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How Do You Motivate Your Employees?
On a recent call with a fellow founder: Him: How do you motivate your employees? Me: I don't. Am I supposed to? I was joking to highlight a serious point. I am not a rah-rah, pound my fist on the table, give a rousing speech CEO. I won&
Entropy Between Retreats
Many remote companies write about their retreats. They highlight the exotic destinations and fun activities. They talk about why they have retreats. I love reading those posts and comparing notes. I've noticed something that happens at Tortuga [http://www.tortugabackpacks.com] that I haven't heard other
The Kernel of Good Strategy
Good strategy starts with a diagnosis, is framed by a guiding policy, and ends with a set of coherent actions.
Goal-Oriented Communication
Goal-oriented communication is saying the "what" and letting someone else figure out the "how." This style defines a leader, rather than a manager.
The 4 Stages from Idea to Company
When talking about Tortuga [http://www.tortugabackpacks.com], I often break our history up into four stages: idea, product, business, and company. We needed a long time to move from one stage to the next, so they are easy to delineate in our case. Regardless of your velocity, each step
Writing Selfishly
This blog is a completely selfish endeavor. I hope that other people find it useful, but that's not why I write. My writing is a way of talking to myself. Not out loud but online. I write to myself or, sometimes, a past me. Tim Urban of Wait
A Thank You Letter to All the Bad CEOs
> Our CEO yells a lot. That's a real quote from someone I interviewed. I was so flabbergasted that I typed it up, in quotes, in my notes. For someone to mention this in an interview, the situation must have been bad. Even worse, other interviewees said similar
5 Signs That a Candidate Can Work Remotely
When hiring at Tortuga [http://www.tortugabackpacks.com], > [W]e look for signals that someone can be productive outside of an office. From Why We Work Remotely [https://www.fredperrotta.com/why-we-work-remotely/] Andrew Youderian asked me for more specifics on his Ecommerce Fuel Podcast [https://www.ecommercefuel.com/podcast/
The Middle Class Mindset is the Opposite of Lifestyle Design
> [T]he middle class in recent history has been defined by its ability to both earn and spend money in very predictable ways. —Venkatesh Rao Whether you call it the middle class mindset or a financial script, the point is the same. Those who adhere to it are following
Is Smart Luggage Already Over?
In the last three weeks, two of the early smart luggage brands, Bluesmart and Raden, have shut down. What does this mean for the rest of the new luggage startups? Following an announcement late last year, many major airlines banned smart luggage with non-removable batteries [https://www.theverge.com/2017/