Healthy Co-Founder Relationships

Running a business with someone else can be a challenge, no doubt about it. The relationship between co-founders is likely the most intimate business relationship two people can have, and just like any other relationship, it can deteriorate without proper upkeep. Still, it’s a bit shocking to learn that 65% of startups fail due to co-founder conflicts (according to Noam Wasserman, author of The Founders Dilemma). That seems like a high percentage, considering a good amount of those conflicts could be solved or avoided altogether with proper coaching and/or training.

Executive coach Alisa Cohn has a lot of experience mediating and coaching co-founders through conflicts so their businesses may succeed. In her new article from Harvard Business Review, Ms. Cohn lays out 5 simple steps co-founders can take to ensure a smoother relationship. Not all these suggestions are going to be easy or comfortable, but they will absolutely be worth it. At the end of the day, with some careful planning and the right coaching, the co-founder relationship can be just as successful as the company each loves.

How Businesses Can Combat Climate Change

Despite the seemingly endless debate about climate change, at a certain point we all need to rally behind science and data. Earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced that we are out of time to figure out how to curb carbon emissions. The time is now to make changes, both at individual and societal levels.

Kellogg Insight has published a new article and associated video on what businesses can do to combat climate change. In particular, author Meghan Busse outlines three industries that are the main contributors to carbon emissions: electricity generation, transportation, and industrial and agricultural use. She outlines how far the leaders of these industries have come in already reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and which steps they need to take to maximize reductions.

Give this article a read and some thought. Changes are going to have to come from all of us, and hopefully this inspires leadership to take a stand.

Turn up the Volume on Post-Pandemic Leadership

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that no matter who we are or where we come from, all of us struggling with something (or many somethings). Many times (especially in the past few years) our struggles apparent - on the surface and ready for us to digest. Just as often, however, they lie just beneath a facade of infallibility. It behooves us to remember that no matter how successful, wealthy, famous, or influential a person gets, there’s a struggle in there somewhere.

This, of course, includes those in leadership. Leaders are generally under enormous amounts of stress, and it is imperative that support networks are there to be relied upon. In a new article from Kellogg Insight, Clinical Professor of Leadership Harry Kraemer intends to provide that support. He recognizes that it is difficult to lead at this present moment, and offers some tips on how to adapt to this new climate. No changes are necessary, he says, just “turn up the volume” on what any good leader already knows. Read up and watch the companion video to turn the leadership game up a notch.