Category Archives: The Passion Trap

A self-reinforcing loop of perceptions, choices, and actions that can severely endanger a startup.

For Startups, Feeling Good Is Not the Same as Progress

Note: We recently re-acquired full rights to my book 6 Secrets to Startup Success (AMACOM, 2011) in order to refresh, enhance and re-purpose the content. Below is the first in a series of revised excerpts from the book (new Kindle version available … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Bias, Communication, Culture, Decision Making, Execution, Founder Readiness, The Passion Trap, Trust | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Psychology for Startups

  I’m finishing up a guest post for CoFounders Lab blog on psychological aspects of founding a startup.  I’ve worked with the topic quite a bit, but had not seen this excellent overview from Justin Singer via Slideshare – from … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Bias, Decision Making, Founder, Founder Readiness, The Passion Trap | Leave a comment

SXSW 2012 Follow-up: How to be Extremely Passionate and Absolutely Realistic

Just returned home from the 2012 version of the annual stimulation-provocation-fest that is South by Southwest (SXSW).  Thank you to everyone who attended my solo talk on Saturday about the “war” between passion and realism. Great crowd – great engagement, input, and … Continue reading

Posted in Four-Quadrant Model, The Passion Trap | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dodging the Passion Trap (2-minute video)

  “What’s your book about?“ I took some time today to pull together some slides from a few recent talks. This 2-minute piece (I hope) does a decent job of articulating the core premise of the book:     If you … Continue reading

Posted in Founder, Founder Readiness, The Passion Trap | Leave a comment

A Few Words about the Dangers of Entrepreneurial Passion

When I first began to study entrepreneurship, I would never have predicted I would focus on the topic of entrepreneurial passion.  Passion seemed like a given in the startup world. It’s a basic ingredient—like salt in food—so common that it would not be a … Continue reading

Posted in Market, The Passion Trap | Leave a comment