Avoid the 4 Major Legal Risks for Start-ups

As a corporate executive, I tried to bond with lawyers who were business people first and foremost and not just ones trying to tell you why you cannot do something. However, over time, I learned that having a good legal mind attached to your project/business is critical for success. Why? Because a good business attorney is critical to manage the risks (and there always are risks) of the business.

If you remember the movie The Social Network, one of the original founders, Eduardo Saverin, did not pay attention to the terms of a contract he signed with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. That cost him dearly although I have a hard time feeling bad for someone worth in excess of $5 Billion. It makes you think though that perhaps startups are different animals than normal businesses and perhaps the participants – the founders, employees and even the contractors – involved in a startup need to pay attention to several aspects of the business. By so doing, these participants can avoid the things that can go bump in the night.

I therefore, welcomed the opportunity to listen to Mark Skaist, co-chair of the corporate practice of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, one of the leading law firms in California, talk about the Legal Pitfalls in Entrepreneurship. And it is particularly relevant for me as a consultant to start-ups, a member of the boards of start-ups, a potential employee of a start-up, and as an angel investor with TechCoastAngels. I provide the following information as a convenience to the readers to be aware of these elements and strongly suggest that for legal advice see an attorney as they can help you avoid major issues. I took his talk and developed a simple checklist which can be used to ensure vital points are covered.

Mark laid out four areas that can create pitfalls. These areas are:

• Capitalization/Equity
• Taxes and financial obligations of company and executives
• Intellectual Property
• Employment

Checklists

Capitalization/Equity

1. Have you documented all the equity transactions? Type? Class of stock? To Whom? Number of shares?
2. Have you sold to accredited or non-accredited investors? Were the rounds distinguishable?
3. For equity to the founders, have you adequately described voting rights, vesting terms?  
4. Do you have a contract with the founders regarding performance, trade secrets, non-competes and similar items?
5. Do you have any “bad actors” as executives whose prior issues might result in a problem for future investors?
6. Do you have acceptable deal terms for original and successor investors, specifically issues relating to non-dilution rights (which could be a problem) so you don’t have an investor having leverage over the company?
7. Do you have convertible notes with a valuation cap (if so, make sure it’s not too low)? When is the maturity date? Is this date after the potential raise for the next round?

Taxes and financial obligation of company and executives

1. How is the stock that is granted to the different shareholders and the executives valued?  Will there be a tax liability based on the valuation of the company as reflected in the share price? Are they truly founders shares worth only a few cents or has a prior round, e.g. friends and family, been offered at a higher value per share which may create a financial obligation to the grantee of the stock?
2. Is the stock to be granted restricted stock or stock options and what type of options are they?
3. How is the company being valued? Have you or will you use a third party for valuation of the equity?

Intellectual Property

1. Have all IP developed by the employees, founders and third parties been formally assigned to the company?
2. Have all the graphic designs, logos, domains, visual representations, iconography been assigned correctly to the company?
3. If the company is licensing IP, are the agreements to license been signed and reviewed by attorneys?
4. Is there a clear definition of trade secrets so there is no misunderstanding as to what constitutes a trade secret?
5. If an employee leaves the company, how are you protecting the company against loss of trade secrets? Are your internal procedures clear to safeguard trade secrets?
6. Are all trademarks registered to the company? 
7. Are all domains, logos, tag lines and other marketing items available for use and registered in the company’s name?  Do they conflict with a third party’s rights?
8. Is the company name registered to minimize the potential for a legal battle with a larger better capitalized company?
9. Are you using open source code? And if you are, are you co-mingling open source code with proprietary code such that the entire code tree is tainted and therefore treated as open source?
10. If you intend to patent an invention, have you inadvertently “publicly disclosed” the invention (which could affect your ability to later patent it)?

Employment

1. Do you include non-competes  in contracts with the executives, employees and contractors (if so, in some states this could be a problem)?
2. Are all contractors clearly third parties and contracts in place between the company and them?
3. Is there anything in the way you operate that could be construed as contractors are in essence employees of the company e.g. titles, office space, working hours, benefits, stock grants? Are contracts with individuals for less than one year?
4. Do your contracts with suppliers state that the contract may be terminated for any cause with 30 days or less notice?           

   

Clearly the checklist is not complete and most likely other questions will arise for your particular case. Hopefully, though, this checklist is a good start to use in working with your co-founders and attorneys in structuring the best deal for the company. Many attorneys have special rates for promising start-ups and my suggestion is to talk with them to understand what they can do to protect your business and its Intellectual Property. Without this protection, things can go bump in the night. I know as I have been on both sides of the fence.

