I spend most of my career as a management consultant, a businessman working with family-owned small and medium-sized businesses. The businesses that make up the core of our economy.
Because I work with entrepreneurs who own businesses, I have found Doug Tatum's No Man's Land to be a really helpful body of working knowledge. It's very applicable to most businesses that have the usual problems of growing businesses - managing people, capital, markets, etc.
There are only two kinds of businesses in this world: Businesses in crazy competition, and businesses that are one of a kind.
If you look at America, one of the great strengths of America is its university towns and the way a lot of their businesses and a lot of their innovation and enormous economic growth have come from reducing that gap, getting those universities directly involved in start-up businesses, green field businesses, new development businesses.
And what's interesting, and I don't think a lot of Americans understand this fact, is that, one, most new jobs are created by small businesses; two, most small businesses pay tax at the individual income tax, or many small businesses pay tax there.
I think that today, more so than ever, corporate responsibility is the best strategic as well as financial path that most businesses can follow. For most businesses there are both compelling reasons to be responsible and compelling statistics that validate that responsible businesses do better according to traditional financial metrics. Of course, how you define "responsible" is somewhat of a conundrum.
Businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors, are the most powerful force for addressing the pressing issues society face(s)
I think if you look at the commonalities between eBay, PayPal and OpenTable, all three are businesses that built a network in a vertical. Network effect businesses are very attractive businesses.
At the end of the day local authorities are responsible for economic growth in their area. They don't buy and sell businesses, they don't build businesses, what they do is work to attract businesses their area, through a combination of things.
There's no way you can predict what is going to happen in six months or two years in most businesses, and certainly not for businesses that are growing at the rate that we have grown.
I don't have a lot of time for managing [my businesses], so I put a lot of trust in people I hire to manage my businesses. I can't necessarily attend to [the businesses] while I'm in season. We swap ideas on how we can improve and deliver a better product.
As I examine progressive revenue options, I want to make sure wealthy individuals and businesses pay their fair share, that we reduce the burden on low-income and middle-class families, and not drive businesses from Chicago or create a disincentive for businesses to invest in our city.
Then by the springtime, you'll see us moving an effort to cut taxes for working families, small businesses and family farms to reform our business taxes in this country so that American businesses can compete more effectively with businesses around the world.
The key thing for all businesses, and especially of course technology businesses or businesses that employ technology as a key kind of strategic advantage, is you always have to be investing in the future.
Treat your career as a business. Invest your earnings into good tools that can enhance your business. Film businesses are the same as non-film businesses. Ploughing part of your earnings back into your filmmaking business would grow career exponentially.
Small business is crucial. I think we talk so much about large businesses, they're well represented; they talk well for themselves. But most people work for small businesses; most wealth that stays in a community gets generated from them.