every week I like to take a few moments to sit back, pause, and reflect on two or three things I learned that I’d like to implement in my life going forward. Sometimes it is hard to synthesize meaningful takeaways, but I’ve attempted to do so below: Key Takeaway #1: Go For Progress, Not Perfection A friend of mine, Derick Thompson, founder … Continue reading Key Takeaways From The Week
One of the most important things I learned this week is to be more open with people and let my guard down more often. I’ve been told that I might seem “guarded” at times, and there’s probably some truth to that. However, it is by no means intentional. There are a myriad of reasons for “why” I think I often struggle with maintaining a consistently … Continue reading Let Your Guard Down
TheJCurve 