Official website of Dave Berkus
- What if everything goes wrong? 10/16/2025The phone rings. Your biggest client just walked. Your lead developer quit. The server crashed. Your investor meeting is in two hours. I’ve watched 50 years of entrepreneurs face this exact moment. Here’s what separates the survivors from the casualties: The survivors don’t waste time asking “Why me?” They ask “What now?” They don’t hide […]
- Stop trying to be “inspirational.” 10/09/2025After 50 years of backing entrepreneurs and watching leaders rise and fall, I can tell you the harsh truth: Inspiration isn’t a speech. It’s not motivational posters or company retreats. Real inspiration happens when your people watch you make the tough call that everyone else avoided. When you admit you screwed up instead of blaming […]
- Your boss is about to make a million-dollar mistake! 10/02/2025You see it coming from a mile away. But you’re just the “junior” person in the room. Sound familiar? I’ve watched this scenario destroy companies more times than I can count. Smart people staying silent because they think hierarchy trumps wisdom. But leadership isn’t about having the right title. It’s about having the courage to […]
- What if your gut says “yes” and the data says “NO?” 09/25/2025Your gut screams “yes.” What do you do? I’ve been on both sides of this battle for 50 years. Sometimes the numbers lie. Not because they’re wrong, but because they can’t capture what matters most: timing, team chemistry, market momentum, and pure human intuition. I once passed on a deal because the financials looked terrible. […]
- How do you treat your employees? 09/18/2025Most CEOs talk about “human capital.” I cringe every time. People aren’t capital. They’re not resources to be optimized. They’re stakeholders with skin in the game. After 50 years of building companies and backing entrepreneurs, I’ve learned this: The companies that win treat employees like what they actually are—co-owners of the mission. Not just the […]
- The Power of Owning Your Mistakes 09/11/2025Your team is watching. Not just your successes, but how you handle the moments when things go sideways. When the quarterly projections miss by 20%. When the product launch stumbles. When your strategic bet doesn’t pay off. Here’s what separates exceptional leaders from the rest: they don’t hide behind excuses or deflect blame downward. The […]
- Dealing with bullies in your workplace 09/04/2025I have stories and very likely so do you. I’ll tell a few at the end of this article. But first: The pit in your stomach every Monday morning. The way your shoulders tense when you see their name in your inbox. The sick feeling when they walk into the conference room. Workplace bullying isn’t […]
- The Pricing Paradox: Why Most Companies Surrender Their Competitive Advantage 08/28/2025After 50 years in business and countless board meetings, I’ve watched too many companies hand over their competitive edge the moment a competitor undercuts their price. Here’s the brutal truth: If your only defense against competition is lowering prices, you don’t have a strategy—you have a problem. The Mystery-Margin Connection The most successful companies I’ve […]
- Two words you’ve got to use! 08/21/2025One of the most valuable tools in an executive’s arsenal is the use of the question chain in planning meetings or to analyze scenarios that might result from an action. The powerful words are “What if…” followed by an ever-deeper question that follows the possible results of an action, or a decision based upon the […]
- Head up! Don’t be left behind. 08/14/2025Markets and competitors change. Are you being left behind? Over the years, I have often heard complaints from CEO friends that they have become so swamped by the demands of their growing businesses that they feel themselves further and further from the center of their industry, no longer at the forefront of information and competitive […]
