Ask yourself, what am I doing? Now ask yourself, what do I want to do? Do your answers coincide or are they going in opposite directions? Some people never find their calling, while others simply choose not to follow theirs. But why? Sometimes the answer is as simple as money. When money’s on the line and you have a family to care for, the lines between what you want and what you have get blurred. So maybe you have a nice job and a steady income, your children are well cared for, and you have a great house with a // READ MORE

This weekend brings the return of the most dysfunctional fictional American family and business to appear on TV since the turn of the 21st century. With a tongue-in-cheek nod to the hilarity of Arrested Development’s Bluth family and The Bluth Company, we present a feet-on-the-ground primer to help you start righting the ship once you freeze and mutter to yourself, “I’ve made a huge mistake.” Come on! The Realization You’ve been feeling really good about a particular business or personal decision for awhile now. It incorporated best practices, reflected your best insights, and promised best results. Or so you thought // READ MORE

During the political seasons, the term “job creator” becomes an often-cited and much-politicized phrase. But with national political campaigning at a less frenzied pace, we wanted to go back to this term and unpack what it means to us at Acton. Done correctly, job creation is one of the noblest results of entrepreneurship. Creating new jobs can provide purpose and satisfaction to individuals; enable them to better care for and support families; and increase the economic health of communities, cities, and countries. Of course, not all jobs are created equal. And a newly minted job is only a shadow of // READ MORE

Weaknesses in a business strategy can often be traced to its underlying assumptions. Guest contributor and Acton alumnus Chris Weaver (’08) shares his own experience recognizing that a client’s commonly held beliefs about its customers were wrong–and had stalled his project and potentially their business expansion initiative.  Identify and Question Assumptions “Know thy customer!” It’s a mantra freshly minted Acton grads chant as diplomas are placed in hands. Without doubt, it’s the song of our people.  However, there exists a related but less-pithy lesson that’s just as important: Identify and question assumptions. If industry experts are proxies for your customers, it’s important // READ MORE

Technology goes hand-in-hand with entrepreneurship and business development, especially in Austin. At Acton many of our new students arrive undergraduate degrees in the computer sciences and, after graduating, even more pursue opportunities in technology fields. They tell us that Acton’s fast and demanding pace, high intensity, competitiveness, and focus on understanding what the customer really needs serves them well once they graduate from our classroom. We recently caught up with three alumni in influential and leadership roles at technology firms, ranging from software startups to a Fortune 100 company. They shared some of their own Acton experiences, their motivations for // READ MORE

Last month Gary Keller–bestselling author, entrepreneur, and friend of Acton–published his latest book, The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, which has since hit the top of the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. The message in Gary’s new book, which he co-wrote with Jay Papasan, resonates with everyone at Acton. It reminds us of the synthesis of many leading entrepreneurial ideas and concepts taught at Acton, relating to identifying key success factors, exploiting the bottleneck, and playing to your personal strengths. Clear and concise, the book provides clear evidence to support Gary’s singular advice, and offers constructive techniques // READ MORE