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Blood, Sweat, and Tears: The Price You Pay for Experience
When I was younger, the word “experience” infuriated me. 20 years later, I know that blood, sweat and tears are the price of experience.
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Feeling Uninspired? Adults and Kids, Put Your Mobile Phones Away
You should strive to see the bigger picture, not the smaller picture. Quite literally, this is an urgent call to put your mobile phone away.
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Getting Drunk at a Business Event? That’s a Bad Idea
I recently heard a guy talking too loudly about his air miles and about getting drunk at a business event. I bet he wasn’t an entrepreneur.
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Give Your Brain a Break: Spend Time Alone, and Just Think
After an intense period of effort, you need rest. Just like giving your body a rest regularly, don’t forget to give your brain a break.
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Hacking a Satellite? More Common Than You Think
You will be surprised to learn where I heard about how to hack a satellite. Spoiler: This group also taught me a ton of other things.
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How to Reduce Complexity to Maximize Effects
Do you want to reduce complexity? Here is a real-life example from an IT systems landscape discussion on why less is more.
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Martec’s Law: How to Keep Up With Technological Change
Digital transformation is a marathon, not a sprint. Martec’s Law explains the reasons for this, and what you can do to stay relevant.
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What if Your Bank Goes Bust? A Preparation Guide for Entrepreneurs
The possibility that your bank goes bust is more likely than you might think. Remember Silicon Valley Bank? Check out if you are prepared.
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Should Entrepreneurs Be Proactive or Keep Calm? The Answer Is: Both
Do you want to seize the moment but not freak out unnecessarily? Then you have to learn to be proactive and keep calm at the same time.
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Can You Manage a Pandemic Using AI? A Thought Experiment
A thought experiment for entrepreneurs based on our experience with COVID-19, teleporting it into a world of technology and multiple crises
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In Tough Times, You Have to Leave Your Ego at the Door
The good times are over. Do we still have room for egos, office politics and power games? As a leader, you should leave your ego at the door.
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What if OpenAI Stopped Operating? A Thought Experiment
Humans are good at getting used to comfortable situations, but they are bad at planning for adversity. “What if” is the central question.
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Zero Inbox: How to Do It, and How Not to Do It
Glaring into somebody’s laptop screen is not what I normally do. But I was triggered by a “zero inbox” sticker, and I saw anything but. Recently, I sat in a meeting next to someone who had a sticker on the laptop screen saying “zero inbox”.…
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Why Most People Fail When Crises Hit – And How to Win in Crisis
Are you struggling with where to start your crisis preparations? You’re not alone. Download my thoughts on how to win in crisis for free.
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What My Father Never Saw: 20 Years of Tech That Changed Everything
Imagine you died 20 years ago and were thrown back into the world of work today. A thought experiment about tech that changed everything.
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Kids at Work: Why I Took My 13-Year-Old Daughter to a Trade Show
Kids best understand what work is about when you have your kids at work. At a trade show, my daughter learned lessons school never teaches.
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How to Avoid a Dysfunctional Board in a Startup
A dysfunctional board can limit your startup’s freedom of action. But dysfunctionality isn’t felt every day, but only in important matters.
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A Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI Bullshit Bingo
AI bullshit bingo is everywhere, but this article is really about leadership and management in the age of AI, not AI itself.
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Reading the Cyber Commanders’ Handbook: Lessons for Entrepreneurs
My summer reading of the Cyber Commanders’ Handbook revealed insights on resilience, risk, and robustness that every entrepreneur can use.
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Don’t Trust the Time Management Gurus
No single time management technique will work for every scenario. And no single time management technique will survive your entire career.
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The Compliance Trap: Stop Pretending Your Team Read the PDFs
Compliance isn’t about documents in inboxes—it’s about clarity, proof, and making regulations work in real life.
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Why Incorporating a Company in Switzerland Feels Like the Stone Age
Incorporating a company in Switzerland feels outdated, slow, and costly. Why we should be inspired by progressive countries such as Estonia
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Sick Leave Uncovered: The Costs You See and the Benefits You Don’t
Sick leave exposes the tension between finance and solidarity. But supporting your colleagues in tough times pays off more than you think.
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Bigger Isn’t Always Better: Finding Your Growth Projection Style
Are you an entrepreneur who believes bigger is always better? Or are you more cautious? The good news is that there is more than one road to success.
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Why “It’ll Be Done Tomorrow” Never Works Out
For both simple and complicated tasks, “It’ll be done tomorrow” never works out. Dependencies and different perspectives are to blame.
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Read and Sign on Steroids: How to Make Compliance Smarter
Read and sign is not compliance. But it’s a start. In the end, it means keeping teams updated, meeting regulations, and impressing auditors.
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Compliance Overreaction: How Common Sense Gets Lost in Corporate Gift Rules
Compliance overreaction is killing common sense in corporate gift-giving. Here is an example how rules meant to prevent bribery harm relations
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Features That Save Users from Themselves: The Unsung Heroes of Software
Here are some real-life examples of features that save users from themselves. They prevent chaos and keep your product frustration-free.
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The Anchor I Return to When Entrepreneurship Gets Messy
You need a fallback when entrepreneurship gets messy. Mine rests on four pillars: Fearlessness, commitment, decision-making, and simplicity.
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Fast and Flexible Problem Solving with the OODA Loop
Tired of endless problem discussions? Use the OODA loop to solve problems fast and always move forward. It works in all walks of life.
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One Month Projects: Why Anything Longer Is Too Complex
In today’s fast-changing world, one-month projects work best. Learn why short, focused projects deliver results while long ones fail.
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Walk but Never Run: Business Growth Takes Patience
Entrepreneurs should walk but never run. Growth takes patience, like farming and healing. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be ambitious.
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Converting PDF into XML: Possibilities Beyond Copy-Paste
Converting PDF into XML can be maddening. Here’s how to escape messy files and build structured, usable documents that actually work.
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JIRA Dashboards That Actually Work: Simple Setup, Big Impact
Learn how to use JIRA dashboards to keep an overview without plugins. A simple setup with summary emails reduces chaos and improves clarity.
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Strategy in Real Life: Saying No Is the Hardest and Best Move
Saying no is the key to strategy: Cut distractions, focus on value, and build what matters. The past is a bad guide for the future.
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Doing Business Globally: What Works on Paper Fails in Practice
Whenever an entrepreneur who is doing business globally tells you that everything runs fine, don’t believe him. Reality is dirty and messy.
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Gouverner c’est prévoir: Why Long-Term Planning Beats Firefighting
In government, they say “gouverner c’est prévoir.” As an entrepreneur, I live by this mantra for financial planning and the product roadmap.
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A Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning Up Years of Digital Garbage
It’s incredible how much digital garbage amasses over time, even if you run an orderly organization. Here is how to clean it up.
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What Roger Federer Teaches Us About Losing And Winning
Losing and winning belong together, says Roger Federer. The secret to turning a loss into a win is to bounce back and push forward.
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Choose Your Battles: A Smarter Way to Handle Conflict
Choosing your battles helps reduce conflict, save energy, and build stronger relationships in leadership, business, and team collaboration.
