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Negatism^®.

Our goal for this web site is simple. Ask these questions and share the answers with the world:

What was the biggest mistake you made in business so far?
What lesson did you learn the hard way?
What would you not do again, if given the opportunity?
What is the one warning you wish someone gave you when you were first starting out?

“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”

-Michael Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School

Negatism is built on nuggets of advice from people just like you, but a bit more weathered, who have real, tried and true pieces of advice of what they would change, if given the opportunity. Some of the entries are from very successful people you’ve heard about, some, well… not so much. Regardless, all of the entries have the same theme in common: “I’ve been there. Learn from me”.

Sure, there are millions of books, websites and lectures telling you how to be successful in business. Everything from how to hire employees, how to increase revenue, how to cut costs, even how to work a four-hour work week. All great advice if you are willing to change your personality, your behavior and your instincts as a professional and follow awkwardly in someone else’s footsteps.

What you really need to know is not what you should do… but what NOT to do! Countless people have been where you are now and have learned their lessons the hard way. It seems logical that it is easier to avoid specific behaviors rather than learn new ones hoping you’ll have the same success someone else did just by following a methodology that worked for them.