Manifest Your Vision
Conventional thinking suggests that we should build businesses by listening to the market and following demand. “You can only channel demand, not create it,” proclaimed legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz in Breakthrough Advertising. Startups are encouraged to do the same: find demand rather than create it, and pivot quickly if your idea isn’t working. Y Combinator, […]
Why I Love Veteran Business Leaders
In my first career building an investment banking firm, I stumbled upon a hiring secret: recruiting former competitive athletes. I found them to have several attributes that were important to my business, and over time those attributes became a kind of pattern I could reliably bet on. The Hiring Secret I Learned in Investment Banking […]
What I Wish I Knew
Ever look back and think, “If I’d only known that back then…”? That’s been the story of my entrepreneurial journey—a mix of trial, error, and the occasional forehead slap. After building and selling one company and coaching hundreds more, I’ve boiled it down to three lessons I wish I’d learned much earlier. 1. Find a […]
Your Job #1: Stay in the Game
I’m not much of a card player—except for Dutch Blitz with my family over the holidays. (If you’ve never played it, try it!) I know the rules of poker too, but I almost never play. That said, one time I joined a Texas Hold’em tournament with about 50 fellow investment bankers… and somehow ended up […]
Why Do It for a “Why,” Not Money
When we moved to America, my plan was to continue doing investment banking in a more promising market. Within weeks of arriving I landed my first two clients and thought I was on my way. Instead, they turned out to be the last two M&A clients we had here. A virgin hand often wins, as […]
Soothing, Smoothing, and Handholding
What does it take to become a Trusted Advisor—the kind clients turn to when they need help improving their business, their life, and making difficult decisions? Prolific author and maestro of professional services David H. Maister suggests that technical knowledge is not enough. Clients judge professional service firms not only by technical quality but by […]
The Gap That Makes the Gain
Legendary business coach Dan Sullivan coined the concept of The Gap and the Gain, later developed into a bestselling book co-authored with Benjamin Hardy. In this book, Sullivan and Hardy explore how entrepreneurs can burn out themselves and their teams by constantly seeing the glass as half empty—focusing on the Gap instead of celebrating the […]
Do You Drive with Fear or Ambition?
Fear has long been described as the strongest motivator of all. When survival is at stake, nothing mobilizes energy and focus faster. This is why fear sells so effectively. From life and health insurance to diet programs, security systems, retirement plans, safe cars, and even cosmetics, fear has been the foundation of countless marketing strategies. […]
Use or Lose the Gift We Inherited
As of July 4, 2025, it has been 248 years since Thomas Jefferson and 55 other freedom-loving Americans initiated the Declaration of Independence. This was not just a political statement—it was a bold act of defiance that came at a tremendous personal cost. Many of these leaders lost their property, their livelihoods, and in some […]
Hands, Brain, or Heart—Which One Powers Your Business?
A business is a living organism. And just like any living thing, it needs its vital organs in top shape if it wants to survive—let alone achieve sustainable business growth. Some businesses are like single-season blooms—quick to appear, quick to fade. Think pandemic mask manufacturers: here one moment, gone the next. Others are seasonal blooms, […]
