5
Memorable business characters from famous movies

Rank these I-mean-business movie characters. Who impressed you most, from 1 to 5 -- 5 being the most memorable film performance:

Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane

James Stewart as George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life

Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street

Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada

Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood

4
Conditions for Optimal Brainstorming

Do you ever brainstorm about your brainstorming? Specifically, what are the conditions that enable you to effectively focus, analyze, imagine, evaluate, plan, and create?

Try to be introspective and objective in assessing whether you are ready to brainstorm:

PHYSICAL. Do you have a peak time of day for concentration and contemplation? Do you have the energy to sustain a longer-than-usual period of reflection?

MENTAL. Are you in the right frame of mind to question assumptions, conceive options, and make decisions?

EMOTIONAL. Do you feel like being both patient and determined?

ENVIRONMENTAL. Will you be in a comfortable space that helps stimulate thought, but isn’t too distracting? Will things like lighting or music affect your focus and mood?

3
Articles about job titles and responsibilities in startups

9 Make-or-Break startup roles (and why they are important) by Robbie Richards for MassChallenge

10 C-Level Positions That Are Red Flags For Funding by Martin Zwilling for Gust

The New Path To the C-Suite by Boris Groysberg, L. Kevin Kelly, and Bryan MacDonald for Harvard Business Review

​2
Insights from a famous pioneer in business strategy

Peter Drucker was a management consultant and author. Here are two of his concepts:

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customers so well, the product or service fits them and sells itself.”

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

1
Anecdote about Steve Jobs

“I worked at NeXT the summer of 94. I was in the break room with two colleagues when Jobs walked in and started making a bagel. We were sitting at a table eating ours when out of the blue he asked us, "Who is the most powerful person in the world?" I said Mandela since I had just been there as an international observer for the elections. In his confident fashion he stated "NO!...you are all wrong...the most powerful person in the world is the storyteller." At this point I was thinking to myself, "Steve, I love you but there is a fine line between genius and loco...and I think I am witnessing this right now." Steve continued, "The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come. And Disney has a monopoly on the storyteller business. You know what? I am tired of that bullshit. I am going to be the next storyteller." And he walked out with his bagel.”

– Tommy Blackrose on Quora

Stay safe, stay happy, stay in touch!

Adam

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