It's amazing to see how far the Internet has come in just 16 years. Take a look at the early versions of Google and Yahoo. Of course, 16 years ago I was 11 years old and had never even heard of the "World Wide Web"

Google in 1997:



Yahoo! in 1995:

Secretary Gates' Speech to the Cadets at West Point (2.25.11)

The Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently addressed the Cadets at West Point. It's always nice to see/hear from our leadership. See the full speech here. (hat tip: Cameron Schaefer)

Here are some of the nuggets I pulled out:

• But in my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should “have his head examined,” as General MacArthur so delicately put it.

• If you chart a different path, there’s no telling the impact you could
  have – on the Army, and on history.

• Maxwell Taylor, class of ’22, was an Asia foreign area specialist in the 1930s before becoming the famed commander of the 101st airborne, superintendent of West Point, and later Army Chief of Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He once observed of his fellow academy grads that, “the goats of my acquaintance who have leapfrogged their classmates are men who continue their intellectual growth after graduation.”

• You should look for opportunities that in the past were off the beaten path, if not a career dead end – and the institutional Army should not only tolerate, but encourage you in the effort. Such opportunities might include further study at grad school, teaching at this or another-first rate university, spending time at a think tank, being a congressional fellow, working in a different government agency, or becoming a foreign area specialist.

• Consider that, in theater, junior leaders are given extraordinary opportunities to be innovative, take risks, and be responsible and recognized for the consequences. The opposite is too often true in the rear-echelon headquarters and stateside bureaucracies
  in which so many of our mid-level officers are warehoused. Men and women in the prime of their professional lives, who may have been responsible for the lives of scores or hundreds of troops, or millions of dollars in assistance, or engaging in reconciling warring tribes, they may find themselves in a cube all day re-formatting power point slides, preparing quarterly training briefs, or assigned an ever expanding array of clerical duties. The consequences of this terrify me.

• In an article for Military Review following his tenure as a corps commander in Iraq, General Chiarelli suggested that, while the opinions of an officer’s superiors should hold the most sway, it’s time that the Army’s officer evaluations also consider input from peers and, yes, subordinates – in my view the people hardest to fool by posturing, B.S. and flattery.

• And as two Iraq veterans, then-Lieutenant Colonels John Nagl and Paul Yingling, wrote in a professional journal some years ago, “the best way to change the organizational culture of the Army is to change the pathways for professional advancement within the officer corps. The army will become more adaptive only when being adaptive offers the surest path to promotion."

• But I would like to close by telling you why I believe you made the right choice, and indeed are fortunate, to have chosen this path. Because beyond the hardship, heartbreak, and the sacrifice – and they are very real – there is another side to military service. You have an extraordinary opportunity – not just to protect the lives of your fellow soldiers, but for missions and decisions that may change the course of history. You will be challenged to go outside your comfort zone and take a risk in every sense of the word. To expand what you thought you were capable of doing when it comes to leadership, friendship, responsibility, agility, selflessness, and above all, courage. And you will be doing all of this at an age when many of your peers are reading spreadsheets and making photocopies.

• One of my favorite quotes from the Revolutionary War era is from a letter Abigail Adams wrote to her son, John Quincy Adams. She wrote him, “these are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life or [in] the repose of a pacific station that great characters are formed. …great necessities call out great virtues.”

Startup CEO Job Description

After 18 months as the CEO at TestSoup, I decided it was time to transition the company in a new direction. I am extremely proud of everything we have accomplished thus far and I couldn't be happier with the team that's in place. You guys/gals rock.

Before stepping down, I was asked to write down everything I did as the CEO and turn the information into a job description. Long story short, a startup CEO is responsible for everything: company vision and mission, operations, sales, marketing, business development, HR/PR, strategic initiatives, customer service, investor relations, etc. Moreover, a startup CEO is involved at all levels: stategic, operational, and tactical.

Here is a pretty good description of what you have to do as the CEO of an early stage startup:

*****
TestSoup CEO Job Description - http://testsoup.com/

TestSoup, a revenue generating test prep startup, is looking for a new CEO to lead its innovative team and online and mobile product lines. We are an early stage startup with lofty goals and big plans for 2011.

This role is ideal for someone who has the right mix of leadership, passion, energy, experience, business savvy, entrepreneurial spirit, innovative nature, and a vast Rolodex with the who’s who in the test prep and educational space.

The CEO will have primary responsibility for leading company operations, the overall growth strategy, organizational leadership, financial and organizational management, external communications, and marketing and sales efforts. He/she will also be responsible for the development and management of advisor and investor relationships.

The CEO will also be responsible for providing the short term and long term company vision as well as the development of the sales and marketing strategy. He/she will also be responsible to achieve fundraising and revenue objectives.

The ideal candidate will have been successful in startup companies (or will have learned from previous failures) focused on the wants and needs of consumers in the tech or test prep industry.

In addition to being the face, voice, and spirit of the company, the candidate must demonstrate a track record for attracting, managing, and closing angel and VC funding rounds.

Focus During the First 12 Months:

• Develop and lead execution of product development, sales, and marketing.

• Develop relationships with angel investors and venture capitalists; obtain financing at reasonable terms when necessary.

• Create an appropriate short/long term vision

Responsibilities:

• Develop short/long term company and product roadmap.

• Oversee operating plan, budget, cash flow, and company finances.

• Build and lead an effective and cohesive executive management team to include all company employees, while establishing a basic personnel policy, initiating and monitoring policies relating to personnel actions and training and professional development programs.

• Build and motivate a world-class sales and marketing team.

• Responsible for all elements of HR, employee compensation plans, and benefits.

• Establish and implement short and long term goals, objectives, policies, and operating procedures.

• Create and revise all content while building a world-class content development team.

• Close deals with schools, sponsors, and industry partners.

• Help build an excellent board of directors and board of advisors.

• Ensure company objectives and standards of performance are not only understood but owned by management and employees.

• Ensure company and its businesses comply with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements and, where appropriate, best practices.

• Establish, achieve, and report on milestones to the company’s owners and founding members.

Qualifications:

• 3-5 years of junior and/or senior level management experience.

• Prior experience in sales and/or leadership efforts at a startup company, test prep company, or other organization.

• Prior CEO/COO experience desired.

• 2+ years of strategic sales and marketing experience, ideally dealing with test prep or education.

• Experienced entrepreneur who has taken at least one startup from seed round all the way to an investor’s exit strategy is desired.

• Excellent leadership, negotiation, management, problem solving, and interpersonal skills.

• Exceptional oral and written communication skills.

• Extensive experience in fund raising through angels, super angels, and venture capitalists.

• Track record of building innovative, creative, and collaborative teams.

• Strong desire to lead from a strategic and tactical perspective in all aspects of day to day company operations.

• Strong undergraduate and/or graduate academic credentials preferred