How To Destroy A Tech Startup In Three Easy Steps


Lawrence Krubner - 2017
    When inexperienced entrepreneurs ask my advice about their idea for a tech startup, they often worry "What if Google decides to compete with us? They will crush us!" I respond that far more startups die of suicide than homicide. If you can avoid hurting yourself, then you are already better off than most of your competitors. Startups are a chance to build something entirely original with brilliant and ambitious people. But startups are also dangerous. Limited money means there is little room for mistakes. One bad decision can mean bankruptcy. The potential payoff attracts capital, which in turn attracts scam artists. The unscrupulous often lack the skills needed to succeed, but sometimes they are smart enough to trick investors. Even entrepreneurs who start with a strong moral compass can find that the threat of failure unmoors their ethics from their ambition. Emotions matter. We might hope that those in leadership positions possess strength and resilience, but vanity and fragile egos have sabotaged many of the businesses that I’ve worked with. Defeat is always a possibility, and not everyone finds healthy ways to deal with the stress. In this book I offer both advice and also warnings. I've seen certain self-destructive patterns play out again and again, so I wanted to document one of the most extreme cases that I've witnessed. In 2015 I worked for a startup that began with an ingenious idea: to use the software techniques known as Natural Language Processing to allow people to interact with databases by writing ordinary English sentences. This was a multi-billion dollar idea that could have transformed the way people gathered and used information. However, the venture had inexperienced leadership. They burned through their $1.3 million seed money. As their resources dwindled, their confidence transformed into doubt, which was aggravated by edicts from the Board Of Directors ordering sudden changes that effectively threw away weeks' worth of work. Every startup forces its participants into extreme positions, often regarding budget and deadlines. Often these situations are absurd to the point of parody. Therefore, there is considerable humor in this story. The collision of inexperience and desperation gives rise to moments that are simply silly. I tell this story in a day-to-day format, both to capture the early optimism, and then the later sense of panic. Here then, is a cautionary tale, a warning about tendencies that everyone joining a startup should be on guard against."

Negotiation


Roy J. Lewicki - 1985
    A third revised edition of this study of the art and theories behind negotiation, which explores the psychology of bargaining, and the interpersonal conflicts and resolutions which occur during the process.

Essentials of Contemporary Management


Gareth R. Jones - 2003
    Jones and George are dedicated to the challenge of "Making It Real" for students. The authors present management in a way that makes its relevance obvious even to students who might lack exposure to a "real-life" management context. This is accomplished thru a diverse set of examples, and the unique, and most popular feature of the text, the "Manager as a Person" Chapter 2. This chapter discusses managers as real people with their own personalities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and problems and this theme is carried thru the remaining chapters. This text also discusses the importance of management competencies--the specific set of skills, abilities, and experiences that gives one manager the ability to perform at a higher level than another in a specific context. The themes of diversity, ethics, globalization, and information technology are integrated throughout.

Viva the Entrepreneur: Founding, Scaling, and Raising Venture Capital in Latin America


Brian Requarth
    He shows how to manage your own psychology and your operations, be it working with co-founders, building a culture, or managing a board of directors. Brian also reveals the secrets of scaling a business and best practices for raising venture capital in Latin America. You will develop an understanding of the most critical parts of an investor term sheet, and gain perspective into the inner workings of the venture capital game.

Five Frogs on a Log: A CEO's Field Guide to Accelerating the Transition in Mergers, Acquisitions And Gut Wrenching Change


