In a word: read. I once had an argument with someone who didn’t want to read business books because ‘they all contradict each other, proving they don’t know what they’re talking about.’ I think that’s the wrong perspective; there isn’t one right answer you’re going to find in the one right book. Every business does …
Category Archives: Business
Advice for Your Career in Publishing
I’ve been contributing to other sites lately. Here are some excerpts and links. Business.com 5 Things to Say to Advance Your Career Right Now Your career is about relationships: with your boss, your coworkers, and with the people you serve in your work. And relationships are driven by words, the most important of which …
Students need to fail
Are you failing enough? School is a place that trains you to give the right answer, and where failure is punished. Are you trying to do things that have never been done? Are you seeking answers no one knows already? Risk failure to find the success that follows.
Read for Cash
Our “continuing education” program for employees can be summed up in one word: read. Every year we pay our team to read business books. The financial incentive (15 cents / page) and requirements (the books are all pre-approved, the campaign lasts six weeks) lead people to read outside their normal interests and outside their normal …
What we value at Logos
A recent email to the company… There is nothing at Logos more important than our corporate values: Honesty. Openness. Awesomeness. Growth. Initiative. Elegance. Shipping. These values reflect what we want to be as an organization. They help us decide what to do today and next year. They answer both ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ I love being …
Business is triage
Any idiot can run any project well. Hire experienced professionals. Staff every project completely. Get the best tools. Use the highest quality materials. Have independent consultants and auditors verify everything. Take the time to do things right, and never settle for second-best. If leadership is the art of delegation, then everyone can lead a product …
Profit Is Why You Are in Business
Does your business have a noble mission? Mine does, too. But making a profit is what enables a business to accomplish its mission. Profit needs to be the first priority or you will not have a chance to pursue any others. It is easy to fall into the trap of labeling things “strategic” as an …
The four-word employee handbook
Everything I want from myself and others at work (and in life!) can be summed up in four words: Honor God. Love others. When we started Logos Bible Software twenty years ago, I used a software program to generate a boilerplate “attorney approved” employee handbook. When employees asked “What’s our policy on…?” I might refer …
On failing our customers
I try to stay accessible, publishing my email address, answering my own phone, participating in our forums, etc. In normal days this means I get occasional complaints from customers, and I’m able to make that customer happy and hear about weak spots in our product or systems. But now I’m hearing from upset customers every …
Lonely at the end? Yes, so keep a few of the pirates…
Derek Johnson is a young entrepreneur here in Bellingham who’s been setting the world on fire with Tatango and his “cover the earth” social media strategy. I think he’s going places. Today he posted about how there’s now not one other person at Tatango who was there at the start. It’s true, the people who …
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