THE DISCIPLINED ENTREPRENEUR

WITH DISCOMFORT COMES GROWTH

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Strength Through Vulnerability

Strength Through Vulnerability

When it comes to thinking about great leaders, I’ve been conditioned to immediately zero in on characteristics that reflect a strong personality– traits like confidence, decisiveness, vision, and fortitude. But are these “strong” traits enough to be successful today? There are countless leaders across industries that match this description of strength – from Steve Jobs to Jack Welch to George Patton to Vince Lombardi, and Mark Zuckerburg. There’s no emotional coddling coming

One Plus Anything Equals Zero

One Plus Anything Equals Zero

In football, the quarterback is the undisputed leader of the offense and the bell cow for the entire team. The quarterback calls the plays, touches the ball just about every play, and perhaps most importantly – dictates the successes or failures of the team based on his performance. So what happens when you have two quarterbacks that are both good enough to play? Maybe Jimmy is a better passer and Joe is a better runner? Perhaps Connor throws a better deep-ball, while Tyler h

Stop Looking Ahead and Start Racing To Right Now

Stop Looking Ahead and Start Racing To Right Now

Back in 2009, I made the trek from Chicago to Orlando for the Capital One Bowl college football game between my beloved Michigan State Spartans and the Georgia Bulldogs. I’m not a Disney guy – so what’s a man to do with extra time in Central Florida on a hot day in December? Go-Kart Racing. Really fast Go-Kart Racing. I knew I was enjoying my time navigating the track when I started shouting with glee to nobody in particular. And even once I was conscious of what I was doing,

Learning From the Dingy Undershirts In Your Dresser Drawer

Learning From the Dingy Undershirts In Your Dresser Drawer

“You’re only as fashionable as the oldest white undershirt you still wear.” Many years ago, I read this quote as part of a fashion piece in my favorite magazine, Men’s Health. Rifling through the clothes in my dresser on a recent Saturday, these words came racing back into my conscious mind. While I can’t say that I typically spend a lot of time examining the white undershirts in my dresser, there was something insightful that came from taking the time to look at these tee sh

When 20 People Walked Out of My Presentation Before It Started

When 20 People Walked Out of My Presentation Before It Started

I’m a big believer that with everything you do – you either win or learn. If you take the time to process information and make yourself better, that’s a learn – not a loss. Welp. I definitely learned recently. For the second year in a row, I joined forces with a good friend of mine, Adam Brown, to speak at the Michigan Business Professionals of American conference, a gathering of 2,000+ top high school students launching their business career. As part of the conference, stude

Safety to Start-Up: Stacking The Deck in Your Favor

Safety to Start-Up: Stacking The Deck in Your Favor

While it’s appropriate to emphasize the need to understand the fear that’s holding you back from pursuing that amazing new endeavor, it’s equally important to understand how to maximize success for first-time entrepreneurs. So, let’s change the narrative away from fear and learn from the brave souls who dive into the shark-infested waters of something new and different. What motivates new entrepreneurs to move away from a safe career and to invest his or her precious time in

What’s The Real Reason You Haven’t Started The Business You Dream About?

What’s The Real Reason You Haven’t Started The Business You Dream About?

Odds are you’ve thought a lot about creating a new business on your own. You’ve read books and blogs, shared ideas with friends, and probably even discovered that someone else brought “your” ideas to life. Yet for some reason, good or bad, you haven’t made a clear decision to start or not start a business. And if you’re like a lot of people I know – you’re no closer to a resolution than you were last month. I recently spent some time with my friend Joe helping him decide whet

Change Your Business With a Meaningful Hello and Goodbye Each Day

Change Your Business With a Meaningful Hello and Goodbye Each Day

Without question, the worst part of my otherwise amazing business school experience was being immersed in the anxious negative energy created from being one of the five hundred Type A MBA students going through interview season together. I have vivid memories walking through the beautiful Winter Garden at Chicago Booth (below) and feeling overwhelmed by the high-stress energy of my classmates throughout recruiting season. Just from walking into the Winter Garden, where my cla

Stop Being a Wantrepreneur. Start Being an Entrepreneur.

Stop Being a Wantrepreneur. Start Being an Entrepreneur.

The difference between entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs is simple: wantrepreneurs pursue inspiration and entrepreneurs create inertia. And believe me…the power of inertia is stronger than the power of inspiration. There are countless websites dedicated to inspirational quotes. We subscribe to daily inspiration emails. We pay $6.99 for a card with an inspiring line. Co-working spaces spend thousands of dollars to paint inspirational quotes on walls. Ever wonder why we love ins

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Startup Founder Communication

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Startup Founder Communication

Leadership is communication and effective communication is always a challenge, even in the most ideal environments. So what does that mean for communication for the time-starved, high-stakes, high-failure world of startups? It means everything – especially for founders. When you think of early-sate startups, think college roommates. Close living quarters and a general lack of maturity lead college roommates to fight; poor communication (of course, binge drinking probably didn

10 Ways To Prepare to Succeed Every Single Day

10 Ways To Prepare to Succeed Every Single Day

That Ben Franklin – he was one smart chap. Franklin invented bifocals, streetlights, swim fins (yes, swim fins) and electricity. As if that wasn’t enough, Big Ben was willing to prove his worth by flying a kite with a key on it during a lightning storm. Talk about scrappy? As entrepreneurs and creators, there are a lot of lessons to learn from Ben Franklin. One that stands out here at The Disciplined Entrepreneur is Big Ben’s ability to balance creativity with intense plannin

Do What Matters – Develop a 6th Sense For Your Team

Do What Matters – Develop a 6th Sense For Your Team

As a leader, your first job is to create a profitable and sustainable business. Your second job is to develop talent and support your team. Right? Wrong. If you’re not prioritizing your team, you’re failing your team, your business, and yourself. The success of your business is 100% dependent on the success of your people. To create a healthy culture, your team needs to know that you care and you’re there to support them, regardless of how convenient it is for you. Too many l

Ten Tips For Pitching Your Startup Before You’re Ready for Investment

Ten Tips For Pitching Your Startup Before You’re Ready for Investment

If you’re like a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs, you dream of the day when you meet with a respected investor, deliver a knockout pitch, and an investment is immediately made in your company. That’s a great story-line, but there’s a 99% chance that your reality will look a little different. Many startups have the opportunity to pitch very early on − even before you’re ready for investors. Press and marketing creates buzz and helps to get you on the map, so it’s important for

Build a Culture of Discipline in your Startup

Build a Culture of Discipline in your Startup

You created a start-up. Sweet. Go ahead – enjoy a little flexibility in how you dress, talk, and think. Wear the jeans & t-shirt. You’ve earned it. Just be careful that when you throw out the archaic conventions of the corporate world, you don’t also fall into a classic entrepreneurs trap and throw out discipline with the suit & tie. As a strategy consultant (you know….one of the Bobs) and start-up founder, I’ve seen different approaches for running a business. The strategy c

The Magic of Ten-Percenters

The Magic of Ten-Percenters

You know those people. You know, those people you meet that immediately show a lot of interest in what you’re doing. Those people who truly listen, are quick to support your efforts, and follow through on what they said they would do. If you’re like me, you initially see those people as a little crazy and a little special. After all, there’s a little bit of crazy in all 10-percenters. Okay – perhaps a lot of crazy. It’s not logical for someone to stay up until 4:00 AM to idea

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