Let’s get real for a moment.
We’ve all heard the startup mantras: “Move fast and break things.” “Minimum viable product.” “Just ship it.” And in most cases, these approaches work pretty darn well. Your first marketing campaign doesn’t need to be perfect. Your initial product can have a few rough edges. Heck, even your financial strategy can be tweaked along the way.
While running Netek, my affective computing startup, I hired some college students as summer interns. After just one week, I handed each of them a sticky note and asked them to write down 3-5 things they thought we should stop doing and explain why.
Culture isn’t something entrepreneurs typically think about when starting a business. They’re focused on products, services, markets, and profits—but rarely on the intangible force that shapes their organization’s future.
It all starts with a provocative question! Are you aiming to spark breakthrough innovation within your organization? Often, the most impactful innovations don’t stem from having all the answers but rather from asking the right questions. Asking better, more insightful questions can lead your team down paths you’ve never explored, opening doors to unprecedented creativity and groundbreaking solutions.
Ever look at something and think, why do we even do it this way? If so, you might already have the mindset of a Beyonder—someone who doesn’t just accept the way things are but constantly looks for a better, bolder way forward.
Having conviction is a superpower. But you know what’s also a superpower? Intellectual humility: knowing you might be wrong.
“Is Jorge Barba available? I only want to talk to him.”
During college, I worked at a call center serving Verizon Wireless customers. Like most call centers, we had a mandatory script to follow for every customer interaction. The script was supposed to ensure consistency and quality—at least, that’s what management believed.
