take 5

Sam knew something was wrong. It just wasn’t fun anymore. The creativity and enthusiasm had drained from the company. Decisions took forever. Managers were finding it harder than ever to recruit and retain talent. Sam had hired me to help him crack the code.

As I pulled up to Sam’s office, I knew he’d be unhappy with my recommendation–which involved a serious look in the mirror at his own leadership behaviors. His reaction was disappointing, but highly predictable– based on what I’d heard from his team.

One of the best marketing strategies for small businesses is content marketing, due to its approachability and affordability, but creating a content marketing strategy can still be an intensive and intimidating process. If you’re new to the content marketing world and you want to launch a content strategy for your business, I’ve reduced the process to three steps.

In this age of technology, it is easy to write a management book about how the technology revolution requires a radical management revolution. But as the CEO of a tech company in the heart of Silicon Valley, I disagree: while technology has changed, human nature hasn’t. Every management theory can look good on paper, but the countless daily interactions are where the rubber meets the road.