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Salary negotiation? It’s a myth.

There are better ways to determine the correct compensation for a potential employee.

The Ultimate Guide to Venture Capital for Founders

If you're a founder looking to secure venture capital for your business, it's important to understand the ins and outs of this process.

No thanks, I don’t want your money.

The toughest thing to do in business is turning down funding if it isn’t right. But you must.

Videos

How to Create Company Culture

What are the most important elements of a culture where people feel valued, motivated and committed?

Start Hiring GREAT People for your Company

I discuss the process I’ve developed over the course of hiring more than 200 people over my career.

What Type of Leader Are You?

How you can discover the type of leader you are?

How do you know when to fire someone?

Firing someone sucks. But the only thing worse than that is not firing someone who needs to go...

The Importance of sleep for Founders and CEOs

Quantity and quality of sleep are two of the biggest challenges I hear from my clients...

International clients and what it does for me as a coach

I currently work with a number of international founders...

How Do You Transition From Not Making Money to Break Even?

Few weeks ago I was asked that question...

Finding the Balance between your Personal & Professional Life

Work-life balance is impossible...

Finding The Thing That Gets Your Mind off Things

What's your thing?

When you’re hiring, it’s all about the operating system.

Who you build your company with is just as important as what you build...

Going from CEO to doer

As your company grows, you goes from being a doer to becoming a CEO...

Dealing with Founder conflict

Not many of us enjoy conflict, and it only gets even more difficult when the conflict is between co-founders of a company...

Don’t ignore the symptoms of stress

Our bodies are outstanding in the ways they give us signals that something’s wrong...

How Being Vulnerable Helps You Build a Better Company

Want to grow? Say “I don’t know.”

Trust your gut!

I got a call from a client yesterday that confirmed one thing I believe in...

Why I take my clients to museums

I know, it's an unusual thing to do with clients. But here's why...

Start Doing These 5 Things as a Founder / CEO

They are activities that you can gradually add into your daily routines and build over time...

5 Things You Should Stop Doing as a CEO / Founder

In this video, I go through five things I recommend to founders and CEOs that they put a stop to… immediately...

3 Common Misconceptions about Entrepreneurship

There are a lot of misconceptions in the world of founding a business...

Unplugging: Why It's Important to Become a Whole Human

From time to time I unplug completely...

Weekly Self-Review Framework

A weekly self-review is one of the most important habits I help my clients build...

3 steps to better delegation

Delegation is one of the trickiest hurdles for managers, and it’s even more critical as you get closer to the top...

Meditation To Go

I'm breaking down some preconceived notions about meditation...

It's not them, it's you!

The largest barrier to unplug? Often times isn’t our clients or colleagues...

How to be a Whole Human at Home

Here’s a sobering stat: 75% of the time we spend with our children over their lives is before they turn 12...

Fewer meetings leads to better communication

Why do I say so?

3 stages of Founders' and CEOs' mental challenges

I've gone through all the stages myself...

How do you get to the Opera?

Making it to the top of the game requires sacrifices...

In case you were wondering...

Introduction: Peter Sorgenfrei

What a let-down!

Letting people down is one of the worst feelings any of us can have.

Finding a Co-Founder & Your First Hires

As a first-time founder, there’s no shortage of critical decisions you will need to make...

4 Common Mistakes CEO's Make

I’ve been fortunate enough to be a CEO several times, but I was far from perfect.

Not too fast

I haven’t done one in a little while, but I used to love running races...

A guideline for how to live life in a modern world.

Seneca wrote: “Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty...

When is it appropriate to hire additional staff?

And when is it time to open a new office or branch?

Giving and receiving compliments

Are you aware of the big difference a compliment can make in someone else's day?

Credibility

Credibility is not just subject matter expertise...

Bake more pie!

There are two kinds of people and organizations in the world: eaters and bakers.

Owners vs. Others

We all need to think like owners of our company. How can you do that?

Keep your focus on what you actually can do!

Keep your focus on what you actually can do!

How can you relinquish control with your team?

How can you relinquish control with your team and why is it important?

Showing appreciation

Do you remember to show appreciation to those standing by you?

What a day in silence does to you

I'm used to having people around me most of the time...

Navigating uncertainty

Most companies make plans. But what is a good plan?

Five minutes can make all the difference.

A founder was struggling with how he dealt with a thorny personnel situation in the office...

Urgent vs. important

Eisenhower utilized a matrix with important on one axis and urgent on the other...

Being let go, yet feeling more secure.

Someone who recently was laid off, said something I found inspiring...

Blame <=> failure

What did John Wooden mean when he said this?

At lege sig igennem livet

Hvordan tager man det gode humør og festen med på arbejdspladsen?

Sense of mission → Success

Many founders chase trends, but it is the ones with a sense of mission that succeeds.

It is not about the size of the dog

What does this saying apply in business life?

Balance

Den seneste episode af Samtaler blev virkelig personlig, virkelig hurtigt...

Proving vs. improving

Have you found the balance between proving and improving?

Time management

Time - what is it and how do we learn to manage it?

Knowing yourself

Do you really know yourself?

