Bill Poston is an entrepreneur, business advisor, investor, philanthropist, educator, and adventurer.
Bill Poston is an entrepreneur, business advisor, investor, philanthropist, educator, and adventurer.
All in Business
Several years ago at Kalypso, George came to me with a big concern and we agreed to take affirmative actions to increase the diversity of our team. After years of recruiting at Rice and UT we just had too many incredibly accomplished people from top tier universities.
When the history of Kalypso is written, there will be a chapter devoted to Chip Perry. He bought his first crappy sports coat after watching “The Paper Chase” in 1973 and he hasn’t taken it off since. Seriously, you can ask his wife.
Then along comes an article in the latest issue of Strategy + Business by Jennifer Deal of the Center for Creative Leadership titled “Five Millennial Myths”. It lends my position some weight using empirical research into the behaviors and beliefs of those in the millennial generation.
A couple of decades ago I started my very first consulting assignment at a large manufacturing company. The firm’s innovation-driven glory years in the 70s were distant memory by the time I arrived. The business advantages the company had previously enjoyed were gone, but the people were not.
Introducing the guy standing next to me as my “partner” has created a few awkward moments over the years. Working in the partnership form of business for the past eighteen years means that I have had a number of these uncomfortable encounters. Despite the occasional misunderstanding, there is no better way to describe the relationship I have with my colleagues.
Predicting the future in an ambiguous world is inherently risky. My track record in 2011 was mixed. The primary prediction was that companies would loosen up spending in R&D while constraining growth in headcount and other fixed costs. That was spot on with what actually happened in most industries.
My standard response to someone who is leaving the organization is that they have to hire their replacement before they can quit. The theory is that no one knows the demands of the position better than the person doing the job. This strategy has never failed to yield a superior result. One of those results is Kailey Slone.
