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Insights on leadership, entrepreneurialism and management

  • Sep072016
    Article

    Episode 22: Key to hiring the best employees

    http://toughthingsfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/Episode-22-Key-to-hiring-the-best-employees.mp3Hiring really good employees predisposes your company toward success. But how do you do this? Ray Zinn knows how, having run the Silicon Valley semiconductor company with the lowest employee turnover rate.

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  • Aug232016
    Article

    Plans, Funds and Thinking

    Go-to-market plans seem nearly out of vogue in Silicon Valley. After leading the most consistently profitable semiconductor company, and by doing so becoming the longest serving CEO in Silicon Valley, I decided to help a few startups with mentoring...

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  • Aug172016
    Article

    Episode 19 – Being Driven but not Being a Slave Driver

    http://toughthingsfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/Episode-19-Being-Driven-but-not-Being-a-Slave-Driver.mp3Entrepreneurs are driven. How can they remain driven without driving their employees crazy? Ray Zinn, the longest serving CEO in Silicon Valley explains to a special guest interviewer where the divide is between motivation and slave driving.

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  • Aug162016
    Article

    Debt: the toothsome tiger

    Cheap money is like cheap food. It tempts some people to overeat. Money has never been cheaper. Some nations, attempting to re-inflate their economies, are actually issuing zero percent loans to banks in the hope they will offer nearly...

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  • Aug092016
    Article

    The Advice to Follow … Or Not

    “You shouldn’t work for anyone.” That odd advice came from my boss over 40 years ago. It was insightful, timely and genuine guidance from a man holding a large purchase order from Texas Instruments for a product we did...

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  • Aug032016
    Article

    Special Edition: Draper University student interviews Ray Zinn on Venture Capital

    http://toughthingsfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/Special-Edition-Angie-Carrillo-not-taking-venture-capital.mp3Angie Carrillo, a student at Draper University and co-founder of Liks.co, interviews Ray Zinn about funding startups. The wide-ranging discussion covers what founders need to think about when they seek money to get things going.

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