Comments on: Confessions of a Failed CEO

By: anti-guest

anti-guest — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:39:00 +0000

as easy as it is to rip somebody whos clearly writing this piece as a means of advice for upcoming entrepreneurs

id first life to ask. what have you done?

By: Typeav

Typeav — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:00:00 +0000

We all failed at some point but to become better as a person in general. You have more experience now and know your limits and yourself. I cant start like you did, what I”m doing wrong? I will find out with the time…….you did great!

By: guest

guest — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:27:00 +0000

Wah wah – your sobs may soothe your soul but offer little to anyone else. Who can feel badly for you? You had it all then blew it. You’re a dumbass.

The rest of your tips are pure baloney. Corporate cost cutting lowers morale. If your company can’t afford an $80 wireless keyboard you shouldn’t be running a company and it will never be successful. Everyone knows that incurring initial debt is a natural part of the business growth process. Petty little thrift measures like you suggest feed the myth they actually work and give greedier CEOs more ammunition to cut corners and slash wages for workers. If you lavishly spend your own personal money, that’s your own matter. Spending corporate money on yourself is unethical. But spending corporate money on the corporation itself – whether it be coffee mugs or a financial analyst – is rarely a fatal move, unless something else is critically wrong.

By: Janni

Janni — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:55:01 +0000

Fallen chief executives like Bernard J. Ebbers and L. Dennis Kozlowski made headlines recently with their hefty severance packages. Mr. Ebbers, who resigned under pressure from WorldCom last spring, will receive $1.5 million a year for life; Mr. Kozlowski, formerly of Tyco International, had negotiated a package worth more than $100 million.

By: Janni

Janni — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:55:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:52:19 +0000

I live on $10,000 a year as a writer. Talk about slummin it! Am I one of those people who held on to the dream long after it disintegrated? Everything I read in business says that you're supposed to perservere, persist no matter what. I went bankrupt 3 years ago. I kept going with this anyway.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:52:00 +0000

I live on $10,000 a year as a writer. Talk about slummin it! Am I one of those people who held on to the dream long after it disintegrated? Everything I read in business says that you’re supposed to perservere, persist no matter what. I went bankrupt 3 years ago. I kept going with this anyway.

By: IPA-IBA

IPA-IBA — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:05:16 +0000

A nice cathartic blog post – makes you stop and think! Nice that you can share your experiences as a CEO so openly. "Every dollar that didnt create 3, was a wasted dollar." this really struck a chord with me!

By: IPA-IBA

IPA-IBA — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:05:00 +0000

A nice cathartic blog post – makes you stop and think! Nice that you can share your experiences as a CEO so openly. Every dollar that didnt create 3, was a wasted dollar. this really struck a chord with me!

By: crawlspace|media » Blog Archive » Daily Ma.gnolia Links for November 19

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:01:55 +0000

[...] Confessions of a Failed CEO How I failed at being a CEO of Current Wisdom, in spite of its successful sale. Most startups fail because they dont want the bottom line. [...]

By: Brett Borders

Brett Borders — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:11:14 +0000

I have to admit I'm addicted to nice computer… and I am willing to spend on it. It's difference between digital "slummin' it" and digital paradise. Seeing that I spend a majority of my waking life in front of a computer… my "environment" got to be shiny and comfy. Bright, glossy high-res screen. Audiophile headphones. Top-of-the-line Logitech mouse (that doesn't ache my index finger to scroll). Ergonomic chair. Wrist pads and gel mouse pads. Enuff RAM. Fast processors. Beryl or Spaces, Quicksliver and OmniFocus. Hell = XP, single 1024×768, "F" key doesn't hit every time, jumpy mouse, Norton Anti Virus has expired would you like to update? Other stuff I'm more frugal about. Like my Ford Escort Wagon with 110k miles, blown speakers and no door handles.

By: Brett Borders

Brett Borders — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:11:00 +0000

I have to admit I’m addicted to nice computer… and I am willing to spend on it. It’s difference between digital slummin’ it and digital paradise. Seeing that I spend a majority of my waking life in front of a computer… my environment got to be shiny and comfy. Bright, glossy high-res screen. Audiophile headphones. Top-of-the-line Logitech mouse (that doesn’t ache my index finger to scroll). Ergonomic chair. Wrist pads and gel mouse pads. Enuff RAM. Fast processors. Beryl or Spaces, Quicksliver and OmniFocus. Hell = XP, single 1024×768, F key doesn’t hit every time, jumpy mouse, Norton Anti Virus has expired would you like to update? Other stuff I’m more frugal about. Like my Ford Escort Wagon with 110k miles, blown speakers and no door handles.

By: Todd Vernon

Todd Vernon — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:57:54 +0000

Another great post Micah. Like everything in the realm of starting and growing companies, there is a fine balance of being frugal and buying the office a Wii (i just did that last week :-) Generally speaking (which is dangerous) I 'notice' startups that fail on the two ends of the spectrum the most… Starved startups (either culturally or through operations) and PHAT startups that spend way ahead of any success.. I don't think it a predictor, but rather a flare after the fact that everyone notices.

By: Todd Vernon

Todd Vernon — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:57:00 +0000

Another great post Micah. Like everything in the realm of starting and growing companies, there is a fine balance of being frugal and buying the office a Wii (i just did that last week :-) Generally speaking (which is dangerous) I ‘notice’ startups that fail on the two ends of the spectrum the most… Starved startups (either culturally or through operations) and PHAT startups that spend way ahead of any success.. I don’t think it a predictor, but rather a flare after the fact that everyone notices.

By: APL

APL — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:55:49 +0000

I don't know that you really failed, Micah. One big mistake you did NOT make was to hold onto your dream even as it disintegrated. You admitted it was time to bail and you made the best deal you could. I know hundreds of people who have gone down in flames — and bankruptcy — because they failed to accept that reality. Is it really so bad to build a decent company and make some decent coin selling it? Give me a break! Only 1 in 10,000 business owners get to the place you did. The other 9,999 just limp along endlessly until there families force them back to taking a salaried job. Kwitcherbitchin!