Well my family bit the bullet and is moving out to San Jose.....will still be keeping the Waltham office but expect to expand the Mountain View office since things are once again booming in CA.
Seems start ups are active again...but larger companies seem to reporting financial difficulties.....months ahead should be interesting.....
Friday, June 01, 2007
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Maslow, the economy and goals for 2007
Well its come to the end of another year – the time where we evaluate what we achieved and what is possible for the year to come. The economy is pretty healthy right now and I can’t help but see how that affects this process. It makes me think of Maslow’s hierarchy…
If the basics are covered you can set more substantial “self- actualizing” goals?
I think of this as I met a member of my advisory board out in CA recently. He asked me what my company values were. I had read his business plan and had been surprised at how much detail he had put in regarding his company’s values. It all seemed a bit “squishy” to me. I wondered if it might be an east coast vs west coast cultural difference. As far as I knew…most East coast firms had one value….REVENUE. And obviously….that ranks high on all entrepreneurs list as that hits the basics of Maslow’s hierarchy…the survival needs. But if those are covered…do we get the luxury of thinking beyond that for what can be achieved and how we want our companies to be? So beyond where you want to be in 5 years….if you were to look back…..what would you be proud to accomplish? These are some of my thoughts why finishing my planning for 2007.
If the basics are covered you can set more substantial “self- actualizing” goals?
I think of this as I met a member of my advisory board out in CA recently. He asked me what my company values were. I had read his business plan and had been surprised at how much detail he had put in regarding his company’s values. It all seemed a bit “squishy” to me. I wondered if it might be an east coast vs west coast cultural difference. As far as I knew…most East coast firms had one value….REVENUE. And obviously….that ranks high on all entrepreneurs list as that hits the basics of Maslow’s hierarchy…the survival needs. But if those are covered…do we get the luxury of thinking beyond that for what can be achieved and how we want our companies to be? So beyond where you want to be in 5 years….if you were to look back…..what would you be proud to accomplish? These are some of my thoughts why finishing my planning for 2007.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Trust your instincts and don't be trigger shy
Trust your instincts – don’t be trigger shy
I find with start-ups most execs are a little unsure of themselves when it comes to hiring. Especially my international clients who are doing their first hiring in the US. A new employee is such a crucial endeavor for a startup, that they treat it like buying a new home. They really have to see a lot before they can make such a large decision. They seem to have trouble trusting their own instincts that they almost have to make the mistake of losing a great prospect before they feel ready to make a decision.
It’s unfortunate for me, because my firm ends up doing the search two or three times before we can seem to get the timing right. If there were only a way to convince our clients that we “know” good candidates….we see them all the time. We are experts in the area of identifying talent.
Obstacles to avoid in hiring:
1) Slow decision making – not realizing quick enough that the market is good and the better candidates are not around for long
2) Board involvement – the more people involved in the decision…the more disagreement over candidates, slower process etc.
3) Process problems – with a slower more uncertain hiring process…candidates don’t feel “wanted” and “loved”. If they are real superstars, they are going to want to go where they get this….they want to feel they bring tremendous value
4) Don’t be cheap…good candidates cost more. With all things, you get what you pay for. Is it worth it to restart an entire search over a small portion of options or 5-10k? Probably not.
In summary – trust your instincts make quick decisions and provide competitive compensation – only then will you attract the best and brightest.
I find with start-ups most execs are a little unsure of themselves when it comes to hiring. Especially my international clients who are doing their first hiring in the US. A new employee is such a crucial endeavor for a startup, that they treat it like buying a new home. They really have to see a lot before they can make such a large decision. They seem to have trouble trusting their own instincts that they almost have to make the mistake of losing a great prospect before they feel ready to make a decision.
It’s unfortunate for me, because my firm ends up doing the search two or three times before we can seem to get the timing right. If there were only a way to convince our clients that we “know” good candidates….we see them all the time. We are experts in the area of identifying talent.
Obstacles to avoid in hiring:
1) Slow decision making – not realizing quick enough that the market is good and the better candidates are not around for long
2) Board involvement – the more people involved in the decision…the more disagreement over candidates, slower process etc.
3) Process problems – with a slower more uncertain hiring process…candidates don’t feel “wanted” and “loved”. If they are real superstars, they are going to want to go where they get this….they want to feel they bring tremendous value
4) Don’t be cheap…good candidates cost more. With all things, you get what you pay for. Is it worth it to restart an entire search over a small portion of options or 5-10k? Probably not.
In summary – trust your instincts make quick decisions and provide competitive compensation – only then will you attract the best and brightest.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Silicon Valley Mixer Tuesday Nov 7th in Sunnyvale
For any of you attending the Israel Web Tour in Palo Alto, CA…there will also be a great networking event Silicon Valley Mixer for serial entrepreneurs in Sunnyvale at:
DATE: Tuesday, November 7, 2006
TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
LOCATION:
Plug & Play Real Estate Building
440 N. Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, CA
There will be over 300 attendees. It looks like a great networking event.
DATE: Tuesday, November 7, 2006
TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
LOCATION:
Plug & Play Real Estate Building
440 N. Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, CA
There will be over 300 attendees. It looks like a great networking event.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Only 3% of the population sets goals?
I was listening to a Brian Tracy audible book called Success Mastery Academy
First off...fabulous...very motivating and great tips although slightly outdated (1997?). But at one point he said that only 3% of the population set goals. How sad is that...think of how much more we could achieve if we set goals.
Then there were more interesting statistics about research done with college grads...what percentage had goals (only about 20%) and then only 3% actually wrote them down. When they went on to check out these people years later the ones that were by far the most successful were the 3%.
Interesting thing is....you would think goal setting would be taught in school...high school at least. At least if you set up the habit then...it could really start affecting results in college or at work.
