Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2015

Every entrepreneur can learn from a mentor, no matter how confident or successful they have been to date. Yet most entrepreneurs simply don’t know how to work with a mentor. Some of the best mentoring relationships don’t involve monetary compensation, but none are free. Agree on specific objectives and time frames.

Mentor 105

Mentor Startup Summary Satisfaction 105

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

As a long-time mentor to new entrepreneurs and business owners, I have noticed that many no longer associate more fulfillment and satisfaction with more money, power, and success. For most people, a truly fulfilled life means active pursuit and high engagement in pursuing your own goals.

Satisfaction 173

Satisfaction Mentor Coach Entrepreneur 173

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

It seems they are both looking for more personal satisfaction and sense of purpose for their efforts. Even the simplest of new technologies, such as Zoom for remote meetings, can be a detriment to work satisfaction if workers are not trained on how to use it effectively, causing video and sound problems, as well as background distractions.

Tips 159

Tips Satisfaction Coach Mentor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2017

Every entrepreneur can learn from a mentor, no matter how confident or successful they have been to date. Yet most entrepreneurs simply don’t know how to work with a mentor. Some of the best mentoring relationships don’t involve monetary compensation, but none are free. Agree on specific objectives and time frames.

Mentor 60

Mentor Startup Summary Satisfaction 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2013

Every entrepreneur can learn from a mentor, no matter how confident or successful they have been to date. Even one of the richest, Bill Gates , still values his friend Warren Buffett as his mentor. Mentoring is not as simple as one person giving the other all the right answers. Agree on specific objectives and time frames.

Mentor 103

Mentor Product Startup Summary 103

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

I was shocked to read an old Gallup study that indicates only 13 percent of employees worldwide are actively engaged at work, and more recent data shows only a small change in the right direction. Find ways to recharge your emotional batteries, through supportive relationships and community activities.

Examples 145

Examples Mentor Activity Product 145

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

As an experienced business professional and mentor, I find that most successful peers will admit that they love what they do. I always thought that I must be lucky to have found so much excitement and satisfaction from my work, so I never had any really good answers to those of you who second category who wanted to move to the first.

Coach 110

Coach Satisfaction Activity Startup 110

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2020

Their satisfaction comes from proving nay-sayers wrong. Actively seek and learn from the counsel of smart people. Make sure you actively interact with and show appreciation for people smarter than you, even if they don’t always agree with you. He never gave up, despite multiple setbacks.

Startup 173

Startup Mentor Activity Entrepreneur 173

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Seek input from the team, as well as mentors. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from peers, your advisory board, and outside experts and mentors. Some well-known business leaders, including Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg , always kept an active mentor relationship with a peer or two, to discuss business challenges and strategy.

Mentor 127

Mentor Satisfaction Customer Custom 127

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Many people believe that new ideas are the critical element of innovation, but in my experience as a mentor and investor, long-term business success is more about implementation than ideas. Whether you are a business professional in a big company, or an entrepreneur with a startup, innovation is a key strategy.

Artificial Inteligence 114

Artificial Inteligence Ideas Satisfaction Customer 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

Inside the organization, it also pays to offer some of your time for coaching and mentoring to less experienced team members, as an entrée to a supportive relationship. It’s amazing how quickly these activities lead to leadership or management opportunities. Stretch here also increases job satisfaction. Loners need not apply.

Startup 121

Startup Satisfaction Technical Review Ideas 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2023

Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. You won’t be viewed as the team leader if you spend most of your time on activities that are not relevant to your team. Being visible and engaged on a random part-time basis, due to other jobs, won’t do it.

Technical Review 127

Technical Review Development Team Review Startup Activity 127

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2022

In my experience as a mentor and advisor, I find that many of you expect these relationships will just happen , without any overt effort on your part. Actively seek out and attend key outside business conferences in order to meet and get to know people who can help you, and you can help in return. What goes around comes around.

Product 102

Product Mentor Startup Activity 102

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2021

Your brain has leveled all events and activities into a desert of sand dunes, where just getting from one to another is a struggle, and there is nothing new to see over the next hill. Ask a mentor for support. Choose a friend or mentor (not your spouse) whom you trust to tell you the truth, and ask for help. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 129

Startup Mentor Satisfaction Writing 129

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2020

I was shocked to read an old Gallup study that indicates only 13 percent of employees worldwide are actively engaged at work, and more recent data shows only a small change in the right direction. Find ways to recharge your emotional batteries, through supportive relationships and community activities.

Product 129

Product Examples Mentor Activity 129

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

According to the classic book, “ One Second Ahead ,” by noted authority on training the mind, Rasmus Hougaard, there are some basic rules that can really help you manage your focus and awareness in all work activities. I concur, based on my own extended career in business and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Email 96

Email Activity Product Social Media 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

For example, we all know people who really believe that everyone in the world is their supporter, when in fact many are actively working against them. In my role as a mentor to business professionals and entrepreneurs over the years, I have found that it’s important to take a hard look at the relationships around you on a regular basis.

