I just talked to a bunch of my friends who are all startup CEO’s and here are a few of the themes that came out of our conversations. These lessons are related to the early days of managing a startup and about creating a culture that will have the greatest chance of productivity.….
- Hire hungry ambitious people who will make the personal sacrifices required to make it happen.
- Set up a reward system that’s not just money and stock but all those things that people want for a fulfilled career experience
- Hire smart people….can’t teach smart….
- Avoid hiring people with lofty titles unless they love getting their hands dirty, and view “working for results in compressed business cycles” as a life-choice.
- Get in the weeds and know what everybody is working on and how it relates to your business model.
- Tell the organization what it’s not going to do.
- Give the board and your employees a clear plan of what you are going to do even if you are not 100% confident… a direction is better than no direction
- Do everything you can do to increase your understanding of things you don’t understand after a plan is laid before the company and the board
- Hold people accountable to specific deliverables on that plan to a delivery date
- Give feedback directly good and bad to employees about their performance but with empathy and a major concern for results.
- Consistently relate their work back to the direct impact it has on the business
- A CEO should have a personal relationship with everyone in the company especially if you are fewer than 30 people… Find the time
- Don’t expect anyone to do anything that you won’t do
- Little Things matter…For instance, never let them go thirsty…it’s a signal you care...
- End working relationships with people quickly who don’t subscribe to the organization’s value system
- Don't tolerate people that continuously give you excuses
- Reward people well that continuously deliver and exhibit the values of the organization.
- Give people authority…make it clear…don’t create a blackhole for people to figure out who’s in charge
- Be available all the time….
- Let people take smart thought out risks and pat them in the back for trying.
- Don’t hire an FTE until you’ve proven you need it. Bootstrap into it.
- Watch the Money….seriously….don’t get caught up in the hype and do extravagant things that you don’t need to….average, clean office spaces work. Reward the org with a little more when you’ve proven something to the business community
- Be clear on what you want and what you expect of the whole organization... Don’t let people guess. Be Consistent.
- Don’t hire advisors who are only your buddies, hire advisors that are going to really help you because they know something you don’t. Don’t waste that resource or don’t sign it up.
- Have Fun. Once you overcome fear and ego, you see things very clearly for what they are. We have never had greater opportunities to dare to try something no one else has done before.
- Reflect on yourself for personal growth in this moment where you get to create something special. Life is too short. Embrace it....
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