Mark L. Feldman - 1998
    Four decide to jump off. How many are left? Answer: Five Why? Because there's a difference between deciding and doing. Written by Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Five Frogs on a Log offers readers an entertaining and no-nonsense field guide to the mergers and acquisitions jungle, packed with insight and instruction for executing corporate change and capturing shareholder value. Whether you're buying another company or acquiring a new vision of the future, this book proffers an unconventional perspective and a practical, readily accessible set of solutions to the single greatest challenge facing today's managers: executing rapid transitions ion mergers, acquisitions and gut wrenching change.Designed for corporate managers and CEOs caught up in the whirlwind of change, every chapter provides accessible ideas and wisdom for navigating the most demanding business transitions. The authors offer a unique hands-on perspective based on their work with top Fortune 500 firms. As they state:"Increasingly, the companies that win are those that learn faster, act quicker and adapt sooner. They will compress time by making and executing early, informed decisions about economic value creation, ruthless prioritization and focused resource allocation. They will use these decisions to take early firm stands on management deployment, organization structure and culture. Their actions will increasingly be linked to long-term, sustained economic value creation." The advice and expertise offered in this book can be used to solve a range of operational problems from speeding up new product development to merging two businesses; from changing company culture to repositioning a business in a while new marketplace.Whatever the challenges and opportunities facing you, your company, your industry, Five Frogs on a Log will move you from deciding to doing.

The Success Sutra: An Indian Approach to Wealth


Devdutt Pattanaik - 2015
    There are any number of management books which provide theories and techniques on how to become rich and successful. All of them advise us to chase Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, in order to make her our own. But the Indian approach to prosperity and fulfilment warns against the relentless pursuit of the goddess, writes noted thinker and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, as it will result in conflict. Rather, we have to give in order to get, we have to satisfy the hunger of others in order to satisfy our own. If we learn and practise this fundamental truth, Lakshmi will enter our homes and our lives.Derived from his acclaimed bestseller Business Sutra, this book is filled with lessons and insights into management, business and the creation of wealth and success.

Earned Value Project Management


Quentin W. Fleming - 1996
    In its most simple form, earned value equates to fundamental project management. This is not a new book, but rather it is an updated book. Authors Quentin Fleming and Joel Koppelman have made some important additions. In many cases, there will be no changes to a given section. But in other sections, the authors have made substantial revisions to what they had described in the first edition. Fleming and Koppelman’s goal remains the same with this update: describe earned value project management in its most fundamental form, for application to all projects, of any size or complexity. Writing in an easy-to-read, friendly, and humorous style characteristic of the best teachers, Fleming and Koppelman have identified the minimum requirements that they feel are necessary to use earned value as a simple tool for project managers. They have also witnessed the use of simple earned value on software projects, and find it particularly exciting. Realistically, a Cost Performance Index (CPI) is the same whether the project is a multibillion-dollar high-technology project, or a simple one hundred thousand-dollar software project. A CPI is a CPI … period. It is a solid metric that reflects the health of the project. In every chapter, Fleming and Koppelman stick with using simple stories to define their central concept. Their project examples range from peeling potatoes to building a house. Examples are in round numbers, and most formulas get no more complicated than one number divided by another. Earned Value Project Management—Second Edition may be the best-written, most easily understood project management book on the market today. Project managers will welcome this fresh translation of jargon into ordinary English. The authors have mastered a unique "early-warning" signal of impending cost problems in time for the project manager to react.

Rise of the Data Cloud


Frank Slootman - 2020
    

Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership


Ruma Bose - 2011
    And Mother Teresa was its leader.How did this nun with no formal business training create a global brand, become a powerful fund-raising and public relations magnet, and lead a worldwide organization through every phase of growth over the course of forty-seven years? What were her secrets?When we shift our lens and view Mother Teresa from a leadership perspective, a wonderful success story emerges, one filled with inspiration, life lessons, and impact.Ruma Bose spent time in Calcutta working as a volunteer with Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity in 1992. Over time, she discovered that Mother Teresa’s success resulted from the careful application of eight simple and unexpected principles.Through the pages of this book you will have the unique opportunity to learn these principles, share Bose’s experience with Mother Teresa, and discover how to apply Mother Teresa’s principles whether on a single project, throughout an organization, or in your life.Modern, well-timed, and humane, Mother Teresa, CEO helps you discover how you don’t have to be a saint to be a great leader!