Bad ideas > good ideas

Early in my career, I had to unlearn only trying to get great ideas...

Don’t take things personally

If you don't take things personally, you avoid many upsets in your life.

Specialist vs generalist

Which will become more important in the future?

At finde sit kald

Hvornår har man fundet sit kald? Og hvad betyder det egentligt?

Two sentences that have carried me when things were tough:

What can help you when people don't believe in you and what you are doing?

Fear

How can we leverage the fear we all have in life and in business?

Feelings vs. analysis

Do you trust analysis or your feelings more?

Hvad vil det sige at være menneske?

Det spørgsmål taler jeg med Signe Kolmos om i første episode af Samtaler.

Remember to keep an eye up, judge the wind and waves, and know which port you're heading to…

A little reminder to be careful not getting a myopic view...

Self-talk

How can you change the conversations you have within yourself?

The worry about the unknown

Worrying about the unknown and how not to...

Life is not the problem

Learning to calm your mind will 10x your happiness...

Head-nodding vs. head-shaking

Will people nod or shake their heads?

Internal vs. external scorecard

Something that matters more than what others think of you...

Yes or no

A simple way to get more mental headspace...

Limit for high-growth firms

3 things that limit the growth and success of high-growth firms.

When the CEO burns out

I’ve been there, so this is personal...

Motivational posters

Motivational posters are used at many offices, but not all. I found out why...

Starting a business

The best argument to start a business? Yours!

Office embarrassment

My first company was started in Brooklyn 16 years ago...

Change vs. Progress

Things around you change. Things within you change...

Style vs. Substance

A few thoughts on how to deal with style vs. substance

Working remotely

5 communication best practices for remote teams...

Great operators vs. good board members

There is something about the quiet ones. Especially board members...

Good days and bad days

There will always be good days and bad days. How you can handle both better?

Looking back

How to best encourage younger entrepreneurs to follow their courage

Good board members

3 things good board members do...

Mental nutrition

Do you worry about what you watch and read?

Responding to everything

Responding to emails seems to take up a lot of time...

Victim of meeting overload

Do you spend to much time on meetings?...

Building a company is a lot like surfing

There's at least 3 reasons why I say so...

Being kind

Henry James prescribed a recipe for success in business...

Behold the Power Hour

Do you know what your Power Hour is...

Feedback vs. criticism

Get better at receiving feedback...

Energy levels

How do you manage your energy levels...

Easy does it

A video on the aggressive use of language in entrepreneur land...

Look between the trees

A lesson I learned when skiing applies to business too...

Doing everything

A mistake many startup founders/CEO's find themself making...

The secret key to company success

Doing what you say you are going to do...

You are never done

Everything, including yourself, can constantly be improved...

Available and present

The key to more learnings, discoveries, and aha’s...

A friend starts a business

Three simple, but powerful ways you can support...

Begun is half done

"He who has begun has half done." — Horace...

No regrets

Five things you will never regret...

Three key components for teams that work

My thoughts on what makes teams successful...

SHORT FORM

Avoid competition

If you can't, ignore it

"But, I can't...."

A founder recently talked about making challenging choices in the business.

Your success as a founder depends on this 1 core skill

The number of difficult conversations you are willing to have...

A question for you before entering your office as a CEO today

It will help you build a culture where people are engaged and happy.

In 1998 Tim Cook made an absurd bet

Today, it has helped him become one of the most successful CEOs and build a $1.9 billion net worth...

The founder advice I wish I’d heard sooner (to take your company to new heights):

Make sure 5 new people know what you do every single day...

Do you wanna go fast or further?

7 popular practices that are slowly killing your startup...

The #1 killer of a funded startup

What it's not, and what it is

An uncomfortable (yet powerful) question to consider as a CEO

If your company was hiring for your role today, would they hire you?

If you want something, ask for it.

I often share this advice while coaching founders and CEOs in a tough spot...

Turning off auto pilot

We all go through life through the motions...

Control

When you see that word, does it bring up a negative or positive connotation for you?

It’s not conflict, it’s context

You’d be surprised to know how many top leaders are conflict-avoidant...

Good swing, bad aim

When I was at Toyota, we had a really interesting compensation model...

When you're hiring, it's all about the operating system

The people you hire are the largest determinants of your success.

I asked you what time it was... don't build me a watch

We’ve all been there...

Managing self-doubt

Most of the founders I work with experience periods of self-doubt...

AI can be the wall for your ideas.

I was recently asked about the role AI can play for generating ideas for entrepreneurs...

A client quote that hit me hard

After finishing our initial three month engagement, a client quoted John Wooden...

The fundamentals always win.

The reality is that the best companies will continue to get funded...

5 things I never regret doing

And I am pretty sure you won't regret them either...

Comparison vs. Compassion

The other day, I compared my life to someone else’s...

Experiencing peak motivation

Think about when you have been the most motivated...

Constraints

We are really good at seeing constraints...

Someone comes to you with a complaint

You have 2 options...

Don't look at the trees

If you do, you are more likely to hit them...

Don't take things personally

Not everyone is going to love you or what you do...

