Home | Markzitter

A website focused on leadership, management, innovation, and life lessons from a grey-haired guy who's been around a while – as serial startup CEO, venture capitalist, and nonprofit board chair. It’s for early to mid-career leaders who want practical frameworks they can use to meet their goals. The focus is on organizational success, personal performance, and living your values.

I call it Mark’s Corner Office because typically the corner office is where the door is closed and secrets are kept. Not here. On this website you’ll find:

Practical ideas you can use immediately, along with tools to help you implement
Warnings on how to avoid the mistakes I made (or saw other leaders make)
Life lessons to help you lead others and manage your career without losing your soul

So come on in – the door’s always open.

New National Initiative Launched!

Accelerating AI Adoption in the Social Sector

Announcing AI Spark! I'm Founder and Project Director for this new initiative that aims to rapidly accelerate adoption of AI in the social sector to enhance the productivity and efficiency of mission-driven organizations. Many staff currently use AI only sporadically for search or editing, if at all. This project aims to generate enthusiastic, responsible, and highly productive use through just a single virtual 90-minute session backed up by a curated personal journey of micro-learning, peer examples, and timed nudges tailored to turn inspiration into new habits. There's no cost to participants as funders underwrite the training for their grantees.

We're currently piloting the program with 1000+ mission-driven professionals from across the social sector and expect to scale up rapidly this spring. I'm delighted to be working with the professionals at PLAI (Purpose-Led AI), who have deep expertise training nonprofits in AI around the world. Many thanks to my co-funders, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Peter Brach, as well as to Forward Global, the project's fiscal sponsor.

If you work for a mission-driven organization that is interested in participating in AI Spark when the program is rolled out this spring, please complete the form below.

PERSONAL ARCHIVE

The One Thing Your Team Actually Needs from You

TL; DR Truly caring about your people is good leadership and the right thing to do. Your team members notice if you care – or if you don’t. Show your people that they matter through tangible actions. Onboard enthusiastically, thank them, support their career goals, find them mentors, and know what’s on their mind. I co-chair a national collaborative of accomplished entrepreneurs. At a recent meeting, the CEO of a mid-sized company asked the group “How do I get my employees to

Oct 20, 20254 min read

Stop Wasting Everyone's Time in Meetings

Ever left a meeting and thought, “That was a waste of time”? You’re not alone. Over 70% of employees rate meetings as a waste of time; only 11% find them productive. That’s a failure of leadership.

Sep 29, 20254 min read

Can I Trust You?

TL; DR Trust is essential for good relationships, but trust isn’t just about not lying. The most common way leaders lose trust is by withholding information others should know. They don’t lie but people feel deceived. Other ways leaders erode trust are unreliability (breaking promises large or small) and self-interest (putting their needs ahead of those of the team or of clients). Good leaders build trust not only by avoiding these behaviors but by proactively demonstrating t

Sep 11, 20254 min read

Explore More

ABOUT MARK

I’m a former serial entrepreneur, a venture partner at two VC firms, an advisor to a private equity firm, an angel investor in multiple young companies, and a nonprofit board chair. Feel free to reach out if I can be helpful to you or your organization or if you'd like to provide feedback on something you see here.