“It couldn’t be an entrepreneurism event without some last minute hiccups. The weather didn’t cooperate but the panelists are are very excited for the rescheduling. I’ll take this time to explain a bit of what we had planned and hopefully, we can have even more questions ready for this group come January.

My intention behind this event is to learn what entrepreneurs can offer seasoned CEOs. I believe there are a number of “basics” we miss in our daily business lives. Two situations (conversations really) sparked this idea.

The first was a conversation with a senior consultant at Accenture. She had led a huge makeover for a company. Each department was given a stack of tasks to tackle. The CEO was so excited and couldn’t wait for his assignment. That assignment? Do nothing. No work, no contact with work, nothing. He could come to the office but he had to stay behind closed doors. They suggested he read the newspaper. Certainly he fought and complained but after a few days his sentence sunk in. 10 days later he emerged with an expansive list of ideas he had for his business. He just needed some space away from the daily influx and the daily grind. The new perspective helped move his business forward.

The second was a conversation I’ve been having off-and-on with one of our Strategic Alliance partners. I brought up a case where a business had recently shed $20MM from its budget during the recent economic crisis. We asked each other, “Why can’t companies stay lean?” Many of us have been in start-up mode where we are bootstrapping through each month; what happens that allows us to lose that spirit?

So, what questions would you love to ask successful entrepreneurs? What perspectives do you wish you had in your business?”

-- Aaron Mandelbaum, Event Chair & CEO Trustee, CEO of StyleQuest.com