About a million years ago I wrote a blog post called "Hacking for Sales." I posted it on the Scripted blog and didn't think about it again until this guy Max Altschuler from Udemy contacted me about running a course on it. I demurred and ultimately declined, but he and I stayed in touch. Later,… Continue reading Hacking for climate sales
Category: Writing
The case for decentralized workforces
Spoiler alert! At the end of Season 5 of HBO's Silicon Valley, Richard Hendrix, the CEO of Pied Piper whose company built the world’s first “decentralized Internet,” steps into his massive new headquarters and pukes. It’s a running theme in the season: Richard is deathly afraid of public speaking. When the CFO-type executive on his… Continue reading The case for decentralized workforces
How chess and entrepreneurship are the same
I’ve always been a decent chess player, but recently I’ve started playing a lot more. Like, a lot more. I am happily addicted to the beautiful game once again. I learned to play when I was really young and have always enjoyed chess despite the fact that I haven’t improved all that much in the… Continue reading How chess and entrepreneurship are the same
Dealing with public speaking panic attacks
There are people who can talk and talk and talk. You know who I’m talking about. They have opinions on pretty much everything and can relay facts and anecdotes on any topic. And they like to share it all. Then there are people who write prolifically. It’s their main medium of communication. Ask them to… Continue reading Dealing with public speaking panic attacks
Four simple truths about entrepreneurship
I'm going to give a solo speech this week at Diablo Valley College. I'm the headliner of the event. It's going to be an hour and a half (!) and is part of a "Business Beyond the Classroom" series that the business department has been doing annually for three years. I'm excited about it. Scared… Continue reading Four simple truths about entrepreneurship
Protected: Four lessons to learn about selling a business
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Back to the office and back again
I'm just going to say it. Offices should be optional. They are a tool to be used when you need them, not a mandate, not an expectation, not an assumption that the tool is always needed. I'm not saying that offices are useless and face-to-face interactions are not worthwhile. I want to be clear --… Continue reading Back to the office and back again
How to bring more businesses to Contra Costa County
I recently joined the Business Advisory Board in Diablo Valley College's Business Administration department. I thought it sounded like not only a great way to volunteer, give back, and meet similarly-minded people in my community, but also I was simply impressed that DVC had this. What better way to prepare business students for the real… Continue reading How to bring more businesses to Contra Costa County
Being the other co-founder
Reflecting back on Scripted, I think it stopped feeling like my own company pretty early on. I had the luster of a co-founder title but I really was an employee like everyone else. There were some extra freedoms, perhaps, but not real freedom. Not like I have it now. Part of it was not being… Continue reading Being the other co-founder
Feast on pain
For all of the moping around and support-seeking you see on social media these days about the struggle of starting a business, there’s an underlying truth that these entrepreneurs love the pain. They wouldn’t find time to analyze and write their feelings otherwise. It’s just like a bodybuilder or a model critiquing himself in a… Continue reading Feast on pain