Failing Forward: Brad Smith, Board Chair of Intuit Shares His Perspective

Let's face it; we all fail from time to time.  But how come some people seem to "fail forward" even when times are tough?  Brad D. Smith has a unique perspective. During one of the most turbulent times in Silicon Valley history, Brad D. Smith was the steady-handed, innovative, and always resilient President and CEO of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU).  During his decade long tenure, the stock price…

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Making the Turn: 10 Warning Signs You aren’t Shifting from Founder to Leader

You came up with an awesome idea. Your singular focus has been to make it real. You started the company. You got funding. Maybe you’re looking for Series B or C funding now. Maybe you’re prepping for the IPO. Congratulations! You’re ready to scale or go public. You’ve gotten this far. What could go wrong? Here are 10 warning signs you aren’t shifting from founder to leader. Every founder reaches…

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How To Make Great Leadership Decisions

Why do leaders fail? They make bad decisions. And in some cases, they compound bad decision upon bad decision. You cannot separate leadership from decisioning, for like it or not, they are inexorably linked. Put simply, the outcome of a leader's decisions can, and usually will, make or break them. Those leaders who avoid making decisions solely for fear of making a bad decision, or conversely…

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Play to Win

Today's message is not likely to please the politically correct, nor will it mollycoddle the timid. I'm not going to address competing or playing nicely, rather I'm going to deal very bluntly with the topic of winning. Want to succeed? It's easier than you might think...just don't quit. Strip away the excuses, rationalizations, and justifications, and the only thing standing between you and the…

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Fear, Failure, Risk and Success

Because risk management as it applies to executive decisioning is a subject that is not adequately addressed in the educational world, it is often left to lessons of experience. As such, learning how to recognize, understand, quantify, and manage risk is one of those lessons that often comes at a very high price. While each individual has a different tolerance for risk, it is how a person chooses…

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