CEO Blog

FEBRUARY 18, 2011

I was in Boston yesterday and was asked for the best questions to ask in an interview. The following list largely comes from Double Double - the book I recently reviewed. Clearly the questions used varies from interview to interview and is based on the person and position. I welcome feedback with other questions: Problem Solving and Ability to Deal with Adversity - What are your personal goals, and have you achieved them?

Delegation 221

Delegation Creativity Goal Project 221

CEO Blog

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

It is interesting how SEO is changing and becoming more mainstream. NY Times even had an article on it. One of my portfolio companies is SEO Pledge. I usually read business and self help books (since I need so much self help). Last night I read one that is slightly out of that genre although the title ( Emotional Freedom - Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life ) sounds like a regular self help book.

Mayo 190

Mayo Maturity Books Definition 190

CEO Blog

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

Everyone who knows me (or is connected to me by linkedin , facebook or Twitter ) knows I like quotations - especially motivational business quotations. There is one quote by Anthony Robbins that is often used that I do not like is "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten" I guess this could be motivational if you have not been successful.

Handbook 190

Handbook Mentor Definition Learning-by-Doing 190

CEO Blog

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

I am just back from a week of travel that ended with a break for Québec Winter Carnival. A plug for some of my investee companies (I don't often make my investments public): Well.ca is having a free sample promotion. Online drugstore (not prescription stuff) made easy to buy. Hitfix continues with awesome content. And I hope RuMe saves the world with nylon bags.

Sample 189

Sample Sports Travel Entrepreneur 189

CEO Blog

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

I have long advocating asking big questions in order to get big results. It is much more powerful to ask how to double sales than how to increase them by 6% because asking for a 6% increase can cause no fundamental change - just doing things a bit better. Asking for a double usually requires a major change. I am also an advocate of asking "how" rather than "why".

Learning-by-Doing 170

Learning-by-Doing Tools Course Project 170

CEO Blog

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

I got good feedback from my interview questions blog so I thought I would continue in the vein of HR. Clearly the most critical thing for any business is staff. In most cases it is the biggest line on the P and L. One way to keep HR on track is with reviews. One of the most impactful ways to do this is with 360 feedback reviews. The way I do that is to send an email to everyone who interact with the person being reviewed asking for 3 things they are great at and anything they could use coaching

Review 113

Review P&L Sample Open-book 113

CEO Blog

FEBRUARY 16, 2011

I thought the following press release was of interest. I invested in Hatsize and sit on the board. Hatsize releases first annual Cloud Automation Trends Survey results. Landmark survey identifies 2011 cloud automation trends and indicates cloud automation will spur sales growth. Hatsize conducted anonymous survey of 181 North American business leaders.

Trends 203

Trends Press Release Survey Budgeting 203