Give ’em Something to Hate

Most people find getting started, that first step, as the hardest part. It’s scary. You’re putting yourself and your ideas “out there” for review and potential ridicule. Although the same principle applies to any creative endeavor, it seems most difficult when considered in the context of writing

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Zao Tzu

You are going nowhere until you start moving. Of course, the journey will take unexpected detours and side-trips before it’s done. That doesn’t matter. It’s not even a journey until you start. So, put something on the page. Let’s see where it takes us.

Integrated Team Formation and Development

So, you bring 15 people together and call them a team. They’re a team, right? Probably not.

Katzenbach and Smith tell us that “a team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and an approach for which they are mutually accountable.” That doesn’t happen automatically. It requires some hard work.

Entrepreneur How To: Get Connected With Entrepreneurial & Funding Resources in Michigan

By MVCA Executive Director Maureen Miller Brosnan

One of the greatest challenges facing entrepreneurs when launching a business is finding capital. Funding is often the most critical resource needed to fuel a company’s growth, but many don’t know where to start or how to connect with different sources of financing or entrepreneurial support organizations available in their community. One of the primary goals of Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA), the trade association for the venture capital and angel community in Michigan, is to foster a collaborative entrepreneurial and investment community. With this initiative in mind, we outlined investment and entrepreneurial resources for entrepreneurs who are launching their businesses in Michigan.

How do you Rebuild Trust?

Unfortunately, this is a question that gets asked way too often. It seems that many of us experience situations that break our standing trust with others.

Let’s make sure we understand where trust begins. Trust begins with making yourself vulnerable. That means that you accept the possibility of being hurt. But, because of the individual, or who they represent, we hope that good and desirable things will happen.

Trust is formed using four categories: Reputation, Intent, Credentials, and Experience. We build trust through each of these categories over time. Usually, it takes quite a bit of time to mature real trust.

The Team Charter: The Foundation of Team Formation

A great foundation for team-formation training is the team charter. A team charter is “the rules of the game.” Everyone involved in the team needs to agree with and abide by the rules.

Here are the important sections of a team charter and a bit of explanation and rationale:

TEAM NAME: What will the team call itself? This is a great opportunity for some creativity and team identity (e.g. Bill and the Cover Girls – a team that puts the covers on production boxes).

TEAM MISSION (What / Why): Why was the team formed? What is the business rationale?