Inc. Magazine October 2016

1 THEY’RE MESSY A cluttered workspace is actually a sign of creativity and a free spirit. 2 THEY USE CURSE WORDS Those who swear tend to have a stronger sense of language. 3 THEY’RE ANXIOUS Worriers are more intelligent than those who are unaware of their flaws. 4 THEY DRINK WINE Some studies show those who drink regularly, and prefer wine, have higher IQs. “Millennials are more mindful, more conscious, and more purpose-driven, and they want to make a difference in the world.” Deepak Chopra, co-founder of Jiyo and co-author of Super Genes, on generational differences inc.com/idealab INC.COM/PLAYBOOK Blake Mycoskie Founder of Toms “The biggest myth about entrepreneurship is that you can choose it like a profession.” INC.COM/HIDI Payal Kadakia Co-founder of ClassPass “Don’t get stuck, and don’t settle. Keep pivoting.” INC.COM/INCLIVE Simon Sinek Author of Start With Why “The CEO’s responsibility is to preach the cause, not just sell the…

WHEN HE ADDRESSES entrepreneurs at Inc. conferences, Bob Parsons, the irascible, ingenious founder of GoDaddy and Parsons Xtreme Golf, tells of his service as a Marine rifleman in Vietnam. The day he arrived in a combat zone—a green replacement in a squad that had just lost five men in an ambush a few days before—he confronted the likelihood that he would not make it out alive. He sat down on the wall of the old French fort his unit occupied and “had what I believe was the only anxiety attack of my life,” he recalls. He finally overcame his terror by resolving to do the best job he could, regardless of the outcome. It was a transformative moment—and one reason he credits the Marine Corps for having given him the…

GROWING UP IN MINNESOTA, Troy Michels, a co-founder of the recovery drink company Resqwater, spent winters on a snowboard and the warmer months on the four-wheeled equivalent. “By the time I was in fourth grade, I had built a ramp,” Michels says. And by his high school years, he had mastered the 50-50 grind and the rock ’n’ roll. Then, he “got busy with life.” Michels created Target’s lifestyle marketing division and led it for more than seven years. But his career took a turn after one especially sodden night, when he tried an antihangover brew concocted by a chemist. The potion works by helping protect the body from acetaldehyde, a pain-inducing byproduct of alcohol metabolism in the liver. He downed two bottles. Given how much booze he’d drunk, “I should’ve…

PUREWOW FOUNDER and CEO Ryan Harwood faced a dilemma: let one of his publishing and digital media firm’s top salespeople continue with her hard-nosed “always be closing” approach to customers, or tell her that a more human touch would be better to build long-term relationships and maintain trust. As a follower of the management approach called Radical Candor, Harwood chose the latter. “A lot of leaders would have turned a blind eye, because she was crushing it,” says Harwood. “But she will never become a better salesperson if she doesn’t get that feedback.” Believing that painful truths create faster growth, Harwood and many others are pushing back against the instinct to avoid conflict and are instead facing it head on. Interest in this approach is high. A speech on the topic…

CREXIT / • noun. When creditors exit the businesslending market. According to S&P, the “worst-case scenario” is “a series of major negative surprises sparking a crisis of confidence around the globe.” Or, as the New York Post would say: “Crazy Confidence Crisis Creates Crexit Credit Crunch.” Source: CNBC • GENERATION MODERATION / • noun. A new breed of consumers who shun meat, binge drinking, and excessive eating because “resisting overindulgence and observing moderation is all about self-respect.” And you thought Millennials were insufferable. Source: Plate for the Planet FINTEGRATION / • noun. When lumbering banks seek to “integrate fintech” into their products in an attempt to stave off competition from digital upstarts. This looks suspiciously like the Wall Street equivalent of dad dancing. Source: Finextra • PARALLEL ENTRE PRENEUR / • noun. An entrepreneur who —like Elon Musk—launches a…

WHEN COSS MARTE doesn’t return your phone calls or emails, don’t take it personally—most likely, he’s in jail. Being behind iron bars provides fertile ground for Marte, 30, who served six years for building a $2.5 million drug operation and burned off 70 pounds in the process. When he got out in 2013, he started what is now ConBody by running crazy-hard workouts in local parks that he had developed in his prison cell. (He cleaned toilets for a hotel on the side.) Now he has a trendy Lower East Side studio in New York City with 1,000 clients coming through each month. But jail is where Marte still spends much of his time. He and his trainers go to Rikers Island once a week to run more than 50 workouts…