Scale Your Startup

Terminate the unmotivated.

Understand that enthusiasm is not a skill, but mission orientation is.

Communicate clearly and relentlessly.

Say “No” a lot.

Do not overhire.

Never view opening a new job position as a mechanism to solve problems.

Run highly effective meetings and be intolerant of others who do not.

Planes don’t crash, pilots crash them. When startups fail, it’s because founders do not assemble workable teams composed of high frustration-tolerant teammates, disputatious communicators with stable egos, who ere exquisite emotionally intelligent operators. In turn, they end up with a team of overly-agreeable conventional thinkers, who hide behind their equity instead of telling the truth and advancing the mission at all costs.

Expeditiously, by dispelling myths such as the need for 14 hours of interviewing in order to make an informed decision about whether to hire.

Hire the best recruiters money can buy and support them the same way you support product and revenue generating positions.

Get personally comfortable with, and drive the commitment across your company, that 33% of everybody's week should be dedicated to finding amazing talent to join the company.

Celebrate the wonderful fact your company is growing faster than most people can, so it's okay to level them with superior talent.

Because you're not as good as you think you are at interviewing.

Because most of the questions you ask are not predictive of hyper-performance and fall in the category of “warming up and getting to know.”

Because you do not feel empowered or effectively skilled in asking questions which elicit the answers you really need to hear to make hiring decisions.

Because half of an interview session can feel like an utter waste of time.

First, recognize that you have them and that they have disastrous effects on your judgment. Secondly, identify your cyclical, maladaptive patterns of relating to others which create situations that compound this problem. Lastly, deploy questions that help elicit information that is clean and counters biases that you may be wittingly or unwittingly carrying.

Attempting to avoid turnover is a bad strategy. Be content with acceptable levels of quick turnover. Never let your ego marry a hiring decision. We all make bad hires, thus acknowledge it and cut ties in a peaceful manner.

While this sounds counterintuitive, do not trust your gut.

They are exquisite communicators, and know who deserves an explanation, who deserves an answer, and who deserves nothing.

They say “no.”

They reward their doers.

They are FORMLESS is their ability to connect and develop relationships with a wide diverse group of people without placing themselves under an intense emotional or cognitive load. Great leaders effectively navigate relationships with any ethnicity, demographic, or socioeconomic status. He or she is able to get into any party, buy a cheap used car from a car lot in the most dangerous areas of the nation, or close a substantial financing round. Leaders quickly and efficiently identify motivational levers in anyone, anywhere and not solely those who look and act like them.

They are FRUSTRATION TOLERANT and possess a tremendous capacity to maintain sound judgment and leverage their skills amid discomforting scenarios. They choose to confront discomfort with expertise and strategic action, rather than seeking ephemeral relief through avoidance. This resilience fosters stability, comforting both the individual and the team, while minimizing risky behaviors such as unnecessary disclosure, thereby preserving the company's integrity and power.

Leaders with a strong INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL assert their ability to shape outcomes through personal actions, decisions, and resourcefulness. They embrace accountability and problem-solving head-on, fostering a sense of efficacy and resilience. Unwavering in their perspective, they discard notions of victimhood, defeatism, or ill-timed ventures, choosing instead to confidently navigate their environment. Great leaders are in control of their own destination and rely on internal factors, which they have tremendous control over in order to execute positive outcomes. They lead better, raise money better, and build products in a manner that's more efficient and less costly. These leaders have a high growth mindset and never feel victimized by environmental factors.

OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE is the willingness and ability to embrace new ideas, adapt to novel situations, and innovate. Leaders with this trait foster creativity and strategic flexibility critical for the growth and success of a venture. They are more patient, curious and engaged with novel opportunities and stimuli surrounding themselves with well-defined thought partners that push the limits of what they understand or believe to be true. They adapt their perspectives given sufficient evidence, display readiness to apologize, and explore diverse opportunities for product and personal development. Consequently, they experience accelerated healthy growth, form resilient relationships, and make robust decisions regarding product and personnel.

It’s extremely challenging.

Only a few people are skilled at asking questions that assess emotional constructs. Pursue training or incorporate a qualified Assessor and Selector to augment your hiring panels. 80% of your problems related to people will be more about their behavior and less about their skills. Consequently, you should invest in someone who is forensically trained to screen out these people or help you better understand how to manage high-beta talent.