MBA at 16


Subroto Bagchi - 2012
    What resulted was Apple.When Sergey Brin and Larry Page met at Stanford, they were in their early twenties. They were soon to start Google.Today’s teenagers are our smartest generation yet. They are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, investors, managers, policy makers, watchdogs and of course, consumers. But do you know what the corporate and business world is all about? How do businesses touch everyone’s lives? What really makes an entrepreneur tick? How does the engine of a company run? Who is a social entrepreneur?And why do we need the world of business—is business good or bad for us?If you are curious, come join Subroto Bagchi and a group of smart teenagers on their exciting voyage of discovery, and in the process, get yourself a teen MBA!

When the Penny Drops: Learning What's Not Taught


R. Gopalakrishnan - 2011
    For centuries, we have learned what's not taught through our own experiences and the stories of others. Even today, only 3 per cent of leadership development occurs due to classroom training and coursework. In fact, for most managers, the penny drops only when we are at the end of our careers. R. Gopalakrishnan, author of the best-selling The Case of the Bonsai Manager, has many stories to tell. With forty-three years corporate experience across countries, each story recounted here has taught him a valuable lesson in some intuitive way. Each one is narrated here for you to allow you to reflect and learn for yourself how to improve and develop. Using the framework of the Tata Management Training Centre (TMTC) and the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), Gopalakrishnan explores: The three worlds of the manager—the inner world, the world of relationships and the world of getting things done. *The importance of emotional quotient (EQ) to progress as well as intelligence to get ahead in your career. *The deadly personal qualities of bonsai-trapped leaders. *The deadly traps for organizations. When the Penny Drops: Learning What's Not Taught encourages you to reflect on yourself. It will help you learn by identifying the success mantras embedded in you and releasing the lessons that might be entrapped within yourself.

Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way


Dan Carrison - 1998
    Marine Corps has been a paragon of world-class leadership, excelling in the areas of motivation, training, and management. Semper Fi -- which since its hardcover publication has become a best-selling, business leadership classic -- shows readers how to adapt these proven practices for their own organizations. Semper Fi goes behind the scenes to pinpoint what works for the USMC, showing readers how to create a training and management culture that brings out the best in all their employees. The book gives readers tough, practical tips for: * inspiring individual initiative * rewarding hard work * encouraging loyalty * working with limited resources * dealing with change * "leading the troops"" at every level of the organization. "This is not," according to Dan Rather, "one of those mumbo-jumbo, pseudo-philosophical books on leadership. Semper Fi is a book you will actually USE, read, and refer to again and again."

Beyond the Idea: How to Execute Innovation in Any Organization


Vijay Govindarajan - 2013
    

Leading Apple with Steve Jobs: Management Lessons from a Controversial Genius


Jay Elliot - 2012
    As Senior VP of Apple, Jay served as Steve's right-hand man and trouble-shooter, overseeing all corporate operations and business planning, as well as software development and HR. In "Leading Apple with Steve Jobs," Jay details how Steve managed and motivated his people--and what every manager can learn from Jobs about motivating people to do the best work of their lives.Steve Jobs used the phrase "Pirates Not the Navy" as a rallying cry--a metaphor to "Think Different." In the days of developing the Macintosh, it became a four-word mission statement. It expresses the heart of Apple and Steve. The management principles that grew out of that statement form the backbone of this book. Explains how to find talented people who will understand your objectives and be able to make a contribution to that effort Lists traits that can determine whether a person will be so committed to the vision that they will provide their own motivationExplains how to ensure that your employees hold an allegiance to the captain and to his/her shipmates, and also possess the ability to come up with original, unique ways to approach a problem, and be self-guided with a strong sense of direction"Leading Apple with Steve Jobs" will shift your thought paradigm and inspire you to assemble and lead innovative teams.

Junk to Gold: From Salvage to the World's Largest Online Auto Auction


Willis Johnson - 2014
    Willis Johnson, the founder of Copart [CPRT], offers up a personal and inspirational account of this journey to the top including lessons he learned from love, war and building a global, multi-billion dollar business. Even at the pinnacle of success, Willis remained grounded in his family-first values. His stories will inspire and provoke the entrepreneur in everyone to start building their dream.