Category Archives: Surrounding yourself with talent

Does even a taste of ownership make a difference?

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Dave Berkus

                 How about incentives for employees all the way down the line and through the corporation? How do we align them to the goals and strategies of the enterprise?  Obviously for the appropriate individuals, a bonus program aligned to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Surrounding yourself with talent, The liquidity event and beyond | 1 Comment

Cash is only ONE measure of employee happiness.

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Dave Berkus

                   In 1981, Herb Cohen published “You Can Negotiate Anything”, an excellent guide to great negotiating.  I’ve read and reread the book a number of times and find myself using the techniques often in many areas of my life.  One of … Continue reading →

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Align incentives with your goals.

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Dave Berkus

                 And be generous to your high achievers.                      Recently I was asked to review an offer letter for a senior director of business development. The CEO was concerned that he was offering far too much in the form of incentive … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Growth!, Surrounding yourself with talent | 1 Comment

Equity is the currency of early stage businesses.

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Dave Berkus

Equity is the currency of early stage businesses.                  The truth of this statement may be obvious, but the execution of a good incentive program using equity is often mismanaged, damaging the corporate capitalization structure and even affecting the outcome … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Growth!, Ignition! Starting up, Surrounding yourself with talent | 3 Comments

Fire fast, not last.

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Dave Berkus

                 Here is one that takes a real leap for a younger manger or CEO to believe.  After hiring someone with all of the attendant enthusiasm followed by the training and learning curve, if an employee shows signs of weakness in … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Surrounding yourself with talent, The fight for quality | 3 Comments

Hire each employee as if your survival depends upon it.

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Dave Berkus

Second to visionary leadership, this is your most important job.                 Many of us go through the motions of hiring to fill a position, trying to use our intuition and skills to find the best candidate for the job.  Sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Growth!, Surrounding yourself with talent | 2 Comments

Ten essential items for mobile digital natives

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Dave Berkus

                An amazing transformation is taking place in the work place.  As the new generation of digital natives enters the work force, management is being pressed to open their networks and their thinking to allow social networking inside the firewall, workers … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Surrounding yourself with talent | Leave a comment

Money comes smart or dumb. Find smart.

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Dave Berkus

This statement could be considered controversial.  We have previously made the case that professional investors demand more in the form of restrictive covenants and lower valuations.  Now we explore the other side of that coin.  Professional investors usually bring “smart … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Raising money, Surrounding yourself with talent | Leave a comment