Viewing by month: August 2008

Aug 27 2008

You Can't Make Money While You're Running Scared

I come from a long line of entrepreneurs – growing up I never knew anyone who had a job; everyone we knew owned their own businesses. When my mother said, “you can’t make money while you’re running scared,” she was sharing the wisdom of careful observation. She had watched generations of entrepreneurs, and understood the difference between those with the courage to grow and change and those who desperately tried to defend what they already had.

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Categories: Entrepreneurialism

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 2:23 PM

Aug 20 2008

Balance Your Tripod

I gave a lot of speeches during my 30 years at Kinko’s, and nearly every one of them included a reference to the tripod of work, love and play. I would rest three fingers on the podium and illustrate the strength and stability when all three legs of a tripod were of equal length. I didn’t tell coworkers how to find balance in their lives (Editor’s note: beneficiaries of Paul’s matchmaking habit might argue this point), but I constantly reminded them that it was important, and that the company KNEW it was important.

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Categories: Leadership

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 8:41 AM

Aug 14 2008

Travel Is My Anti-Arrogance

I know a couple with a very common marital conflict: one of them likes to spend money to buy things, while the other spends money to do things. Even when they have enough money for both, it’s a powerful conflict because of their competing philosophies: he values tangible possessions while she values intangible experience.

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Categories: Corporate Culture

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 9:49 AM

Aug 6 2008

The Ultimate Business Skill

A friend of mine prides himself on his hiring skills and says that if you hire people who must be managed, you yourself were a bad hire. He believes that hiring is the ultimate business skill, and I’m inclined to agree.

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Categories: Management Skills

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 8:46 AM