Part 2 of a 3 parts series where we surveyed 100 startup founders to determine which is more important in today’s rapidly changing environment – EQ (Emotional Intelligence) or IQ. The results are pretty clear.

We surveyed 100 startup founders to determine which is more important in today’s rapidly changing environment – EQ (Emotional Intelligence) or IQ. The results are pretty clear.

Are you struggling more than you did last Spring? It is OK and you are not alone. I suspected that this Fall would be extra tough on founders… and it turned out to be true.

Everyone struggles with the F Words (fear, focus and fatigue). It is the people who tackle the inevitable struggles with awareness, intention, and anxiety to create a game-plan, that actually up-level themselves and their businesses.

Over the years, we have developed a 4-step process for goal-setting that we have found to be quite successful.  We are sharing here in hopes it may serve as a way to facilitate your own goal-setting process and increase your likelihood of success.

Culture is the attitudes, behaviors, and interactions that make up the work environment. As such, it has two sides or components to it — the intellectual and the emotional. Are you giving enough time and energy to both sides of culture?

Perks have become part of startup life.  And there is nothing wrong with that - except when companies and employees put too much emphasis on them and too little emphasis on what really matters.

There are very few things within your control in terms of building a sustainable, successful company. What you can control, however, are internal factors, like your strength as a leader and the strength of your team and company culture.

Communication or miscommunication all starts with the founder (and leadership team). So, today we are sharing four of the most common startup communication problems we see in hopes they will provide awareness and learning for others.

Feedback is an under-utilized and under-rated business communications tool. Research shows people don’t like giving it and they really don’t like receiving it (mostly because it isn’t given effectively).

There are two competitive advantages that are completely within a startup’s control. The first is you, the founder of the organization, the second is your company’s culture.

“Knowing thyself” is also imperative to authentic leadership.  Said another way, self-awareness is a precursor of authenticity. 

Indeed, “emotional contagion” is a real thing - meaning the feelings you are experiencing and the mood you are in can really be felt by others and vice versa.

Being humble as a leader makes you more approachable. In turn, it creates a more humanistic work environment because your employees will also be more humble and vulnerable

We meet lots of founders - almost all of whom are smart. In fact, they are very smart. The type of smart that can be filed under what we know as IQ (or Intelligence Quotient). However, an even more important factor in growing a company into a long-term success is EQ (or Emotional Quotient), otherwise referred to as “Emotional Intelligence.”

What we bring to work depends on our own health and well-being. For founders, this is critical, since the entire operation is depending on you.

OK - someone has to say it: Boasting how little sleep you’re getting, how many hours you’re working per week, and how many tasks you can handle at one time isn’t a badge of honor. In fact, it could be costing you success. And that is not our opinion, it is science.

The truth about startups is this: The struggle is REAL. No matter who you are. Running a startup is a series of highs and lows. There will be a high and then a low, another high and then another low.

At FounderForward, we strongly suggest that all the clients we work with adopt a Gratitude Habit.  On more than one occasion our suggestion has been met with an eye-roll and a comment about it being a bit “woo woo.” That is until we explain that there are countless benefits to developing a Gratitude Habit — and that most are rooted in science.

Employee Experience is the newest HR buzzword, but how is it different from Employee Engagement? More importantly why does it matter? We sat down with best-selling author, futurist and employee experience expert Jacob Morgan to discuss the subject.