John Bradley "JJ" Jackson

Gift or Bribe?

In business, the line between a gift and a bribe can be surprisingly thin. A gift, at its core, is given with no expectation of return as an expression of goodwill, gratitude, or relationship-building. A bribe, on the other hand, carries intent. It seeks reciprocity: a decision swayed, a favor

Will You Be My Friend?

Friendship plays a vital role in our lives, yet our capacity for social connections is surprisingly finite—studies estimate a typical person's network ranges from approximately 250 to 5,500 individuals, though real close friends are far fewer—around 10 to 20 trusted confidants. Interestingly, this circle is

Differentiation by Personalization

How do you stand out from the thundering herd of competitors? Put another way, how can you create a clear competitive advantage that makes choosing your product or service the easy and obvious decision? Harvard strategist Michael Porter defines competitive advantage as the qualities that make a product or service

Stranger Danger

We’ve all heard the phrase “stranger danger.” It’s been repeated so often that it feels like truth: strangers are risky, and the people we already know are safe. But life isn’t that simple. The message to kids is clear—don’t talk to people you don’t

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In the workplace, clarity is a gift. Too often, messages get buried under jargon, half-truths, or politics. People hedge their words to protect themselves or please others, but that rarely serves the team or the mission. Honesty, delivered with straightforward language, is more powerful than any carefully polished statement. It

Some Assembly Required

If you’ve ever bought IKEA furniture, you know the phrase: “some assembly required.” The box arrives flat, the instructions are cryptic, and halfway through you wonder if you’re missing a screw—or your sanity. Startups are much the same. They don’t arrive fully assembled. They show up

Startup Advisory Services

Launching a startup is exciting—but also full of challenges. As an experienced advisor, I provide founders with the guidance, connections, and expertise they need to build stronger companies and accelerate growth. What I Offer: * Strategic Guidance – Helping founders define their vision, target market, and business model. * Operational Expertise – Advising

IPOs: Darwin on Steroids

Recently, PitchBook reported that "15.9% of venture-backed deals (Initial Public Offerings or IPOs) in 2025 have been “down rounds” (i.e. is when the company’s public offering price than the private valuation). This statistic is the highest in a decade. Moreover, almost every major IPO listing in

Changed My Mind

"Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change." This quote is attributed to Confucius. I guess there are two ends of the spectrum: the wise and the stupid. The wise don't necessarily avoid change, but rather are so attuned to the world and its

Walking a Chosen Path—or Just Wandering?

Rumi* said, “When you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” Plans are tidy. Strategies look smart on paper. But here’s the problem. Both are built on what we already know, and life isn’t that predictable. In my experience, life is mostly improvisation. You can’t

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Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as learning through reflection on doing. David Kolb (Weatheread School of Management, 1984) states that “experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role. In order to

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Tough Questions

Tough questions: Rebounding After COVID-19 How will your company recover and rebound from the impact of COVID-19? What must be done now to maximize your company’s performance in the months ahead? Our CSUF student teams are ready to help assess the opportunity for your firm. Beginning the second week

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How Can We Repair the Economy After COVID-19?

The phone rang unexpectedly earlier today. I was home in my personal bubble hiding from the Coronavirus and was safe with my family and my loyal golden retriever, Augie, by my side. Mandated by CSUF, I have been teaching my Entrepreneurship classes remotely and coaching startups in our Incubator by

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The Gig Economy Grows

The gig economy continues to expand at a remarkable pace, reshaping the U.S. workforce and the global labor market. In 2024, the number of freelancers in the United States reached an estimated 72.1 million people, representing nearly 40% of the entire U.S. workforce. This reflects a significant

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Finding Meaning

A lot of what we do in work and life is truly meaningless. We do these meaningless things because we think that we should do them or we think that we have to do them. But, is this really true? What if we just said no to the useless things

Entrepreneurship

Uncertainty at Startups

Entrepreneurs must live with great uncertainty. Unlike the “9 to 5” crowd who prod through predictable daily work routines, life at a startup is wildly unpredictable. More than tasks or workflow, startups must manage unpredictable outcomes and then must adapt on the spot. This learning requires a founder to be

Entrepreneurship

The Genius Within

“Every employee has talent of some kind: He or she is skilled at being able to analyze numbers, bring products to market, or close sales deals. But talent is just the starting point. Genius is talent unleashed. It’s the ability to exploit each employee’s unique values, passions, strengths,

Zen

Loneliness

We all feel lonely from time to time. For some people, especially the elderly, this is a real problem with serious health consequences. Increasingly, our society isolates people or people are just choosing to be alone. Older people often have had spouses and friends die or move away. Illness, disability,

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I Am Sorry

“I am sorry.” While just three simple words, many people won’t or can’t say them. How could that be? For some people saying “I am sorry” is almost impossible to do. For these people apologizing is frightening and may be based on their own insecurities and self-doubt. Rather

Zen

Zen for Entrepreneurs

The other day I wrote a short blog about being mindful. While being mindful applies to all of us, I think it particularly applies to the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs must embrace mindfulness to be successful. Mindfulness is a focus on the present. This means that past thoughts and actions are done

Choices

Mindfulness: A Moment of Zen

Mindfulness is a focus on the present. Past thoughts and actions are done and over; memories may linger but only now matters. The future will be or may not be. The key is to be present. When you're mindful you can monitor your thoughts and feelings from a

Branding

Optimists Live Longer

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.                                    It’s what sunflowers do.” – Helen Keller Do you see the world through rose-colored glasses?  Or are you more of the “glass half empty” type?  Evidence shows that positive thinking and optimism leads to better health and higher

Choices

The Hokey Pokey: Is This What It Is All About?

For much of my life I have avoided the Hokey Pokey, which is a silly dance best suited for children and seriously inebriated adults. You know what I mean. It is for kindergarteners who are innocent and carefree; for them the Hokey Pokey is just natural. For those in mid-life

Decision Making

Smart People

“Smart” can take many different forms. A high IQ doesn't necessarily mean you have street smarts, but it probably doesn't hurt. You might be intelligent in many areas of your life, but struggle in others. For our purposes, “smart” means behaving in a way that is

Selling

Don’t Talk About the Weather

A recent study by a psychologist at the University of Arizona found that people who spend more of their day having deep, heart felt discussions and who spend less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier. Or, simply put, the folks who choose idle banter over in-depth conversations