In the air between Taipei and Vancouver...

 

So, you are ready to write your business plan. You make yourself a pot of coffee or tea, you open your favorite word processor, and you look at a blank page. You feel like a writer and you start typing:

 

“2008. A man, in his own thoughts, is looking through the glass wall of his office. He sees the waves of a turquoise sea, softly dying on a white sand beach. The palm tree leaves are gently moving with the rhythm of the soft wind and the sunset is so magnificent. The man decides to go take a walk on the beach, [...] read more »

I am in China and Japan for two weeks on business.  In the last 10 years, I have been going to Asia regularly to do things like signing partners or customers, looking for joint venture projects or exploring manufacturing options as a representative for the companies [...] read more »

I have trained myself over the years to be prepared as early as possible when I have to deliver something.  I guess it comes from my high school days when I was finishing all my planned studies and homework as soon as possible to get myself out of the [...] read more »

At the startup stage since 3, 5 or even 7 years, never-ending startups usually got seed money and were promising hockey stick figures that never materialized. They either never delivered a product or failed to get market traction. Initial investors are disappointed and do not want to put more money down unless new investors sign up too. New potential investors blame first series investors and the board for not having reacted more rapidly and offer terms at nobody-can-believe-it low valuation or simply wait for the situation to get worst. Finally, founders are discouraged, employee productivity [...] read more »

Filmmaker John Waters said that "Iceberg lettuce is the polyester of vegetables." When I read this, it made me think of some of the polyester companies I have seen out there. Don't get me wrong, I know it is not easy being a start-up and trying to figure out how to position yourself, create the right message and elevator pitch to easily explain what you are offering and how you differentiate.

Too often, we still see many companies writing they are the "leader" of this or the "best" at that. These types of comments show little or no innovation. Unless you really are the leader, déjà vu marketing [...] read more »

As I flip through songs on my iPod I realize that I continue to get better and faster at finding the exact album or artist I want to listen to. It seems that the iPod has more or less taken me back to my alphabet. And it’s the same every time I take a new management role: I go back to the basics.

The alphabet [...] read more »