Life is not about intention

It is about action

Matthew McConaughey and Marcus Aurelius

They have more in common than you might think

Do you want to win now or win later?

You can’t have both...

Shanti shanti shanti

Great things come from meditating...

Turning off auto pilot

Real breakthroughs become available in your life when you interrupt yourself and your automatic ways...

The details make the moment.

How can you find your negative space in places you wouldn’t normally expect?

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

When I worked at Toyota, I really latched onto this Japanese proverb.

I didn’t have someone like me.

This is the answer I give when I get the question: “Why did you get into coaching?”

Sixty minutes

If your charge indicator said 5km left - would you keep driving your car?

The perils of positive feedback.

It is surprisingly hard to give positive feedback...

CEOs and Founders can make mistakes.

I’ve made so many, I lost count.

How do you manage your mental health?

Here are a few strategies that have helped me to manage my mental health..

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” - Yogi Berra

I was at my own personal crossroads some years ago...

No

This tiny word can be our best defense against the insidious problem of burnout...

Finding a new role after being laid off.

My piece of advice...

Applying what you know

"I know that," you might hear yourself utter from time to time when confronted by others...

Happiness is like a muscle

You can choose to build it, use it and flex it, or not...

Strength and power

When I take full responsibility for everything I experience...

Sense of mission → Success

Many founders chase trends, but it is the ones with a sense of mission that succeeds.

The importance of understanding behaviour..

Why is it essential in order for you to help people grow?

Most people don't even know themselves.

So why take it so to heart when they think poorly of you for no reason?

Head-nodding vs. head-shaking

Using technology you can choose one of two paths for your startup...

New hires are a gift in perspective.

After working with someone for a few months, I ask them the following...

And > but

Two small words, yet with so much impact...

A short exercise that leads to better meetings

Make this short exercise before your next meeting...

Your feelings or analysis - What counts more in decision making?

Arguments could be made for analysis being superior to feelings in business, but...

"He who has begun has half done." — Horace

Will you start?

A poor student

Learning doesn't just happen automatically...

Pretending vs. not

Have you ever felt the need to pretend to be someone else?

Where you could be

Take a few seconds and try the following out...

Everybody has to rebuild

Don’t get discouraged or shortsighted...

Saying no is a superpower

Something more powerful than knowing what you want to do...

Are you available?

I don't mean physically. I mean emotionally...

Breaking bad news to your board

My best advice on breaking bad news to her board...

Navigating uncertainty

What is a good plan in uncertain times?

Self-talk

You might have to change the conversations you have with yourself...

Vitamins for the brain

Social interactions are like vitamins and minerals for brains...

Looking outward or inward

Competitor-obsessed startups rarely win...

How's your mood?

Moods can spread like viruses...

Reason vs. Emotion

Should you reason through your options or listen to your emotions?

The CEO weekly self-review

I'll share 4 questions that should be part of your self-review...

New hires and their first focus

I give new hires 3 things to work on as they start...

Music happens between the notes

In the same way, relationships happen between the meetings...

Knowing what you want is not enough

You need to use your compass and set direction...

Creating culture - how?

In my belief hiring creates culture, so my suggestion is the following...

Do you feel like you have the full control of your time?

Very likely not, but there are times during your day where you can be in control...

Topics I wish were taught in school

And no, not business school, but in high school, or earlier...

Rest and restitution

One of the main reasons startups fail is burnout.

Can you make yourself more independent-minded?‍

Don't just do what everyone agrees is a good idea...

Are you feeling stressed, full of doubt or burned out?

A great CEO coach can be the biggest game-changer

Dependent <> Independent <> Interdependent

Core differences...

Thinking about my past roles as Founder/CEO

There were typically four stages...

Everybody has to rebuild.

So don’t get discouraged or shortsighted...

When things are tough

Two sentences that have carried me through tough times...

Doing everything

Many new CEO's don't know what not to do...

How I think about planning personal and professional activities

It can be applied daily to decision making...

What a day in silence does to you

It always amazes me...

Entrepreneurship is like riding a lion

People look at you and think...

There are no shortcuts in life

Not in childhood, not in school...

Hello vs. Goodbye

Saying goodbye well is just as important as saying hello properly...

Wealth to most people vs. wealth to me:

There's a slight difference...

Having given a ton of pitches, these three rules has worked for me

Works every time...

Avoid competition

If you can't, ignore it...

I met with a CEO/Founder, and what I experienced was...

An unusual level of insight, self-reflection, and preparedness...

Missed opportunities?

Something that helps me when I have to decide on opportunities...

Building a company is a lot like surfing

Here's three things those have in common...

Before you go raise money...

Make sure you are doing well with the following three things...

Pitching investors is actually simple

Simply share 3 sentences on the following 6 questions...

This is my "Make sure I have time for thinking hack"

It's not a productivity hack...

What is a startup investor’s job?

Seems like there's some confusion about this...

Succeed even when others don’t…

The key to success lies in something Einstein said...

A tragedy became a wake-up call for me

Someone my age passed away from a sudden heart attack...

The advice I keep giving over and over