C-Level Partners helps small to mid-cap companies in the tech, service and manufacturing markets grow their top line and their margins. If you have any questions on growth and managing risk in a growth or start-up environment please feel free to contact me at dfriedman@clevelpartners.net or call me on 949 439-4503.

The 5 C's of Clairvoyant Companies

No one is a psychic at TechCoastAngels.  Yet, we believe there are keys to success for start-ups.  For the past f weeks, myself and 6 other angel investors from TechCoastAngels of Orange County have screened more than 120 entrepreneurs in preparation for the “finals” of our fast pitch competition at TCA’s recent Celebration of Entrepreneurship event held on March 10.  We listened to these entrepreneurs’ 60 second pitches which would be provoking enough to take a meeting with them and listen to their pitch decks.    

In the past, I have looked at pitches of Unicorns and through my work and consulting practice reviewed or developed business plans, marketing plans, competitive analyses, positioning statements, branding architectures, and product road maps.  So, in this blog, I want to put it all together and share what I see are the common themes that came out of the pitches, pitch decks, business, and marketing plans- at least from my perspective.   

The following principles, which I call the 5 C's of Clairvoyant Companies are equally applicable to start-ups and on-going companies, large and small.

1.  Conveying the story.   The first “C” relates to conveying a story of what problem(s) the company is solving and telling a succinct story to entice the listener to ask for more information.   If it is a start-up, the entrepreneur has to put the listener in the shoes of the person having the problem and convey the solutions.  In the pitch deck, or the business plan, the CEO provides the details on how he or she will execute on the plan and drive financial results.  Conveying the story clearly applies to all companies, particularly if the company wants to attract new customers and brand itself in the market as something special.  Just think about the stories being conveyed by Nike and Under Armour or your favorite consumer or business product.

2.  Customer Clarity.   The second “C” relates to the target customers.  Who is the ideal customer?  Can you describe them and how do you find them?   If you think about Airbnb, the customers are both the person wanting to rent his property for a short period of time, to the other customer, a person wanting to rent a room or house.   The marketing and business plan should clearly indicate the problem the customer is facing and the solution offered.  Additionally, the company needs to present a cogent case for their marketing tactics to drive awareness, adoption and use.  Without clarity on the customer and how to find them and motivate them to action, financial success will not be achieved.

3. Competencies of the Company.   This third “C” relates to the existing or needed competencies within the organization that can drive the financial results.  It also relates to the intellectual property (IP), the culture of the company, and the way the employees think and execute the plans that are required to support the business or product.    How do you acquire and sustain the competencies that are needed for success?  Do you hire software developers on your team to build the product or can you outsource that skill?   What is critical based on your strategy and your competition?  

A competitive analysis and environmental scan may lead to the conclusion that skill sets that were once required are no longer required and new skills must be added.  That may lead the company to a training program, a partnership, or replacement of existing resources with new ones.  Some competencies such as Intel focus on technology as the prime competency and they develop the next generation of product even as they roll out the current generation.  Others, such as Zappos, focus on the uniqueness of the customer experience and the culture of the company, both of which are hard to duplicate.  Competencies help provide a “competitive moat” which brings up the next “C.”

4. Competition.   This fourth “C” is pretty evident.  No company operates in a vacuum.  Both start-ups and on-going companies need to be aware of the existing and potential competition that exists.   A competitor in the future may not be apparent today but may have the competencies, technology, leadership and resources to compete in a new and growing market.   Five years ago would GM or Lexus have considered that Tesla would be a competitor or that Google would enter the realm of cars with their automated car program?  A few short years ago, who would have thought that Red would be the camera of choice and used in three of the 2016 Academy Award nominees for best film? 

With technology and apps changing so quickly, competition can change just as fast.  Technology is the new enabler helping young entrepreneurs compete with established companies and with each other.  Recall what Andy Grove, former Chairman of Intel said:  Only the Paranoid Survive.  Whether you are a start-up or an established company, be paranoid and keep your eyes open.

5. CEO vision and passion.    We at TechCoastAngels say that we have to like the horse (the business concept) but must LOVE the CEO (the jockey and her team.)  As we screened the candidates for our upcoming event, we looked for a CEO with passion and vision and who can relate to us, the investor.  We wanted to find someone who had a history of success, was decisive, yet approachable and coachable.      

