Dinner Lab CEO Brian Bordainick on People First

This is sound advice from Brian Bordainick.  It was management guru James Collins who found out many years ago that great leaders put people first, before mission, vision and strategy.  Such leaders make sure they have the right people on the bus, and in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus.  Hiring slow, firing quickly certainly resonates well with Collins' findings.  What helps to ensure company success over decades of time is a leader who cares deeply about people but are tough as nails around results.  If you fall short or encounter problems, a CEO like Bordainick will take the time find out what happened and work with you to succeed.  But an issue that recurs may simply mean that you don't belong in that company.

A Non-Rational Approach for Entrepreneur Partners

Caroline Ghosn and Amanda Pouchot

Ghosn and Pouchot met with Minshew and spent 85 minutes describing why they thought she should no longer be CEO. 

They claimed that [Kate] Minshew was emotionally volatile, prone to outbursts, and not viewed positively by people outside PYP. As an example they cited an email to Pouchot in which Minshew claimed how disappointed she was that Pouchot had not completed a project on time. 

Minshew was stunned. As she said, “I was blindsided; it came as a total shock. Whatever they suddenly decided about my competence, it was contradicted by the deals I had put together, the team I had built and the investors and supporters I had lined up.”

Reference: A Cautionary Tale: Friendship, Business Ethics, and Bad Breakups (Acts III and IV), by Peter Cohan.

A Non-Rational View and Approach

Sometimes things simply have to shake themselves out, and people in the midst of it all must have at it, and go at it, in whatever they see fit.  So while engaging an attorney makes sense, as Cohan suggested, he or she may not make one stitch of difference as far as making a business venture work.  People will be people, and if fate deems their future together as one of peaches and cream, then so be it.  Otherwise, if they are not meant to be, or if their business venture isn't meant to be, then none of it will be.  Coaches, advisers or mentors may have it in their minds that they can actually effect a particular outcome for their clientele, such as these four bright, dynamic ladies whom Cohan talks about.  But as it turns out, they may have little impact on what is to come.  In essence, it may be about a higher purpose or a matter of God's will, which none of them can readily discern or grasp.

It may take a lot of time and effort for entrepreneurs to get to this deep of an insight as Hamlet did

A Rational Approach for Entrepreneur Partners

Kate Minshew and Alex Cavoulacos

Things don’t always go smoothly when four work colleagues decide to start a company. That’s why those colleagues should hire a lawyer to hammer out an agreement that will describe clear steps for resolving conflicts that might arise. That’s no fun at all — except when you compare it to the alternative.

Simply put, the participants were fighting with the ferocity of bottled scorpions over the spoils of their year-old startup despite the complete absence of any spoils — except for the possibility of avoiding lawsuits financed by the offspring of one of the world’s leading automobile executives.

Reference: A Cautionary Tale: Friendship, Business Ethics, and Bad Breakups (Acts I and II), by Peter Cohan.

A Rational View and Approach

There are fundamental steps to take first, well before engaging a lawyer to hammer out an agreement among would-be entrepreneurs.  It's a matter of talking through what it means for you and your partners to launch a business, that is, personally.  It's putting your thoughts and aims, excitement and fears, if any, on the table.  It's inquiring openly about what you expect from each other and responding honestly and constructively to these expectations.  None of this psychology stuff may be compelling to entrepreneurs hell-bent on a business idea, but these are critical for their ultimate success.  You may need an experienced coach, adviser or mentor to facilitate this process.  But once sufficiently undertaken, you can bring in a lawyer to formalize via obtuse legalese language a deeper, more elemental agreement that you and your partners have forged.

Online Conversations and In-Person "Tweetups"

Two key points from this Short Takes on Melanie Spring: First, social media is not just about posting, but actually more about conversation: for example, responding, commenting, and asking.  Second, I gather that her company's "DC Tweetups" were meaningful and productive.  There must be a balance between online and in-person.  Some people may value or prefer one over the other, but I see them both as integral to a business.  What balance to forge depends on you and your company.  

Holacracy of No Manager Titles at Zappos

I know of companies where entry-level and mid-level leaders focus their career a lot on title and salary.  These are the things that matter most.  In one example, the senior manager bemoaned the unwillingness of his top leadership team to make lateral career moves, even for development purposes.  The underlings want to move upward in prestige and remuneration.  

Which brings us to Zappos.  The elimination of titles doesn't mean managers have disappeared, but rather, as I understand John Bunch in this Entrepreneur interview, it means managers are more open and accessible as well as more responsible and accountable.  In brief, what they do and how they do it have far more import than what they are called and what position they hold.  This is one essence of holacracy, about which Steve Denning elaborates in Making Sense Of Zappos And Holacracy.

Meaningful Networking for Introverts and Extroverts

Jacqueline Whitmore is right in that being prepared, actually for both introverts and extroverts alike, is key to a successful, meaningful networking event.  Craft a plan that's specific enough to remind you of your purpose and give you direction about fulfilling it, but not so specific as to make your efforts rigid or stilted.  I scored just on the extroverted side on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which means I have a good amount of introversion in my personality.  So I detest the practice of working everyone in the room just to shake hands and exchange cards, but prefer instead having more-than-passing conversations with a few people.  This way, when we do contact each other afterwards, we have already had the beginnings of a relationship that we can build on.  

Commentary on GE Leadership Capabilities

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1. Make sure you, as the leader, and your team grasp what the company goals are and ensure that the goals you set follow from these.  
2. Remember that whatever leadership approach you adopt, or adapt, vis-a-vis team culture and values must inviolably account for your own personality and values.
3. Take stock of your leadership skills always in reference to company and team goals, never in a generic or abstract vein.
4. Focus on, and develop, the skills you lack, only if they are vital for you and your team to achieve these goals.