“Dot your i’s and cross your t’s” is an idiom from the 19th century meant to encourage schoolchildren to write by hand carefully and pay attention to detail. The concept was to be meticulous, precise and complete. In addition, the phrase was used by attorneys, bankers, and salespeople as a reminder to make sure everything on the contract is perfect and complete, leaving no room for misunderstandings or misinterpretations.

When you’re an entrepreneur and you’re trying to sell potential investors on the “big picture” (and/or big market, naturally), it’s essential to ensure you a) have everything in writing, and b)…

I have a good friend who is a senior manager with many years of supervisory experience. She recently took on a new position as one of the top people in the organization. So I was surprised when she said, “I don’t care if my employees like me. I just demand the best from them.”

I am also good friends with another individual who is also high up in a company. He told me, “You know, my employees just love me. I’m good friends with all of them!” …

When I was in the second grade, I got my first wristwatch — as a reward for good grades. (You already knew I was a nerd.) Yep, it was a Timex. I wore it every single day and certainly subjected it to a lot of abuse, but it “took a licking and kept on ticking” as advertised. (Marketing — thank you, John Cameron Swayze — works; as did my Timex. You have to be my age or older to understand that one.)

Telling time was a valuable tool. I knew when to be in front of the school to catch…

I’ve certainly experienced disappointment and failure in my life, just like anyone else. I’ve come in 2nd. I’ve lost the game. The “sure sale” slipped away. The “job of a lifetime” (after 5 interviews!) wasn’t offered to me. I have, as they used to say on the ABC Wide World of Sports, “suffered the agony of defeat.”

It’s no fun, I can tell you that. The lost commissions, the missed bonuses, the opportunities that “slipped away” will always haunt me. Why, you say, would it bother me? Because no one remembers the “runners-up.” No one can name all the vice…

You hear a lot about “influencers” these days on social media. What exactly is an influencer? (Are you one? Do you follow any?)

If you look up the word “influence,” you get synonyms such as inspiration, impact, stimulus, encouragement, guidance. You also get sway, authority, weight, control, pressure, pull, and hold. As a verb, “influence” means to manipulate, persuade, induce, prompt, motivate, inspire, shape, and guide.

An “influencer,” of course, is someone who influences. Insert your synonym of choice.

So let me address you, the “influencer,” right now. Yes, you know WHO your “followers” are — vaguely, so I’m told…

Maybe you know the old song “The Gambler” recorded by Kenny Rogers in 1978. In it, an aging gambler who is “out of aces / down on his luck” gives some advice to a traveling companion. Here’s part of the chorus:

“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away,
And know when to run.”

I know. I hear it in my head, too.

Know when to fold ’em (or fire them)

As you might have imagined, I relate the gambler’s advice to management of a startup — or any leadership role. Knowing when to “hold ‘em” and when…

On March 2, 1987 (yes, eons ago), I started work at my first corporate job. When I arrived at my new workplace Monday morning, I was greeted at the front desk by my new boss — a super nice person, who led me upstairs to the “QA offices.” (I was hired to work in quality assurance.)

I remember it being a sea of cubicles of nondescript dirty brown/beige with high walls and narrow hallways — and no windows. My office was all the way in the back — the last cube on the left. …

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…

So starts A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

I’ll leave the overall plot…