4 Bald Men Every Start-Up Should Listen to and Why

We strongly feel that bald men should be heard for the sake of being listened to. So our opening piece of advice is this:

“If you’re starting a business, listen to every bald man you can find.”

– A Genius

However, our gut instinct on such things hasn’t always been 100% effective, so we thought that it’d be useful to put together a more concise list of bald men that you should listen to. These are men who haven’t just succeeded in losing their hair, but men who’ve also succeeded in business – and more importantly, helped others succeed in business.

Ignore them at your peril.

1. Stephen Covey

If you haven’t heard of him, you’re not a fee-paying member of the Cult of Self Help. He is the famously inspirational creator of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and, most recently, The 8th Habit (any bets on his next book title!?). His 7 Habits has sold over 12 million copies, and he has also released the best selling time management book in history. Anything else? He’s now sold over 20,000,000 albums worldwide, is in Time Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Americans, and he can shoot lightning from his nostrils.

How Can He Help?

Firstly, you’ll need to be highly effective for your start-up to be a success. Secondly, show me an entrepreneur that doesn’t need time management help, and I’ll show you a grizzly that lives in the Vatican. You’re going to have to learn from the best and using success as a barometer, then Dr. Stephen R Covey is precisely that.

2. Ken Blanchard

Ken Blanchard is the man behind The Ken Blanchard Companies. Like Covey, he writes books – he has written or co-written over 30 Best Sellers, including the 13,000,000-selling One Minute Manager. His company is one of the most successful management consultancies dealing with employee and leadership training in the world.

The Ken Blanchard Companies have developed the Ken Blanchard Business School at the fantastic sounding Grand Canyon University. They’ve been successfully consulting since 1979, outliving two depressions. They even have their own facebook page. Now there’s leadership.

How Will He Help?

He might give the most inspirational lecture you’ve ever seen in your life – with no props, no notes, and no hair. Even if he does cave on the notes, or even on the accessories, he won’t be doing it with hair. His staff could train your staff (consulting in this sense doesn’t mean chatting about football at lunch) and give you that edge over your competitors. If he’s genuinely skilled, he might even find an alternative to that awful word ‘edge’ to mean competitive advantage. Who knows what the little bald genius might achieve?

3. Robin Sharma

Of all the bald people who you should listen to if you’re starting a…well, starting a start-up, then Robin Sharma is the youngest, probably the best looking and well in the running for the baldest. Whether it’s the good looks or the rampant baldness, we’re not sure, but he’s appeared on CNN, on CNBC, and NBC as a leadership advisor. He’s published several wildly successful books, and he’s voted one of the top 5 leadership speakers in the world.

How Will He Help?

For starters, if you get on board with his philosophy: anyone can show leadership. And to do that from the start, you’re going to have a much more dynamic and creative company. As someone who started by binning his day job to write a self-help book, self-publish a self-help book and then start a business based on the success of the said book, he’s got real-world advice on the ins and outs of starting a new business. And a successful one, too – his more established clients (ones you may well aspire to) include Microsoft, IMD Business School, NASA, Nike, FedEx, IBM, and Yale University.

4. Jim Clemmer

For one thing, he’s the only person on this list who is loud and proud about losing his mop. Quoted as saying that one of the things he’s most impressive of is tripling the size of his forehead. And that counts as baldness pride, as far as I’m concerned. He’s also managed to write some books and columns and appear on some radio shows. He seems like a successful leadership coach who made a good career out of furthering the businesses of others, and that’s all very well and good, but we’re far more interested in the bald quote.

How Will He Help?

How won’t he help!? He’s proud of being bald! You’re bald (I assume!). Give him a call, ask his advice, let him know you’re both head-hair LITE, and see where you can go from there. As far as his leadership skills and principles go, he does seem like a sensible man. You could read his novel, which is a self-help book, or just read his many tips.

Unlike some on this list, his approach isn’t a ground-breaking new philosophy that will set your standards and underpin everything you do – it’s far more practical advice on how to be a great leader, how to manage your start-up and what to do differently.

Going bald is a difficult transition, but a powerful move. If you’re not completely ready to go bald, there are many hair loss solutions treatments out there.