Last week, as I was leading a class on entrepreneurship with a group of international students, I made the point that while having a good idea is important, success depends on great execution. “You know, on basic blocking and tackling.”
We bought our house more than 30 years ago. One feature I appreciated right from the start is the lawn irrigation system. No moving sprinklers around; no need to even remember to water — it’s all built in and automatic. Recently, though, the system has been behaving badly, mostly in the form of leaks.
Question: How big a problem do you have keeping your phone battery charged? For most people, the answer seems to be, “Not much.”
Last week, my wife and I visited a nearby restaurant for the first time. We knew very little about it, but we had both driven by many times, so we decided to give it a try.
This spring, I once again participated in several entrepreneurial “pitch competitions,” including overseeing the $50K Hospitality Innovation Competition at the Boston University School of Hospitality, and as a first-round judge for a major competition run by Harvard.
At my recent annual physical exam, my doctor suggested I incorporate stretching into my regular exercise routine. I don’t have a specific injury or ailment, but apparently I am now at the age where staying loose and limber is important.
Recently, I’ve been reading articles that speak about the need to “fix” strategy. The assertion made by many of these pieces is that strategy, as practiced today, is the overly analytic pursuit of a formula — something that will produce the “right answer” in a technocratic way.
Last week, I listened to the Presidential Address of Boston University President, Melissa Gilliam, and her “North Star vision” for the university I have been teaching at for the last 18+ years. Her main thrust was about “convergent research,” a concept based on blurring boundaries between campuses and fields of study.
I launched this newsletter in the summer of 2020. It was a time of great uncertainty (I’m sure you remember why). Well, here we are, five-and-a-half years later, and once again, significant uncertainty is with us.
Winter is nearly here. As we do every year at this time, my wife and I cleaned up the front lawn to prepare for spring…