My husband is a high school teacher and I am going to see about whether I can get him to push for that in his school.
Enough ranting for now....
First off...fabulous...very motivating and great tips although slightly outdated (1997?). But at one point he said that only 3% of the population set goals. How sad is that...think of how much more we could achieve if we set goals.
Then there were more interesting statistics about research done with college grads...what percentage had goals (only about 20%) and then only 3% actually wrote them down. When they went on to check out these people years later the ones that were by far the most successful were the 3%.
Interesting thing is....you would think goal setting would be taught in school...high school at least. At least if you set up the habit then...it could really start affecting results in college or at work.
My husband is a high school teacher and I am going to see about whether I can get him to push for that in his school.
Enough ranting for now....
New McCue Group Website!
Well...finally our website is up! A few tweaks left...but thought it was worth putting up...
www.mccuegroup.com
Israel Web Tour Nov 6-9th in Palo Alto
Heading out to Palo Alto in a couple weeks for the Israel Web Tour to investigate a new group of Israeli technology firms. Reminds me a little of Rush week in college...
I am excited to check out these new companies:
BeInSync Allow individuals and small business to access their data from any computer of location
Fixya FixYa offers user-generated tech support, troubleshooting, repair, and customer service on over 700,000 products.
Foxytunes -Create the best way to enjoy all the great things the new music universe has to offer – by bringing together all user’s favorite players and services without forcing users to choose or give up anything they like
Gizmoz A multimedia communications company which enables an advanced medium of personal visual emotional expression for consumers and Pop culture business on any network such as TV/IPTV, Mobileand Internet.
ILCU Strives to be the number one social city guide through its website ILCU.com and its extensive affiliate network. On ILCU.com urban people can find the most up to date entertainment information and meet and socialize with others.
inter8ing: An advertising platform and better rating program for the blogs.
Kasamba Kasamba is an online marketplace for immediate, personal, high qualified expert advice
MyHeritage MyHeritage creates a unique and profitable community service by fusing Genealogy, Social Networks and Face Recognition technology
RadarSync RadarSync developed a computer driver and software update tool. It prevents common computer problems and optimizes performance by tracking, downloading, and installing both hardware device driver updates and software patches, fixes, and upgrades for a system.
Skylow Skylow delivers the cheapest available price for any requested flight route around the world. SkyLow.com provides the ultimate search, compare, and book engine, serving both consumer and business segments.
SpearCast SpearCast’s mission is to become the market leader in high quality business ratings for consumers searching for local businesses online. By using its patented VoIP technology, SpearCast will provide reliable ratings (e.g. the best plumber, dentist or Italian restaurant in your area), taking a leading position in this $30bn market.
Trusted Opinion Trusted Opinion’s mission is to leverage it’s core Social Recommendations Engine™ technology to enable networked circles of individuals to share and reap the benefits of their combined knowledge and experience to generate commercially unbiased, uniquely personalized ratings and recommendations for each and every user.
ViewScore ViewScore simplifies the product research process for consumers by aggregating product review content from thousands of product review sources across the Net and generating a single product score that best captures the world’s view and opinion of the product
Yedda Yedda is a Community Knowledge Exchange – a Web 2.0 service that connects knowledge sources with knowledge consumers, leveraging the long tail of knowledge and creating a social network of people with similar topics of interests
I would like to thank the organizers of this event, The California Israel Chamber of Commerce (aka Iris and Shuly)
I am excited to check out these new companies:
BeInSync Allow individuals and small business to access their data from any computer of location
Fixya FixYa offers user-generated tech support, troubleshooting, repair, and customer service on over 700,000 products.
Foxytunes -Create the best way to enjoy all the great things the new music universe has to offer – by bringing together all user’s favorite players and services without forcing users to choose or give up anything they like
Gizmoz A multimedia communications company which enables an advanced medium of personal visual emotional expression for consumers and Pop culture business on any network such as TV/IPTV, Mobileand Internet.
ILCU Strives to be the number one social city guide through its website ILCU.com and its extensive affiliate network. On ILCU.com urban people can find the most up to date entertainment information and meet and socialize with others.
inter8ing: An advertising platform and better rating program for the blogs.
Kasamba Kasamba is an online marketplace for immediate, personal, high qualified expert advice
MyHeritage MyHeritage creates a unique and profitable community service by fusing Genealogy, Social Networks and Face Recognition technology
RadarSync RadarSync developed a computer driver and software update tool. It prevents common computer problems and optimizes performance by tracking, downloading, and installing both hardware device driver updates and software patches, fixes, and upgrades for a system.
Skylow Skylow delivers the cheapest available price for any requested flight route around the world. SkyLow.com provides the ultimate search, compare, and book engine, serving both consumer and business segments.
SpearCast SpearCast’s mission is to become the market leader in high quality business ratings for consumers searching for local businesses online. By using its patented VoIP technology, SpearCast will provide reliable ratings (e.g. the best plumber, dentist or Italian restaurant in your area), taking a leading position in this $30bn market.
Trusted Opinion Trusted Opinion’s mission is to leverage it’s core Social Recommendations Engine™ technology to enable networked circles of individuals to share and reap the benefits of their combined knowledge and experience to generate commercially unbiased, uniquely personalized ratings and recommendations for each and every user.
ViewScore ViewScore simplifies the product research process for consumers by aggregating product review content from thousands of product review sources across the Net and generating a single product score that best captures the world’s view and opinion of the product
Yedda Yedda is a Community Knowledge Exchange – a Web 2.0 service that connects knowledge sources with knowledge consumers, leveraging the long tail of knowledge and creating a social network of people with similar topics of interests
I would like to thank the organizers of this event, The California Israel Chamber of Commerce (aka Iris and Shuly)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Q3 results looking good
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