Think back to the great leaders of businesses or coaches and CEOs of sports teams.   Who is your model for a CEO with vision and passion?  I personally thought Lee Iaccoca was great when he resurrected Chrysler.  Jack Welch turned GE into a world class company with his vision to be #1 or #2 in his markets.   Steve Jobs showed the world a new vision for technology. And Alan Mullaly took Ford after the great recession to a new level of respect and performance.   

I trust that our C-Level Partner blogs and the ideas will help executives of start-ups and on-going companies be successful and also be used by executives to help them guide their companies to business success.   C-Level Partners has been established to be a beacon for value creation.  My partners and I would be glad to continue the dialog on what makes a successful company and help you optimize your business value and achieve your business goals.  Feel free to reach me at dfriedman@prodigy.net or call me on 949 439-4503.  And if you enjoyed this blog please like it, repost, and retweet it.

Starting a Dialog on Risk Management

Starting a Dialog on Risk Management

By: Brian Newton

Risk Management is a topic of deep concern for financial services companies. Assuming it is of less import for other companies, I believe, completely misses the boat.  In fact, Risk and Crisis Management are critical for all companies dealing with the public, especially in our litigious society and the absolute dollar cost of a failed event.  

Firms are in business to make money and as everyone knows, returns only go to those that take risks. (The risk-free returns currently available in short term Treasury securities – measured in small numbers of basis points – tend not to attract most firms.) So firms take risks. The question is, how should these risks be managed? And what tools can be used to manage risk? 

We first must identify the risks to which the firm is exposed. There are risks in all functional areas.  Does your firm rely on a wide ranging supply chain? If so, have you identified alternative suppliers from which you could source the required inputs in reasonable time, of sufficient quality and at a competitive price? Do you have a relationship with alternative suppliers? Could you open a new supply link in a timely way and still meet your deliver obligations? What would be the downside of having to delay deliveries to your clients? Would this result in lost customers, and thereby impact your expected revenues? What about developing a new to the world product? Does the financial and business risk potentially outweigh the reward of success? These are a few of the many questions to answer.

Identifying the risk is non-trivial. We must evaluate the risks in terms of both impact (positive and negative) and likelihood. A risk with little downside likely does not warrant direct management. However, awareness of such an occurrence may be well worth knowing as it may indicate the business environment is changing. And this may require a reassessment of all risks to which the firm is exposed as well as the firm’s overall business strategy. Best to know this as early as possible!

Here’s a framework we, at C-Level Partners, use to help companies define and manage business and functional risk.

Those risks with sufficient downside and potential knock-on impacts will require management of some type. This could entail allocation of resources to do precisely this, manage the risk. It could also entail laying off the risk via an insurance arrangement. Clearly this entails a cost, but depending on the nature of the risk, it may well be worth the cost. Oh yes, those resources to manage the risk aren’t free!

Other types of risk to which any firm is exposed include business disruption risk. It’s easy to contemplate this in the context of a natural disaster. Here in Southern California earthquakes are rare but highly disruptive events. Do you know what your firm needs to do to maintain its business activities should such an event occur? For this to be the case a firm must have a business continuity / disaster recovery plan in place. If so, this is a good indicator of awareness. However, is this plan current (reflective of current business activities) and has the plan been tested recently? A sports analogy is useful here: The best game plan in the world fails almost certainly when there has not been sufficient practice. There has never been a winning sports team that talked about what they were going to do but did not practice actually doing it. The same is true for disaster recovery plans.

One key element of managing unexpected events is communication. Depending on the nature of the event this could simply be internal communication. What happens when the delivery of a necessary input is delayed? The actions required should be known to those responsible for that production area. Ideally, these action plans are written down as the responsible people themselves may be out and their replacements need to have quick access to these instructions so as to prevent a negative outcome for the firm.

Another internal form of communication that is key and might be required and practiced is the Calling Tree. When something unexpected happens, the person first finding this out should know who in the management chain needs to be informed. This initial call in most cases will prompt by that manager a cascade of calls across the parts of the firm affected by the event. By doing this, all who need to know and need to adjust their activities will be informed in a timely manner, which itself should reduce the impact of the event. This calling tree puts into action people and resources to tackle the issue and manage the negative effects.

When external communication is required, with clients and possibly the public, it is very important to have a single person control the communication. The message for clients should be delivered by relationship managers that have received the approved message for their use. For general public announcements, ideally the senior manager responsible for all communication makes these announcements. Clarity and consistency of message are critical attributes of this communication.

