This was one of those lessons that was tough to learn – tough, because it was very expensive time and money wise, and doubly tough because I had to learn it more than once. Vision inversion can be deadly to your company. It occurs when your key people put their vision for their position above your vision for the company. It’s quite normal throughout the ranks – and its ok – but for your direct reports, it can be deadly. Whether people I hired knew it or not, I always made a p

Every board decision assumes the organization can execute the company’s strategy. If the organization fails to achieve the outcomes expected, the root cause is routinely categorized as one of two things: a “failure to execute”, or “insufficient capital to execute”. Both of those failure modes are typically tied to the leadership and management team, but (in my opinion), the fault is equally divided between the board and the CEO. Why? It often comes down to the critical conn

Sometimes what we aim for has to be beyond our current reach, and that was the case for this four clock Dutch Clock Auction system. We earned the opportunity years earlier by delivering what we committed to and collaborating effectively with others.

The 2 Dutch Clock auction system at OFG was the first fully digital B2B auction for perishable products in the world. It entailed doing many things that had never been done before, and deadlines that couldn't be changed.

I cofounded 2 technology companies – one that focused on electronic hardware and firmware, and one that focused on software and cloud-based solutions. One was a manufacturing company, the other provided high technology solutions to manufacturing companies. Throughout my career, the common perception was that I was (am) a “technology guy”. Sometimes I’d correct that and reply that I was really a “manufacturing guy”, but the truth is, I’ve always been a “customer guy”. Even tho

In a previous Entrepreneurial Epiphany series column, I asked “What is your superpower?”. In this one I ask, “Who is your sidekick?”. Most successful entrepreneurs and business builders have a superpower, and hopefully the last column helped them recognize and appreciate theirs’. Continuing with that superpower theme a little bit longer, this column focuses on the “sidekick”. Although Superman did not have an obvious sidekick, many other superheroes did. Batman had Robin. The

When I started this series based on my own entrepreneurial journey, I had pretty much shaped this blog out in my mind fully when out of the blue, a friend of mine lent me a book that covers this topic very well. The book: The Bomber Mafia, by Malcom Gladwell. Although the book uses WWII as a backdrop and speaks specifically about how technology can alter the course of human life, and in particular how wars are fought, it clearly identifies the unique critical elements require