Tag Archives: Competitive Advantage
Built to Last or Built to Flip?
Is your business built to last or built to flip? No question influences your business strategy more than this one. There is no right answer — either strategy is fine. However, making sure that you have alignment throughout your organization on this question is very… Continue reading
Like Warren Buffett, Best Investment Philosophy Balances Discipline with Flexibility
Warren Buffett is famous for his discipline in his early investing success. Now, I think he is demonstrating his flexibility (some are critical of his recent flexibility) in investment philosophy. Both are important skills for business owners and managers to master and to know when… Continue reading
Investment Strategy & Structure Is the #1 Thing Founders and CEO’s Should Watch In Raising Capital
To be better, one must first be different. Thus, good strategy focuses on understanding differences and creating differences. This also applies to investment firms — differences in structure often drives the strategy. Any entrepreneur or business owner considering raising capital needs to understand the structure… Continue reading
BCG Study: Superior Investment Returns From Family Business
Deep wisdom exists in how family businesses are managed for the long-term. In fact, the financial returns for closely held businesses outperform their peer groups across business cycles according to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group and Sophie Mignon of Ecole Polytechnique. While… Continue reading
Should CEO’s, Business Owners, Founders Focus Inside or Outside?
Founders, CEO’s, and business owners need to be skilled at knowing how to balance many competing ideas, priorities, initiatives, and more. We explored this idea in the post the Art of Balance that listed 20 continuums that founders, CEO’s, and business owners must balance constantly. How much to focus… Continue reading
Five Forces by Michael Porter — Fundamentals Through Graphics
Five Forces of Competition The five forces of competition concept is one of the most influential in modern business. It was developed by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School. Like all good frameworks, it takes something complicated and provides a simple, shorthand method to… Continue reading
Art of Balance — the Key to Business & Management Success
Balance is key to success, particularly for business owners and leaders who think about an entire organization. This means: a) the ability to decide where and when to focus on multiple continuums, b) the ability to execute those decisions, and c) the ability to know when to reassess (a… Continue reading
Founder & VC Misalignment More Often Than Thought
The misalignment between vc’s and founders is painfully obvious from the quotes below from the IPO S-1 filing of Applied Medical Corp. (Dan Primack of Fortune did the reporting and should get the credit). First is the company stating why they are going public (bold emphasis mine). … Continue reading