38 Biz Tips from The Experts

Written by Eileen Burns on Nov 23, 2010 4:54 pm

1. If You Really Want To Impress A Potential Business Contact, Send A Handwritten Note ·

Tommy Spaulding, former CEO of the leadership organization Up with People,

2.      Hire Skeptics – They're More Valuable Than People Who Accept Conventional Wisdom
·        Cristobal Conde, President and CEO, SunGard
3.      At The End Of A Meeting, Ask Each Person To Sum Up Their Next Steps
·        Scott Belsky, founder and CEO of Behance
4.      Tell People The Truth, They Can Handle It
·        Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte & Touche
5.      Take The Time To Craft A Good Story About Your Business
·        Henrik Werdelin, the Entrepreneur in Residence at Index Ventures
6.      Don't Let The Need For Consensus - Building Dilute A Powerful Idea
·        Josh Linkner, founder and chairman of ePrize
7.      Be Open With Your Employees About What's Going On At Your Company
·        Ken Lehman, Co-founder of Winning Workplaces
8.      If You're Just Doing It For The Payday, You Probably Won't Succeed
·        Seth Goldman, President and CEO of Honest Tea
9.      Tell Your Employees That It's Acceptable To Fail
·        Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation
10.   Three Good Employees Is Equal To One Great Employee
·        Kip Tindell, chairman and chief executive of the Container Store
11.   Don't Be Afraid To Use The First Person
·        Debra Lee, chairwoman and CEO of BET Networks
12.   Don't Make Yourself the Center of Attention
·        Sam Palmisano, the chairman and CEO of IBM
13.   Your Employees Should Feel They Are On A Mission, Not Just Completing A Task
·        Arkadi Kuhlmann, Founder, Chairman and President of ING Direct Bank
14.   Get People to Hold You Accountable
·        Tim O'Reilly, founder of O'Reilly Media
15.   Just Because Someone Is A Good Manager Doesn't Mean They'll Be A Good Leader
·        Randy Komisar, partner at VC firm Kleiner Perkins
16.   You Need To Love Your Business Enough To Starve For It
·        Robert Stephens, founder of GeekSquad
17.   You Can't Manufacture "Viral," But You Can Experiment Endlessly
·        John Dragoon, Senior VP and CMO of Novell
18.   Understanding That You'll Probably Fail Is The First Step Towards Success
·        Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com
19.   Your Fear Can Kill Your Whole Company
·        Fred Wilson, a VC and principal at Union Square Ventures
20.   Failing Now Makes For A Stronger Company In The Future
·        Pierre Omidyar, founder and chairman of eBay
21.   There Is Only One Boss -- The Customer
·        Sam Walton, Founder of Walmart
22.   "Do What You Love" Is Terrible Career Advice
·        Penelope Trunk, Founder and CEO of Brazen Careerist
23.   Ignore Your Faults, Focus On Your Strengths
·        Richard Branson, Chairman and Founder of Virgin Group
24.   Great Managers Push Their Team To The Limit, But Always Have Their Backs
·        Wendy Steinle, Marketing Directer for Novell Collaboration
25.   Find A Problem That Really Annoys You, Solve It, And You've Got A Business
·        Aaron Patzer, Founder and CEO of Mint.com
26.   Figure Out What You're Great At, And Build Your Business Around It
·        Jason Fried, Co-founder and CEO of 37Signals
27.   Tough Times Are Great For Starting Companies
·        Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Inc.
28.   A Little Friction In The Workplace Is A Good Thing
·        Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney.
29.   You Should Embrace Office Politics
·        Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo
30.   Having Too Much Business Is As Dangerous As Having Too Little
·        Patrick U. Di Chiro, Chairman and CEO of THUNDER FACTORY
31.   The Execution Matters A Hell Of A Lot More Than The Idea
·        Naval Ravikant, co-author of Venture Hacks
32.   You Don't Get Any Second Chances When It Comes To Your Character
·        Jennifer Tickes
33.   Success Takes Sweat -- There Aren't Any Shortcuts Around It
·        Scott Belsky, Founder and CEO of Behanc
34.   Don't Forget The Four Most Valuable Words In Business: "What do you think?"
·        Tom Hughes, President and COO of The Connors Group, Inc
35.   Don't Wait Until Your Product Is Perfect To Get It On The Market
·        Kevin Rose, Founder of Digg
36.   Fire Anyone Who is a B-Player or a Jerk
·        Paul English, Co-founder of Kayak.com
37.   A Team With No Bad People Is Better Than A Team With A Few Rockstars
·        Mark Pincus, Founder and CEO of Zynga
38.   A Phone Call Offers A Better Branding Opportunity Than A Super Bowl Ad
·        Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.