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When I set out to write this post, I had envisioned gathering a variety of leadership “golden nuggets” from various entrepreneurs I’ve worked with over the years. In my mind’s eye, I saw a multitude of factors cited by these smart and brave founders, each reflecting their own unique personalities. I reached out to the leaders at many of the Detroit Venture Partners’s portfolio companies (disclaimer: I’m a partner in the fund) to glean responses. However, the responses that I received were surprising. No matter the personality traits or professional background held by each of these people, their responses were overwhelmingly similar to one another. Every single response focused on people. Nothing to do with the product, nothing to do with the marketing, nothing to do with the back-end operational processing – everything to do with people: they’re the X-factor in making your startup a success.
Bob Marsh, CEO of LevelEleven, explains that talking to your customers is critical, even in the midst of all the things you’re juggling. Make this time a priority, both on the phone and in person. He says direct customer contact is “the very best way to maintain a pulse on your market which inevitably will uncover more opportunities for where your company should be headed.” It’s simple to prioritize this – when you sign up a new client, ask to schedule a 30-minute call with her as a new customer. As you’re chatting, ask how she found you, why she bought, and what will make you successful with her team. Bob asserts, “Just doing a few of those each week will be eye opening for you, plus your customers will thank you for doing it.”
Many of the other CEOs pointed toward their culture within the team as their single most important element they’ve learned. Beck Besecker, CEO of Marxent Labs, suggests that culture within a company needs to be binary, taking “firm positions on topics like work-life balance, personal responsibility, tolerance for risk taking and the importance of team ceremonies.” Todd Sullivan, CEO of Spirit Shop, suggests “establishing your company's core values early on, then only hiring employees who truly fit those values,” if you aim to make culture an asset in your startup. Hint: you should aim to do so.
Because of these major values, it should be clear from the get-go that a candidate fits – or doesn’t. Better to realize someone isn’t a strong fit during the hiring process than down the road when you’re faced with the difficult task of firing that person (plus all the headaches of a poor match down the road while that person works for you). Figure out what your core values are and stick with them, standing strong on one side or another of an issue.
Once you do have a strong team in place, based on these values in your hiring process, it becomes key that you trust these people. As Chris Bergman, CEO of Choremonster, points out, “You brought them together. Trust them to execute.” Without a sense of trust – and the accompanying autonomy – your employees won’t feel empowered to move the needle for the team. If they’re not moving the needle on their own, it’s all left to you, which will fizzle out beyond your own personal 24-hour ceiling. Maximize their abilities and trust them to execute for the greater good of the company.
As you leverage your team’s ability to execute, it’s paramount that you’re maximizing everyone’s strongest traits (and supplementing their weaknesses). This lesson starts with you. Recognizing your own personal strengths and weaknesses – and then owning up to them – is a really hard thing to do. But Ben Trenda, CEO of Are You a Human, explains that the biggest lesson he’s learned is being honest about his own set of strengths and weaknesses, and then surrounding himself “with people who are strong where you are weak.” Have you done this? Is your team well-rounded? If you’re looking at your staff and everyone is eerily similar, it’s time to rethink your hiring strategy.
Even though these leadership bits of wisdom aren’t exactly what I expected, it’s somehow a bit better that these different leaders drew the same conclusion: people are your X-factors, for better or for worse. Even if you’re building an automated software platform, the reality is that nothing in the workforce is truly automated – your team isn’t made up of robots. It’s made up of living, breathing people with families, hobbies, fears, goals, and quirks. As soon as you realize they’re your biggest assets – or liabilities – your company will soar.
For an inside view into my world as a VC, entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker, visit JoshLinkner.com and order my new book, “The Road to Reinvention,” on Amazon.
