“Always Be Closing”
- Glengarry Glen Ross

In the iconic movie, Glengarry Glen Ross, Alec Baldwin famously preaches this line which has become the inspiration for many businessfolk. It speaks more about the mental state you must be in as a salesperson than anything. Of course you know you want to close the deal, but you must be leveraging that thinking in your actions and conversations. It’s more than knowing – its acting on it. Read more »

On a daily basis, is your goal to stand out from the crowd, or blend right into the wallpaper and avoid any attention?

Often times we may find ourselves at this juncture and more often than not we tend to side with the choices that don’t rock the boat or draw attention. It can mean something as small as not speaking your opinion in a meeting or can have much larger implications by deciding not to share an idea with the team.

Our decision (subconscious or not) signals a lack of confidence – either in the idea itself or in our ability to explain or defend it. We quietly shoot the idea down in our head and never give it the opportunity to see the light of day. This rationalization is selfish and detrimental not just to our development, but to the mission that we aim to support. Read more »

Most of us have volunteered at some time in our lives. Whether it is building a house via Habitat For Humanity, helping to babysit or lending your time at a soup kitchen – many make the effort to lend their time to a cause that they support.

For startups, especially social enterprise startups, volunteering can mean the world of difference. Entrepreneurs are quickly and often taught that it’s not what you know but who you know. On top of putting on different positional hats every day, entrepreneurs are consistently faced with the trade off of taking the time to research and learn a new skill or to put their effort towards what they already know.

Volunteers, too, tend to wear many hats along the way – but the most important asset they bring to the table is their energy. Rarely do you see volunteers who acting under duress. Volunteers act because they’re passionate. Read more »

Whether you’re working at a startup or not, one of the common questions you might ask yourself is, “How am I adding value on a daily basis?” The challenge behind each day is not how much work you can avoid, but how best you can spend your time driving value to your organization.

So how do you add value?

Through years of education, training, and work experience, we’ve discovered what we’re good at. Those with a college or advanced degree spent years honing in on specialties to prepare us for the real world.

During your work reviews, you’re challenged to take your skillset to the next level by producing more than you have in the past. As an entrepreneur, you’re consistently challenged to “do one thing and do it well”. Well, it’s only natural for us to focus on what we’re good at, and lean on that in order to do that one thing well. Read more »

(*Insert innovative product here)

How many folks at the Bottom of the Pyramid woke up every morning lamenting the fact that their kerosene lamps weren’t eco-friendly enough, and wanted something more sustainable? Sure, the danger of kerosene fires was a real problem, but no one had yet introduced a way harness the power of the sun as a viable replacement.

People just knew that their current solution wasn’t optimal, but in the absence of anything better, they kept operating as normal. Even when companies like d.light introduced this new product, people were unsure about switching from what they’ve known.

In yesterday’s Sunday Morning Coffee, Bryan discussed the fact that companies exist to solve your problems. Well, what if you don’t know that you have a problem? Read more »