Omaha It takes two to tango…and negotiate. Therefore, there are typically two sides any negotiation and if you are able to figure out both sides, you will be successful more often. Simple case; take a used automobile. Unlike a new car that has a sticker price, the used car is priced subject to a variety of different things. Miles, year, options, history, location … these all play a part. The seller has a price they are asking (and a price they will take). The buyer has … read more

Omaha I have heard a lot of discussion regarding incubators recently. There are many advocates, but I would offer that more important than the physical space for an incubator are the people who will go inside of it. I wanted to write a longer post rather than simply commenting on the PIE article because I wanted to be more long-winded than I thought appropriate for the comments section. There is an incubator at Scott Technology Center right now, and so I would offer to those who say … read more

Omaha Can you imagine how the politicians could have negotiated on the appropriate "best thing" for the people if it didn’t get emotional? I know … I know … politics without emotion is some sort of an paradox. However, wouldn’t it be exceptional if this were the case? Just saying … My experience in the business world says that you aren't rational once you let it get personal. You don't think straight; you aren't able to … read more

Omaha Per our friends at Webster, definition of cardinal… cardinal – adjective, of basic importance : main, chief, primary a cardinal principle In negotiating, I think one of the cardinal rules is to never bid against yourself. This may seem obvious but it is amazing how many times I see this play out where one side or the other violates it. It is as easy as it sounds; don't bid against yourself. However … read more

Omaha Omaha must become a more welcoming place to people who are not from here and people who are different – a solution to the provincial problem from Post One. A great bellwether for this problem is international immigrants. This is a key group not just as a bellwether but also because a high priority because immigrants can play key roles as entrepreneurs and highly skilled knowledge workers. In Omaha, international immigrants make up approximately … read more

Omaha There is probably a more official name for this but I never could quite figure out what it should be called. However, for decision makers and negotiators, I think … read more

Omaha This is a post that builds off of my first post on migration – the Silicon Prairie needs to grow. I tell people that we need to focus on college students, and the immediate response is that I don't want to hire college students for my business. And many college students are ultimately not ready to work in a new startup or in a key position. However, even if that is the case, we should still focus on them. College students … read more

Des Moines (Editor's Note: The following is a guest post by Ben Milne, co-founder and CEO of Dwolla.) I read this and I was really inspired. My inspiration felt something like wanting to rip my shirt off and scream, "What the hell?!"… But I'm not strong enough to rip my shirt off and I really like American Apparel T's … of which, I just happen to be wearing. I wasn’t inspired by the bitter comments or by the perceived lack of support for entrepreneurs by the local government, but the message the article was sending. It’s not hard to start a business in Iowa or anywhere else. A matter of fact, it’s a fallacy that … read more