We’ve just taken a quick look at risk management issues … and we’ve begun to see the complexities involved. Every firm’s business will be exposed to a variety of business risks to greater or lesser degrees. And the degree of exposure, i.e. risk impact, is a factor when devising the plan and when testing it. The test results themselves are useful information to be used in updating the plan as well as training the staff with business responsibilities.

To give you one perspective, the consulting side of one of the Big 4 accounting firms has a rule of thumb that firms should be spending about 2% of their revenues on managing risks. So if yours is a $50MM company, then $1MM is an approximate budget for risk management activities. Recall, this includes insurance premia, continuity planning and testing, and staff costs for those focused on these activities. 

Whether business risk management requires this level of expenditure depends on the firm. In many cases, good contingency plans, laid out when the risks are identified, might suffice to manage and control many business risks (realizing that the budget for this contingency planning is part of this 2% estimate). For example, a product manager working to commercialize a new to the world product may see that channel risk is very high. Therefore, his/her plans should include contingencies that may, in fact, include having multiple distribution channels from the start, even if it is less efficient.

If you have a different view, please let me know as I’m always interested in other’s views. Contact me at bnewton@clevelpartners.net or on (949) 445-1080 x301.

StreetSavvy Marketing Predictions for 2016

StreetSavvy Marketing Predictions for 2016

It’s that time again when just about everyone has predictions for the New Year. In November, Forbes contributor Kimberly Whitler posted predictions from the C-suite.   Adam Davidi, from the Guardian, posted predictions on branding based on conversations with “experts.”   I am sure we will see predictions from Forrester, Gartner and others as well.

We, at C-Level Partners, don’t want to be left out.  My colleague, Vince Ferraro, and I have been C-level executives in marketing and general management for many years. We now consult with companies on marketing and their go-to-market strategies.   We decided to look at “Big M” marketing, relating to predictions for how companies and brands go to market and how they interact with customers.  So without fanfare and any biased perspective, we share these predictions for Marketing for 2016. 

Let me be candid.  While most of these are predictions based on our work with clients, with start-ups and in talking with our marketing colleagues, there are also some “aspirational trends” that we hope come true for the profession as well as we believe they are important for marketing professionals and the businesses they manage.  Some of these trends overlap and leverage each other.   To us, that will represent the power of good marketing.  In no particular order, our top sweet 16 are:

1.       Cognitive Commerce has begun.  Marketers will use information on customers from their databases, the internet, and other sources to build stronger relationships, build predictive algorithms, personalize content, and deliver products and services to meet their specific needs.

2.       The distinction between offline and online will disappear as real time analytics will unite both camps.  Marketers will consider all (omni) marketing channels to optimize their marketing programs based on cost, effectiveness, ROI and the satisfaction quotient from building relationships with customers.

3.       Branding will be from the inside out.  Companies will not push the brand but the brand will be built on trust, engagement, referrals, authentic dialog, and transparency.

4.       Digital Marketing will cease to exist as a standalone part of marketing.  There isn't a need for separation anymore. World class marketers will know how to market in a digital world. Traditional and online marketing not only will coexist, but one will leverage the other and work better together.

5.       Advances in video broadcasting and continued growth in mobile devices will change TV marketing forever.   Marketers will use new technologies to enable a more immersive experience and TV and other broadcast video usage will expand on all screens - laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, HDTVs and even screens in cars,( i.e. telematics).

6.       Content will be created specifically with video channels in mind.  Further, there will continue to be a migration to mobile video which will become de rigor on a company’s website, in blogs, in training, and on Youtube.  Youtube channels for marketers will continue to expand.  In addition, the use of video podcasting and live streaming are also in a growth mode.  The world is clearly digital and going video and marketers will take advantage of that. 

7.       Personalization will grow as its ROI is measured and as customers come to expect to be treated as individuals.  We, at C-Level Partners, have written that there are now 7Ps of marketing and personalization is one of them.  Technology and marketing automation will enable this to happen.  This personalization will improve company branding and the ability to build stronger relationships with customers.

8.       Marketers will get back to basics.   Solid, well planned marketing will trump the sexy marketing in the past.  The CMO and business leaders will focus on marketing as a strategic investment to generate profitable revenue.

9.       The human touch will return to marketing.  How many of you love to listen to an automated customer service system saying that “your call is important to us…”  That’s bull!  Companies will realize that you are important and will show it by having more touch than tech or at least do a better job of integrating the two.  Being human will also apply to helping customers understand the value of the company’s products and determining what motivates buying behavior.  This is like getting back to the future… and I love it.

