Our nature is to compete. Especially among motivated and high-performing people competition is always “on”. Its tempting to value collaboration over competition, but I think that misses the point. One is a consequence and the other is a cause of being successful. [https://www.firstnamedotlastname.com/content/images/wordpress/2011/

It turns out we are the audience.  We buy the toothpaste.  We take the vacations.  We check out the new ‘whatever’ it is we want to buy.  We are the people that get marketed to.  And we are the people that the entire advertising industry is based upon.  Basically, to

Great things happen when you’re on a roll. Coming up with a smart idea usually kicks off more smart ideas; more smart ideas lead to innovations. Being confident in what you know and what your doing has a positive reinforcement in making you feel more confident, more creative, more

It turns out that I'm more interested in other stuff than I was in the stuff I was learning in school. That changed when I got to grad school. The difference was that I wanted to learn the material because I found it interesting; it mattered to me.

What’s the purpose of a company? Why do we do what we do? Peter Drucker [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker] said: the purpose of a company is to create a customer. The purpose isn't to generate profit, nor make money. The purpose isn't

#901 – The simpler the idea the more likely it will succeed. #32 – Partnerships matter. #742 – Its more complicated than that. #49 – If I like you and I trust you, I will buy something from you. #1127 – The harder the job, the more lonely it will be.

Sailing isn’t all that hard.  Sailing faster and more efficiently than anyone else when everyone has all the exact same equipment is really really hard!  It turns out that sailing and running a business have a lot in common. 1. Boat size = company size [http://walterknapp.typepad.com/.a/

[http://walterknapp.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54eff9e5388330120a76a2d85970b-pi]

Good intentions. Sage advice. Clever insights.  All good and worthy goals of a conversation with a smart person, a successful person, an influential person.  The problem lies in the clarity of what you want out of it and your perspective on the situation or issue.  Smart people want (desperately) to

#73 Work is inextricably intertwined with life. If you don’t believe me you probably need to get a new one. #19 Saying you’ll do something and actually doing it is not the same thing.This is even worse if you’re a repeat offender.  This is somewhat to

Just got this from a good friend. Drove through the worst snow blizzard I've ever been to…was going so slow that I saw this sign, grabbed my phone, took it out of its cover, turned it on, made an espresso, drank it and took this picture that

Thomas Friedman has a short op-ed in the NYT today [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/opinion/22friedman.html].  I think he hits the mark on how we should be thinking about investments and bailouts in this country.  If we want to come out of this economic crisis in

[http://walterknapp.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54eff9e538833011278fcbb1f28a4-pi] Interesting article in the MIT Technology Review [http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22197/page1/] about measuring the value of a company (startup) by measuring buzz metrics (Twitter activity, Techcrunch mentions, Blog posts, etc.).  Similar to the YouNoodle [http://younoodle.com/] or KillerStartup [http://www.

A pullback, slowdown, recession or whatever you want to call it, often exposes big opportunities for people and companies that are wise to the bigger picture.  This is exactly what I think is going to happen in the world of online advertising data. The ad networks figured this out a

That is.. make fun or snicker at Twitter’s lack of an obvious economic model. Nearly everyone I talk to that has any sort of intersection with Twitter loves to talk about the company’s apparent lack of an economic model.  I think that’s a bit shallow and overplayed.

Experience is typically an asset. But.. I think, at times it can become a hindrance to success. What do I mean? Take, for example, a team that starts a company.  They begin figuring things out, listening to the market, learning, making mistakes, focusing on where they succeed.  Eventually they persevere,

#213 Family members in a company never work.At least in investor-backed, fast moving, companies.  It never turns out well.  I’ve seen enough husband-wife, brothers, Father-son, debacles..  I always hear the same “we’re different” excuse.  It never works.  See also, rule: #214 intimate relationships in business never work.

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve had the privilege and opportunity to listen, talk with, and participate in a number of discussions with really smart people about the current economic crisis.  Some of these discussions have been at formal events (CxO conference, and a Panel at CU’s business

I’ve concluded that leg shaving and cycling is, more than anything, a cultural thing. Whatever answer you give, however, do not, under any circumstances, tell the truth: you shave your legs so that other cyclists will take you seriously as a cyclist. If you admit that, you may as

I recently read an interesting article in the New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/technology/18vc.html?ex=1361163600&en=02be5fce4ef897c9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink] ..  A start-up in Silicon Valley has apparently concocted an expert system “the predictor [http://younoodle.

First off, I’m new to this. Sure, I read blogs and I follow a few people that I think have something interesting / informative / funny to say. I just never gave much thought that I’d be the one doing some of the writing. Anyway… I decided that the only