Tips 95

Tips Mentor Coach Activity 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2023

Listen to your team, mentors, and customers to recognize real successes and failures, and surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps. Make your mantra one of job satisfaction and delivering customer value, rather than avoiding failure today. That requires a variety of activities and rest.

Mentor 104

Mentor Startup Coach Satisfaction 104

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2020

According to the classic book, “ One Second Ahead ,” by noted authority on training the mind, Rasmus Hougaard, there are some basic rules that can really help you manage your focus and awareness in all work activities. I concur, based on my own extended career in business and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Email 170

Email Activity Social Media Coach 170

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Business owners get their satisfaction from happy customers and happy stakeholders.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2022

It’s been happening for some time, but business changes, accelerated by the recent pandemic, have highlighted the need for all of us to review our positions, image, and satisfaction at work. You need to step out of your comfort zone to socialize, meet new people, and collaborate with peers, company leaders, and mentors.

Social Media 125

Social Media Summary Startup Mentor 125

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

Allocate time for active participation in relevant outside industry conferences, and public panels or TED talks that look ahead. I can attest that he was always seeking relationships with other more mature executives, and even today maintains a mentoring relationship with Warren Buffett. Foster an image of open mind and learn mode.

Mentor 145

Mentor IBM IBM Social Media 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2022

One of the dysfunctions I often see in my coaching and mentoring work with small businesses is team member burnout. This situation is only exacerbated by today’s remote work from home , where your work problems are unseen by others, and you have to manage the distractions of normal home activities, including children and pets.

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Coach Organization Demand Resource 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2022

You will then experience satisfaction, instead of increased pressure. Save 30 percent of your energy for outside activities. After having assessed your environment, start healthy networking activities, such as lunch, with important people in your professional network on a weekly basis. Mentally transition between work and home.

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Class Activity Coach Satisfaction 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2022

In my years of mentoring entrepreneurs, a problem I have seen too often is low self-esteem, and over-compensating through arrogance and ego. As a team member, low self-esteem leads to low confidence, poor productivity, and no job satisfaction. Free up your energy to be spent on more productive activities, and learn from past efforts.

Startup 101

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2023

The best entrepreneurs relish the challenges, and get great satisfaction from overcoming and learning from adversity. Ask for help from advisors and mentor your team. Practice active listening, and accept reality quickly. One of the biggest causes of startup failure is simply giving up too early.

Ideas 105

Ideas Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Yet I find in my mentoring practice that more and more team members prefer the human-centered approach and respond with more engagement and commitment. If you're asking someone else and wish to build that connection, be actively present during the interaction. You need both to create better outcomes and increase job satisfaction.

Case Study 112

Case Study Study Startup Examples 112

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2022

For example, non-computer types should consider delegating their social media, website, and SEO activities. It will inspire loyalty, provide real satisfaction for work done, and become the basis for mentoring and performance reviews. Delegate what you can’t do, and what doesn’t interest you. Pick the best person to delegate to.

Startup 121

Startup SEO Social Media Satisfaction 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2022

However, very quickly after everyone has their assignment as is actively working, you need to let them do their jobs without questioning every step. Look for a mentor, or expert in this area, and ask their advice. Don’t hesitate to micro-manage initially in a crisis. Your people need to know who to follow, what to do, and how to do it.

Develop 138

Develop Development Coach Satisfaction 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2022

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. The challenge is that every new business needs to be innovative and different, in order to rise above the crowd, bring real change to the world, and give you the satisfaction you seek.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. Great leaders learn to listen actively to conversations, so people don’t hold up progress just to be understood. Disruptive office politics start to show.

Training 142

Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2023

Over my many years of mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals, I often hear a desire to start a new business, with a big hesitation while waiting for that perfect idea and perfect alignment of the stars. Your time is precious, so don’t waste a minute of it on useless activities or dreaming.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Software Review 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2020

Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. You won’t be viewed as the team leader if you spend most of your time on activities that are not relevant to your team. Being visible and engaged on a random part-time basis, due to other jobs, won’t do it.

Technical Review 130

Technical Review Startup Development Team Review Activity 130

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

Too many business people let the daily challenges cause them to revert to emotional and autocratic demands, failure to communicate, and inability to coach and mentor team members. Yet no human body and mind can sustain the stress of constant work, with no time off for a personal life and non-business activities.

Startup 143

Startup Competition Coach Satisfaction 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Business owners get their satisfaction from happy customers and happy stakeholders.

Ideas 127

Ideas Entrepreneur Satisfaction Summary 127

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

Without a measurable objective, you will be constantly frustrated by not seeing progress, and you will never feel success satisfaction. Prioritize the activities and execution within each step. As an advisor, I concentrate on the proper outline and measurement of these steps, since activities are common for all businesses.

Writing 139

Writing Startup Summary Activity 139

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2023

By demonstrating positivity and mentoring, you can make collaboration and connecting with others a productive and enjoyable experience, rather than a burden. Providing real feedback, active listening, and empathy are crucial. Now is the time to find friends and allies in your own domain. Act fast and lead with a strong calm purpose.

Training 86

Training Resource Competition Satisfaction 86