By Cameron Herold, founder of COO Alliance and author of Double Double and Meetings Suck
I launched the COO Alliance because I recognized the critical role that the chief operating officer (COO) position plays for the chief executive officer (CEO). A COO will produce a powerful and positive impact on your business.
Categories: Best Practices Hiring LEADERSHIP Partnerships Productivity
Tags: backpocket coo best practices business cameron herold ceo COO COO Alliance hiring lessons learned
By Fernande Raine and Valeria Budinich, co-leaders of Ashoka’s Changemaker Economy initiative
Is contributing to social impact good for business? Furthermore, can a passion for fixing society’s toughest problems co-exist with a culture that commits to the bottom line first? Do we need to change our organizations to make this work?
To all three questions, Ai-jen Poo and Sheila Lirio Marcelo would answer “yes.” These entrepreneurs think big and differently as they navigate their large organizations successfully. Ai-jen, a social entrepreneur and co-founder of the National Domestic Workers’ Alliance, has opened up valuable services to millions of clients through legislative changes. Meanwhile, Sheila, CEO, chairwoman and co-founder of Care.com, is reinventing the economy of care, serving millions of families and caregivers in 16 countries.
Both entrepreneurs are obsessed with the same idea: to transform the domestic labor economy into one that provides dignity, fosters a society of empathy and enables everyone to thrive to their fullest potential. But while one of them operates a citizen sector organization, the other runs a publicly traded corporation. Both entrepreneurs are serving the same clients and working together as vanguards of a new form of social-impact partnership: the hybrid value system.
Categories: Make a Mark Partnerships
Tags: ai-jen poo Ashoka eo partner sheila lirio marcelo social change social responsibility
This article was originally published on EO’s Inc.com column.
Saul M. Simon, an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member from New York, is a registered representative and investment advisor representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker-dealer (member SIPC) and registered investment advisor. We asked him about the importance of buy-sell agreements and how they can save your business.
Alex and Brad, both in their mid-forties, had just celebrated the tenth anniversary of Consulting, Inc., their market consulting business. The next morning, before going to work, Brad suffered a heart attack while jogging and died later that day. Alex suddenly lost his long-time business associate. What’s more, after the estate was settled, he found himself with a new co-owner — Brad’s wife.
The result was chaos. Brad’s wife had little interest or experience in running the firm. She needed cash for living expenses and asked Alex to buy out her interest in the business. But because most of his assets were tied up in the business, Alex was short of cash. Unfortunately, Alex and Brad’s wife were left with little choice but to sell the company on short notice for just a fraction of what they had hoped for.
Categories: Best Practices Partnerships
This article was originally published on EO’s Inc.com column.
Michael Conway, an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member, is the Managing Director of Clothes2order.com, a fast-growing e-commerce company which supplies businesses, teams and communities with personalized clothing for uniforms, promotions and events. We asked Michael about the five days he spent with Sir Richard Branson.
Life is a constant learning curve and who better to coach entrepreneurs than Sir Richard Branson? Last year, I was privileged to be among a group of entrepreneurs invited to spend five days on Sir Richard’s breathtaking and idyllic Necker Island, which proved to be a surreal and hugely inspiring experience.
Initially, I was expecting limited access to him – perhaps a question and answer workshop – but the reality was completely different. We did take part in a Q&A session with the Virgin founder, but Branson was actually with us for much of our stay.
Categories: Partnerships
Daniel Lubetzky is the founder and CEO of KIND, which is among the fastest-growing U.S. snack companies and a leader in healthier snacking. Ashoka’s Michael Zakaras recently sat down with Daniel to hear more about the origins of the company and about why being kind is transformative.
Your focus on kindness has deep, personal roots. Tell us a bit about your father and your experiences growing up.
DL/ My father was a Holocaust survivor. He was 9 years old when the war started, and wasn’t liberated from the Dachau concentration camp until he was 15. And when I was 9, he started talking to me about his experiences – which of course included some of the horrors he lived through and witnessed.
Categories: Best Practices Entrepreneurial Journey general Guest contributors Inspirational Make a Mark Partnerships
Tags: Ashoka business Daniel Lubetzky KIND social entrepreneurship
By Graham Marsden, Marketing Director at the Entrepreneurs’ Organization
Author’s note: EO has a partnership with Inc. Magazine, and we were grateful to have been generously extended access to their Iconic series of events this year. I attended this week’s event in Seattle as a Marketing Director from a non-profit organization helping entrepreneurs become their best selves. As such, I was keen to listen in for insights that EO members would appreciate. While Inc. did provide the ticket to this event, my opinions are my own and do not represent the Entrepreneurs’ Organization; this article has not been edited by Inc.com.
It was gratifying to me to see that dozens of EO members from chapters throughout the US, including Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Idaho, made their way to the Inc. Iconic Seattle event on Tuesday, 5 April. Hosted in a dark and immense concert hall, the event had a TED-style feel, while delivering perspectives from true icons in business, including two Sharks from ABC’s Shark Tank. Here are some of the elements of the day that stuck out for me:
Categories: LEADERSHIP Lessons Learned Make a Mark Partnerships
Jacob Radloff is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Munich-based oekom research AG, a leading rating agency that has established environmental sustainability reporting in the global financial markets. Ashoka’s Felix Oldenburg caught up with Jacob recently to hear more about starting early, the challenges of growth and what it takes to keep innovating.
Categories: Company Culture Entrepreneurial Journey Guest contributors international Make a Mark Partnerships
Tags: Ashoka forbes Jacob Radloff Oekom Research AG social entrepreneurs
By Anam Zahra, EO’s Affinity Partnerships & Alliances Coordinator
Gone are the days when splashing logos throughout convention centers was enough. Today’s event sponsors want a return on investment through direct interaction with event attendees. As competition for sponsorship increases—and sponsorship dollars decrease—event hosts need to tailor sponsorship packages to the needs of the sponsor, rather than the other way around. The ability to personalize creative and unique packages for sponsors will be the determining factor of where the sponsorship money goes. Here are five creative ways to engage sponsors with your event attendees:
Categories: Best Practices Guest contributors Make a Mark Media Partnerships PR/MARKETING
Tags: #EOeconomy Anam Zahra consumers EOXpo experiential marketing marketing social media sponsorship
This article was originally featured on Inc.com and has been reposted here with permission from the author.
Today’s workplace is a potential landmine for communications disasters, which can lead to big problems for business owners. Two primary reasons are generational challenges and technology challenges.
Categories: Best Practices Partnerships Technology WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
I joined EO Indonesia three years ago, and by an enormous stroke of luck, was welcomed into Forum Happy. We are an eclectic group of individuals ranging from first- to third-generation entrepreneurs with spouses from Indonesia, Japan and the United Kingdom. We have a lot in common, united largely by our shared passion for travelling and commitment to family. Making time to see the world beyond our busy lives is our oxygen, as is spending time with those whom we hold dear.
Categories: Inspirational international members Networking Partnerships
Tags: #EOBeyondBorders entrepreneurs' organization eo indonesia family forum gibran abidin
