Little Summaries of Company Building: Part 2

Little Summaries of Company Building: Part 2

Previous Note:

• Little Summaries of Company Building: Part 1​

Observations from experiences on company building:

• Product Truth: Don't shield engineering from the customer. Glue product building to customer usage and adoption. Ditto for every other function. The customer is the primary unit of measurement. Align compensation in accordance. 

 

• Many-to-Many Communication: Every team should interact with every other team. And without any middle-layer. Set up working methods to formalize this. It will build unity across the company. And act as a major force multiplier. For winning large deals, entering new markets, and during difficult times.

 

• Team Cross-Pollination: My earlier note, Cross-Functional Movement, talks more about this. But here's the summary. Move good performers across functions, products, teams, and markets. This will discourage fiefdoms that start forming as the startup scales. Fiefdoms are like a pond with beautiful flowers on the surface and an ugly bottom. Institute a semi-formal process for cross-pollinating teams.​ 

 

• Skip-level Reviews: One major reason why top talent leaves is lack of growth. Bad managers are responsible for this. They will take credit for team member's work. And avoid exposing their best performers to other managers. Get a simple skip-level review process going from the day of first hire.

 

• Unifying Vision: The value of vision varies a lot based on experience. First, be super clear about the real reason why you are doing the startup as a founder. Form your vision in simple words. Short read-up on the KISS principle here if it helps. Do a never-ending reinforcement of vision till the day your startup exists. Make modifications, only if necessary, but don't drift. Startups break up due to conflicting visions between founders and teams.

 

• Flexible Passage: Don't lay down the passage to achieving the vision. Let the team members carve out their path. Encourage independent thinking. Accept failures. You will get many positive surprises. People get attached to their method of achieving goals. And that ties them to the startup and its vision. If you lay everything down, the team has little sense of belonging.

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• Varied Environments: This was an observation that happened by chance. Introducing variety in the work environment breaks monotony. Anything that gets the team outside the usual office or work environment. A different kind of comfort starts developing among everyone. People are at ease. And they perform better. ​

Let's Talk: If you have a true experience that resonates, please send me an email.

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