10.   Employee experience (EX) will be as important as customer experience (CX).  Engaged employees are critical because at the front line – in retail, sales and customer service- they ARE the brand, or at least a fair representation of it.   Engaged employees also feel part of the company, behave like owners, and will be promoters of the company's products and services.  According to our anecdotal evidence, only about 30% are engaged today.  Think Zappos, Starbucks, 1and1, and Jet for companies who provide both good EX and CX.

11.   Marketing and Data Science will be the new dynamic duo.   This will be key to understanding the customer persona from many angles - demographics, psychographics, sentiments, and buying behavior.  Vince and I, both being engineers, can relate and understand this dynamic.  We expect to see the CIO and CMO becoming BFF’s.  

12.   As a corollary to #11, data will be the new currency for the younger generation. Data will enable the ability to personalize the marketing message and make that message more meaningful and differentiated for a particular customer.   But it doesn’t only apply to the younger generation; big data will be used to help understand buying behavior of all customers and couple that information with the dynamics of profitable revenue growth for the corporation.   The new marketer will be, must be, a datahead or recruit the right people in his/her organization who have the skills to analyze the myriad of data available from business and marketing systems.

13.   Marketers will provide more original insights into business.  Marketers will not be mere curators of data and content.  The key word is original.  By having more insight into business, the CMO will be able to justify his/her seat at the executive table.  (This is a belief and expectation!)

14.   Customer success will be determined by a combination of satisfaction, retention, and referral.  We have always believed that the combination of the three components will yield the most loyal customers.   In conjunction with this, customers themselves, through social media, will become the company’s best sales people. Technology to help build customer engagement will continue to evolve and become more sophisticated.

15.   Marketing and selling will be in an omni-channel world.   Marketing execs will understand the buying persona of their customers and will use math and analytics to optimize the sales and distribution channels.  But the key here is that it will not be one channel vs. the other.  The marketer will blend online and offline, retail and wholesale, third party distribution and direct to ensure the buying experience matches the customer and to improve the profitability of the company.

16.   Chief Marketing Officers will evolve to become strategic businesspeople first and “marketing" executives second.  This is our wish and expectation; therefore, we took the liberty to include it as one of our predictions.  The CMO will be the linking pin from the outside world of the customer to the inside world of production, manufacturing and operations.  He/she will have a unique view on building and capturing valued.  In the past, we have not seen this from most of our traditional marketing colleagues as many have been focused on one area e.g. advertising, digital, brand, and product.  The new marketing executive will be a generalist, a businessperson with a focus on top and bottom line growth, steeped in data analytics, change management, and growth levers, coupled with creative and innovative bent.  We may be wrong about this one for 2016, but we believe it will eventually take root over time.

We would be interested in hearing your thoughts on your sweet 16 predictions for 2016.  Let’s keep the dialog going at www.clevelpartners.net.   And feel free to contact me at dfriedman@clevelpartners.net or Vince at vferraro@clevelpartners.net for a complimentary discussion on how we can help you achieve value creation and profitable revenue growth.

Some Thoughts on Thought Leadership

by:  Vince Ferraro, Managing Director, C-Level Partners.

This week I was I featured as one of 50 top marketing thought leaders in Brand Quarterly Magazine for 2015. (the complete list is at https://t.co/OvYoB48isa).   I am privileged to be part of such an illustrious list of talented and accomplished marketing professionals. All of the people mentioned are experts in their respective fields.

It got me thinking about what exactly is a thought leader and how you build authority, influence, trust, and credibility - attributes that most often go along with thought leadership? What makes a thought leader different from an expert, public figure or guru? What do they say, what do they do, how t do they act and how does that translate into thought leadership? My belief is that your combined experience, accomplishments, skills, consistency, and combination of other factors (over time) make you a thought leader. Many people can claim to be an expert in a specific area. That is an internal claim.  However, true thought leadership comes externally, from people who see and watch you. Thought leadership is bestowed by the people who give and individual or institution that status.

Marketing thought leader Jay Baer once said: "A thought leader is someone with proven expertise and experience who isn’t afraid to share it with the world without direct compensation.” This is partially true; however, I also like the list of quotations on thought leadership here.

