Category: Uncategorized

ALL INNOVATIONS GO INTO THE PLANET'S TOOLBOX WITH UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. Marie Curie - nuclear bombs - advanced cancer treatments; the "information highway" (Al Gore) - distance leaning - new warfare platforms; GPS - map free driving - precision bombing; and so on. It is not possible to anticipate the future uses of any innovation, but the likelihood is it will be both far-reaching and bivalent. Once learned, it is also impossible to take it out of the box. View in LinkedIn

STRATEGIC PLANNING SHOULD BE ONGOING. Most companies give lip-service to strategic planning, and fail to grasp that this is Make-Or-Break for all companies. If you have any competition, or even just fickle customers, by definition you must do it. That effectively means everybody. Properly done, this creates a living RoadMap, that must be updated at least annually. Done well, it creates a corporate mission that is about being clearly differentiated in your space, and thus more likely to gain market share, even if you are a tech company years from the market. Be clearly differentiated! View in LinkedIn

EUROPE IS STILL A KNOWLEDGE SUPERPOWER, as these awards show, and their intent is to close the gap with the US. These two very significant awards are bound to generate numerous collaborations, IP, and Tech spinouts. A very innovative and bold step in the right direction of supporting Tech research. http://lnkd.in/paX4Fs View in LinkedIn

HIGH TECH COMPANIES NEED AN ORTHODOX CAPITAL STRUCTURE. This translates as meaning that the founder must give away enough stock to create a Stock Option Pool (SOP) of about 20% post-Series A funding for future stock awards and stock for new hires. Some EC countries (Spain for instance) have odd laws that give a heavy tax penalty for this structure. There are work-arounds that solve this, such as Phantom Stock. If you do not have this, it will almost certainly cause problems with foreign investors who are used to seeing this capital structure. Fixing this early is vital. View in LinkedIn

DILUTION IS ALWAYS A TOUGH ISSUE FIRST TIME AROUND for most entrepreneurs and Angel investors. Remember, all of nothing is nothing, and less of a bigger pie is more valuable. Founders should take care (do the sums and argue your position) to ensure that they and key staff have enough stock to keep them motivated going forward. Try and avoid at all costs any anti-dilution clauses (for anyone), as they will almost certainly cause problems in later rounds. View in LinkedIn

KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD will come back to haunt CEOs, because 90% of the time, it is because a CEO is emotionally disinclined to confront that issue. This usually arises when a board member, or staff member, brings up a thorny issue to the CEO. By deferring the pesky decision, the person who brought up the issue becomes increasingly frustrated, and more often than not, the problem becomes more complex. Lesson? Nip it in the bud. View in LinkedIn

MAKE YOUR CASE TO THE BOARD AND INVESTORS. The CEO of any company should be in the habit of making reasoned and thought-through justifications for key decisions facing the company, even if there is dissent from the board. Well-crafted, logical, and factual arguments are often enough to win your case, and the board will gain comfort that you show solid business reasoning, and are willing to stand your ground. I have heard dissenting board members (investors) explain their negative view on an issue explained by the fact that the CEO simply did not make his case. View in LinkedIn

TRY AND ONLY WORK WITH GREAT PROPLE. Life is short, and nothing is worse than working with unethical, egotistical, or dishonest people, be they investors, staff, or board members. The experience will go south, the relationship deteriorate, and you will be tainted by association. Remember the Sniff Test: If it is not fun don't do it! Of course, hard work can be less than fun, but it better not be ghastly. View in LinkedIn

MY MENTOR WHEN I WAS YOUNG, SAID "ALWAYS TAKE THE HIGH ROAD". It took some serious battles to understand what this meant. Be respectful, give credit where credit is due, take firm stands when you are being compromised and know you are right, and always try to do the right thing. Always ask: "can I write this as my epitaph and feel good about it?". View in LinkedIn

UNDER-PROMISE AND OVER-DELIVER is sound advice for CEOs. A BlowHard CEO who gives overly optimistic predictions will quickly wear thin on boards and investors alike. Be balanced in predictions and forecasts, disclose concerns and problems, and never try to play the field by telling one thing to one group and another to the next. The world is small, and people talk. Once your credibility is compromised, it is gone forever. View in LinkedIn