Entries by First Sun Team

Leadership: 7 Signs Your Company Has Made It…Here are 7 Signs of Success I’ve Come up With Based on Our Experience at Umbel

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How do you know when your company has “made it”? What are the signs that your company/startup has officially become viable? Or your viable company/startup has become a mature company? Or your mature company has become the business you always dreamed it could be? [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” […]

Strategy: How to Get Anything You Want by Asking Better Questions…“If Humans all Stood Around & Asked for Nothing, we Would All Just Die.”

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“If can ask questions in the right way, you can get anything you want.” Take that from Michael Roderick, a Broadway producer and founder of ConnectorCon, a conference that helps influencers better connect, and Small Pond, a consultancy that helps people build better careers and lives — all by asking better questions. It’s the art of […]

Leadership: The Leadership Paradox Of Shared Purpose…Having a Stronger Sense of Shared Purpose Reduces Systemic Frustrations People have with Organizations

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There is a paradox in how we see ourselves in a collaborative, cooperative world of work. This is a balance within each: our self-image, where we give attention, and what we consider priorities. On the organization side, this is also the balance of centralization versus decentralization, leading versus directing, uniformity versus uniqueness, and, supporting scale […]

Strategy: Seeking Social’s ROI? You’re Missing The Point Entirely…There are More Than 2 Billion People on Social Networks Today, & With the Proliferation of Mobile Technology

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Businesses have been obsessively trying to find the ROI of social media, which is the completely wrong approach. Don’t get me wrong—it’s not that you shouldn’t measure the impact of social media; but the measurement should be a business one, not a measure of social alone. Social Media is an enablement tool, not a standalone […]

Strategy: 12 Ways Women Unknowingly Sabotage their Success…Women Suffer Not Only from the Glass Ceiling, But also from What some Call “Sticky-Floor Syndrome.”

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Did you think the glass ceiling was a relic of the past? Not so much.  Even if there weren’t plenty of statistics to demonstrate continued gender bias in the workplace, the marketplace, and in financing for start-ups, a depressing stories out of Silicon Valley makes it brutally clear just how far we haven’t come. Are you suffering from “sticky-floor syndrome?” Unfortunately, […]

Strategy: 10 Life Lessons from legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith…Lead by Example: “A Leader’s Job is to Develop Committed Followers. Bad Leaders Destroy their Followers’ Sense of Commitment.”

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Legendary University of North Carolina men’s basketball coach Dean Smith knew how to win a ball game. Coach Dean Smith mentored numerous successful players, including Michael Jordan. Smith, who died at age 83 at his home on Saturday, coached the Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997. In those 36 seasons, he led the team to two National […]

Leadership: ‘Dilbert’ Creator Scott Adams Illustrates Why ‘Goals are For Losers & Passion is Overrated’… Adams has a Chapter in His Book “How to Fail at Almost Everything & Still Win Big” Titled “Passion is Bullshit.”

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Dilbert” creator Scott Adams has a chapter in his book “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big” titled “Passion is Bullshit.” “When a successful person is interviewed, and you say, ‘What was the secret to your success?’ what they can’t say, because society won’t let them, is: ‘I was smarter, I worked […]

Strategy: Gartner Predicts 3 Big Data Trends for Business Intelligence…By 2020, Information Will be Used to Reinvent, Digitalize or Eliminate 80% of Business Processes

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Big data has given businesses a window into valuable streams of information from customer purchasing habits to inventory status. However, internal data streams give only a limited picture, especially with the growth of digital business. Three trends Gartner has identified describe information’s ability to transform business processes over the next few years. Our predictions include: […]

Strategy: 6 Ways To Take Advantage Of Negative Reviews… You Can’t Be What Everyone Wants You to Be, & as You Go on Serving the Public, You are Bound to Disappoint a Few

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With sites like Yelp and Google Reviews a single customer can share his or her poor experience with your company with millions of people by a few clicks of the mouse.  From there, your reputation can be dragged in the mud by any crackpot or veiled competitor. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” […]