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jordan willms on web strategy, social media, business and technology

business

Apr02

Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management

Apparently, some people have been struggling to find original (and complete) copies of Swanson's controversial Unwritten Rules of Management. (One of the Personal MBA books.) As such, I have included it below.

Sixty years before Raytheon CEO William Swanson published his Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management, a UCLA engineering professor, published a book called The Unwritten Laws of Engineering. More than half of the rules in Swanson's book were completely plagiarized.

Putting those facts aside, the information provided is still chalk full of management goodness.

  1. Learn to say "I don't know." If used when appropriate, it will be used often.
    How many times have you been in meeting with someone who felt compelled to contribute even though her or she obviously did not know what to say? Silence is golden in these circumstances

Mar21

5 Business & Entrepreneur podcasts you should be listening to

The following are 5 quality podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis. Not only will they help you learn, but they'll help you think strategically and keep you plugged in.

I'm not one to doddle. Here they are in no particular order.:

  1. Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders lecture series. Takes place every Wednesday during the academic quarters, brought to you by the Stanford Technology Ventures program .
    Podcast Link
  2. HBR IdeaCast. A free podcast featuring breakthrough ideas and commentary from leading thinkers in business and management..
    Podcast Link
  3. Entrepreneurship with John Furrier: Podcasts with Entrepreneurs and VCs. Inside tech, venture capital, and innovation trends.
    Podcast Link

Feb12

Video: Guy Kawasaki - The Art of the Start

Guy Kawasaki from Garage Ventures speaking at TiECon about the Art of the Start. (The Book by the same name is a great read as well). Any entrepreneur should give this a viewing, as it contains lots of free inspiration and knowledge from Guy.

“Companies that start-out to be successful make meaning.”

Jan15

Trend: Educational Entrepreneurism and the Personal MBA

Personal MBA Review

If you haven't heard of Josh Kaufman's Personal MBA Program, then you've already missed the boat on the emerging trend of educational entrepreneurism. The Personal MBA is a collection of books that can increase your knowledge of business with a fraction of the cost of a full blown MBA, "all without setting foot inside a classroom".

Josh, after being motivated by marketing guru Seth Godin, created a manifesto detailing some 42 books and periodicals. He claims that by investing time and effort in using these resources, once can progressively develop a greater understanding of business and increase your effectiveness at work.