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In business (and, for many, in any type of relationship), it can be easy to feel a temptation to filter elements of who we are in an attempt to control or manage to some kind of outcome. Whether it’s with a new colleague or acquaintance, or even among those we interact with daily, this reaction can seem innate.

Perhaps it’s because everyone wants to be liked. Or, maybe it’s because we watch other successful people with strong, protected natures. Maybe the urge to hold cards close to our chest feels as though it creates a strategic advantage of some kind—or, perhaps it’s caused by something far more primal. Continue…

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One of the books that I’m reading right now is Built To Last by Jim Collins. It reviews some of the world’s most historically successful companies, comparing them to very similar (from an industry or product offering standpoint) rival companies. His purpose is to attempt to identify why two seemingly similar companies, operating within and during the same markets, can so often experience such different levels of longevity and success. What makes these companies, across a wide range of industries, so different?

In one chapter, he explains an example that really stood out to me and, without a doubt, has clear implications for the culture of entrepreneurship that many business owners operate in today. Continue…