On 23 May 2009, he was declined by Twitter; On 03 August 2009, he was turned down by Facebook; After being rejected by both Twitter and Facebook in 2009, he then decided to start his own company. Four years later, on 19 February 2014 Brian Acton sold his company, WhatsApp Messenger to the same company…

An anonymous copyeditor working on my new book unilaterally changed each usage of "persuade" to "convince." I had to change them all back. Entrepreneurs don't convince. Engineers convince. Entrepreneurs persuade. Persuasion appeals to the emotions and to fear and to the imagination. Convincing requires a spreadsheet or some other rational device. It's much easier to…

“The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.” – Mario Puzo Ever felt hurt or betrayed by family? Or maybe someone you love or held in high esteem suddenly became untrustworthy or strangely deceitful in behavior? At some point, we all experience it. Disappointment in…

In the short run, it is easy. It is easy to fool someone or lie to them or give them what they think they want. It is easy to write a great block of copy, to sell on credit, to grab the attention of the crowd. Not so easy: to build mutually profitable long-term relationships…

You have probably got that part nailed. Butt in seat, smile on your face. We often run into people who understand their job to be showing up on time to do the work that's assigned to them. They are competent and present at their workstations and at meetings. In the Start-up revolution, showing up is…

When we step out of comfort zones and put ourselves in their shoes. When we extend our heart, our soul and our feelings to another, when we imagine what it must be like to be them, we expose ourselves to risk. The risk of feeling bruised, or of losing our ability to see the world…

"I'm just going to wait until all the facts are in, until I have all the facts, its all about the facts..." All the facts are never in. We don't have all the facts on the sinking of the Titanic, on the efficacy of social media or on whether dogs make good house pets. We…

The best creative solutions don't come from finding good answers to the questions that are presented. They come from inventing new questions. Are you inventing new questions in your business? Those who invent new questions, invent new solutions.

Where, precisely, do you go in order to get permission to make a dent in the universe? To get permission to create change that matters? The accepted state is to be a cog, keep your head down and follow the rules. The preferred career is to follow the well-worn path, to read the instructions, to…

If I pay R5,000.00 extra for a first-class seat, odds are the flight attendant will be nice to me. If I pay R5,000.00 extra for the presidential suite at the hotel, odds are the front desk clerk will be nice to me. If I give the car wash dude R100.00 to park my car, odds…

I had lunch (a big lunch) with a university student (a mentee) last week. An hour later, she got up and announced she was going to get a snack. Apparently, she was hungry. By any traditional definition of the word, she was not actually hungry. She didn’t need more energy to power her through an…

A lot of us settle into our careers after determining our roles in life and falling in line with what’s expected of us. Instead of becoming a part of the sea of numbered employees, break free and find your passion. And pursue, pursue, pursue. Dreams are decisions not yet made, action not yet taken.