Category: Character

“You lie in the bed you made. At some point, you change the sheets.” – Michael Carroll

If you want to change the world, not everyone will be happy about it.  Your product will threaten those who think they own your customers.  They will not appreciate losing business.

Still others won’t have the time for you when you really need their help.

Then there are the “institutions” who prefer following bureaucratic rules over choosing to solve the problem they created for you.

And sometimes, you just screw up.

There will be days and even weeks when you lie in your own funk because of all the road blocks placed in your path by others.

The funk goes away when you change your sheets.

Find another way.  Implement plan B, or C or Y but find it.  Hang around people who have solved these problems before.  Apologize to those who you hurt.  Forgive those who hurt you.

Move on!

BloggingGazelle is published daily by Shawn Carson

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“Good guys don’t have zombie creatures in the basement” – Dr. Who

Somewhere, sometime, someone figured out that if you want to appear on the cutting edge of hip, high energy, innovative startup leadership, you have to be a foul mouthed jerk.  In fact, jerkism seems to be celebrated in large events and a lot of media.  Perhaps it’s because Level 5 leaders are not the kind that get invited to speak at entrepreneurial conferences.  Perhaps jerks portray the type of take-no-prisoner personality some believe it takes to successfully launch and grow a company.

I paid for a webinar once.  It was branded as a great chance to meet the founder of a super successful social media startup.  The introductions were quick and soon it became a contest between the interviewer and the founder as to who could get in the most f-bombs.

No one likes to work for a jerk.  No ones want’s to be in business with a jerk.  No one really wants to invest in a jerk.

You can be determined, focused and to the point without thumping everyone’s nose with your arrogance.  Express yourself as you see fit but realize you won’t get there by yourself.  Eventually you will have more zombies than you can hide in your basement.

 

BloggingGazelle is published daily by Shawn Carson

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Jung

When the time comes for you invite people on the bus, you should be very deliberate about some things that may not be obvious.  Being able to get along and collaborate are important, of course, and the time to start thinking about company culture is with the first employee.

But in the startup days, time is of the essence and it’s about getting to the market as quickly as possible.  The people you bring on need to be aligned with that goal whether they are engineers, programmers, finance or marketing people.  If they are good at what they do, grab them.  They may irritate you but you need to surround yourself with smart people who are willing to disagree with the boss.  That way, you will get the information you need to make good decisions.

Draw the line at fighting and insubordination but ask yourself this, if someone who is good at what they do takes issue with you or you find them irritating, figure out why.  You may learn something about yourself.

BloggingGazelle is published daily by Shawn Carson