There's more to being a boss than just telling people what to do. It's about building a rapport and fostering a real relationship with your employees, so that you trust each other and can get things done.

Inventors, business owners and corporate superstars who reshape and remake companies are some of our strongest cultural heroes. They reflect an essential part of the American story—the story of the average person who sees an opportunity, seizes it and in the process creates something new.

How many times have you trained a junior colleague, new hire, or summer intern in a task only to have that person come knocking on your door every five minutes with a different question about some key detail?

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

I'd say that in about half of my business conversations, I have almost no idea what other people are saying to me. The language of internet business models has made the problem even worse. When I was younger, if I didn't understand what people were saying, I thought I was stupid. Now I realize that if it's to people's benefit that I understand them but I don't, then they're the ones who are stupid.

In my last post I talked about how to make your résumé more likely to catch the attention of a hiring manager. As a follow up, I'd like to discuss cover letters. Here's my basic philosophy on them: don't bother.

Myth #1: Multitasking is critical in a world of infinite demand.

This myth is based on the assumption that human beings are capable of doing two cognitive tasks at the same time. We're not. Instead, we learn to move rapidly between tasks. When we're doing one, we're actually not even aware of the other.

If you ask an extremely successful salesperson, "What makes you different from the average sales rep?" you will most likely get a less-than-accurate answer, if any answer at all. Frankly, the person may not even know the real answer because most successful salespeople are simply doing what comes naturally.

More than 100 studies have now found that the most engaged employees — those who report they're fully invested in their jobs and committed to their employers — are significantly more productive, drive higher customer satisfaction and outperform those who are less engaged.

Having combed through more than a thousand 360-degree performance assessments conducted in recent years, we've found, by a wide margin, that the primary criticism men have about their female colleagues is that the women they work with seem to exhibit low self-confidence.

The celebrated entrepreneur shares advice on shaping company culture as you expand your business.

Whether you’re launching a new business or preparing to expand your existing one, laying a solid foundation for the future is critically important – bringing in investors, getting your contracts right, hiring your core team members, choosing the right suppliers.

In my career I have reviewed thousands of resumes and conducted hundreds of employment interviews for both The Trademark Company and other businesses for which I have worked. In doing so, I got to see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in terms of resumes, interviewing skills, and the like. For other CEOs looking to hire, here's what I think makes a great candidate stand out from the good ones.

Entrepreneur Jason Fried offers the most fundamental of all small-business advice: how to get good at making money.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to play the drums. I've always loved the drums. Whenever I listen to music, I hear the drums first. I can listen to a great jazz drummer like Art Blakey for hours on end. I'd give up almost anything to be as good as Glenn Kotche of Wilco.

Follow these guidelines from a serial-entrepreneur-turned-venture-capitalist, and improve your odds of getting funded.

Having been on both sides of the table—many times as an entrepreneur and now as a venture capitalist—I've been witness to hundreds of pitches. I've been inspired and bored; dazzled and disgusted. There are many articles focusing on how to craft your slide deck, but few that really give you the inside scoop on how to behave in your big meeting.  I can tell you from 20 years of experience, if you follow these guidelines you will significantly improve your odds of getting funded. 

Want to shake up an entire industry? Use this story as inspiration.

Where do you look for disruptive change opportunities in your business? Have you looked at your supply chain lately? I know. Hardly seems like the stuff of innovation. But it is.