Here’s my top 7 items that are useful to judge whether you are or can become a thought leader:

1.  Developing unique ways to look at a problem that were not considered previously.
2.  Not being afraid to look foolish for suggesting an idea. (think Isaac Newton and the apple)
3.  Challenging the prevailing wisdom and institutional theories.
4. Having internal emotional resilience in light of others vehemently disagreeing with your viewpoint. Be able to defend your positions.
5. The ability to take ideas, concepts, and explain them so even people outside your sphere understand what you are doing.
6. Be visible on as many credible interviews, podcasts, panels, speaking engagements, TV appearances you can get. Thought leaders are able to attract an audience.
7. Publish, Publish, And Publish! Get your ideas out there in the form of blog posts, guest posts, press releases, presentation slides, books, videos, and educational courses. Like academic intuitions, frequent and high quality content will get you noticed and respected.

There are no shortcuts to thought leadership. It comes from inside and outside your sphere of influence. What I can say this … writing and speaking are great pathways to thought leadership for you, your company or your brand. Produce content that challenges the status quo, is interesting, and thought provoking. Be willing to put your ideas and thought there and create a “smoothie” of new ideas, concepts, and theories. Though leaders are always pushing the envelope and challenging the status quo.

Whether we are a church volunteer, politician, business person, professional, company, or non-profit, thought leadership is derived from earning it.   Everyone has the ability to be a thought leader because everyone has a unique background and experiences that can be applied.  What is also interesting is that these unique diverse experiences collectively make for great teams that can conquer complex problems.  More to be said about this in the future.

If you want to continue the dialog, contact me at vferaro@clevelpartners.net.

Business Lessons from THE INTERN

I don’t normally do movie reviews; in fact, I have never done them and this won’t be the traditional movie review.   However, I wanted to write something about a movie I saw Saturday nite called The Intern, with Robert Di Niro cast as a 70 year old retired executive who took up the role of an intern to a young female CEO of an e-commerce start-up.

I enjoyed this movie for several reasons.  First, it takes place in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, NY, not too far from where I grew up.  I resonate with things New York City.  Second, the context of the movie is an e-commerce start-up run by a young 30s woman who founded the company and is the CEO.  I can relate to that because I am an angel investor with TechCoastAngels and I have heard pitches from similarly situated women (and men) and have been a coach and mentor to these types of companies and even worked for a few of these companies.  Third, The Intern is a senior citizen and is recruited to the firm when they thought that hiring senior interns was the right thing to do.  I can relate to that character as a former executive and on the “wrong” side of 50.  Di Niro feels he can have fun in the job and has the passion and energy to help out.   I can relate to that as well.

Other than relating to the movie, the location, and the characters, I found a few take-aways from a business perspective.

1.  Everyone should find their passion.  Age is not an issue for sharing passion, having energy, or smarts.  Witness Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, or Sam Walton when he was driving around in his F-150 visiting stores in person across the country, or Arthur Blank, or countless others who have a vision and desire to make a difference.
2.  It is hard to manage two families- a business family and a home family. Startups are like children and need to be nourished.  It is tiring and taxing to manage the business and the people at work, and then go home to switch gears and be a husband or wife or parent.  
3.   Leaders have to learn to delegate and not take on everything themselves. In the movie, Anne Hathaway, the founder/CEO tried to do everything herself and that caused part of the stress and almost caused her to lose her company and her family.  A few months ago, I wrote a blog on two words that can help an entrepreneur (or other businessperson) achieve success.  Those two words are FOCUS and PODFU.  The CEO needs to focus on what is important and then plan, organize, delegate, and follow-up (that’s the PODFU) to ensure things are on target.
4.  Age is a state of mind to a large degree. I have seen young executives who have no vision nor energy nor the passion and drive to succeed.  I have seen young executives who don’t fit the culture of a company whereas some of the “middle-people” felt right at home.  And interestingly, I have seen a senior generation fit in to a younger culture because each group was willing to learn and listen.  Why?  It’s what you bring to the table.
5.  Context and experience cannot be taught but can be applied.  In The Intern, years of management experience by Di Niro’s character proved helpful.  And so did his affable, approachable and helpful nature.   He even taught the younger generation what it meant to be a gentleman. Remember your handkerchief.  As Di Niro said in the movie, he is everyone’s “uncle” yet his expertise from his prior career coupled with his character helped the young CEO cope with the stresses of her business and family.

I enjoyed The Intern as a good way to spend a couple of hours and highly recommend it. It probably had more meaning to me given the premise of the movie, where it took place, and the start-up environment.  Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 59.   I gave it nine pizza slices out of a possible 10.

Let me know what you think and feel free to write to me at dfriedman@prodigy.net or at dfriedman@clevelpartners.net.