Occasionally I write something. About running a business, making decisions under pressure, and what actually works in real SMBs.

• Motivation Is a Con. And You Already Know It.

  Motivation is a feeling. Feelings are like weather.

• Who Builds the Roads Decides Where You Go 

  Infocracy, the architecture of choice, and four lines of digital defence You reach for your phone in the morning to check the weather. Twenty minutes later you have no idea how you ended up going from 18 degrees Celsius and a 15 km/h northwest wind to elevated blood pressure from the opinions of a politician…

• Find the Problem

  A startup doesn’t begin with a product. It begins with a problem. Last week I agreed to a discovery call. Founders, full of energy, with a polished presentation. Within five minutes I understood the point of the whole meeting: “We have a solution. We’re looking for a problem to solve with it.” (Enthusiasm is essential…

• Goal or wishful thinking?

  Earlier today I sat in Martin’s meeting room; first time there, as an observer and would-be consultant. “We’ll improve customer satisfaction.” “This year we’ll finally fix internal communication.” Sounds good. Not so good when it gets called a “goal” in a monthly meeting. Martin, an SMB owner, dressed up his wishful thinking and called it…

• Before You Open The Laptop

  Last week I handed a client a working system. It calculates prices. Something that used to take two people, spreadsheets, and a phone call now takes seconds. Clean. Reliable. Done. On my way home, I opened my Moleskine and jotted what bothered me about it: Not the system, the system works. What bothered me was…

• Výsledok vs. výkon

  Zoberme si dvoch manažérov. Každý má päťčlenný tím. Obaja mali tento kvartál výsledok 500. Rovnaké číslo, rovnaká odmena, rovnaká spätná väzba z vedenia: “Dobrá práca.”Jeden má v tíme hviezdu. Petra, ktorý maká na 135 % a ťahá celé číslo sám. Zvyšok tímu kolíše; niekto na 85, niekto na 90. Manažér to vie. Nevie však, čo…