I’ve been “off air” for awhile. The combination of helping out Daily Grommet and joining Pixability has reduced my capacity for writing to zero. But, I am getting back into it and definitely have a lot of material from the “trenches” to share.
So that all said, today I want to focus on some of the missteps many of us take in managing our most precious resource – people. I want to point out three major ones I have seen lately in the entrepreneurial community…
I feel like I correct perceptions about what operations professionals are and are not at least 2-3 times per week. Most folks, especially from organizations in technology-heavy industries, automatically assume “operations” is purely systems management. While an operations person may really just be a senior network administrator in some organizations, the true responsibilities of a (business) operations manager/leader are much broader. Unless one specifies they are referring to technology operations, people should always assume they are talking about business operations.
I’m sure most of you have read my article “Time to end the frat house culture! We need more women in our midst.” I want to see more women in leadership roles and the ranks of techies, scientists, and entrepreneurs. This not only benefits society, but is also great for business (see my previous article for the data).
This article was inspired by several months of conversations with successful female professionals about the subject. I also had the pleasure attending a great event organized by MITX and Girls in Tech called “Lessons Learned: Women’s Careers in Review”. Here are 7 “commandments” that summarize everything I’ve learned so far:
Last week a founder of a software development company asked what to look for in a COO on answers.onstartups.com. Since this is a fairly common question to me, I decided to expand upon the answer I posted and further describe what attributes a great business operations leader/professional should possess.
Bit of background: I have been in operations for almost my entire career and have had some incredible mentors along the way. I spent 2+ fun years as the heading operations for an awesome software development company that we grew to 120+ employees by the time I had to move. It was an honor serving some of the smartest software development professionals in the market.
So here are the points one should consider when looking to add a Chief Right Hand Person to your team:
“Cutting costs” has been the buzz phrase for the last decade or so. In some cases, companies got drunk on cheap money and plentiful investors, and in others the unchecked management flaws of greed and vanity led to company bloat. Whatever the root cause, we seem to be only treating the symptoms of the problem. We first look at our staff for the “fat”, then our business process, then… well by then it is usually too late. Although I have mastered the art of cutting costs, I am very aware of the reality: you can’t cut/lose fat without cutting into muscle.
So instead of treating the symptoms, how do we avoid the root cause of wasteful spending?
Since I don’t allow anonymous comments on my blogs (including LeanStartups.com), sometimes I get e-mails with long diatribes on why I am wrong. Some are quite extensive and come from people who take my critiques to heart (sometimes taking things too personally). Not only do I love these e-mails, but if you send one, be ready to have a dialog!
I am absolutely honored to hear comments in person or via social media. I enjoy knowing when my answers to a question on LinkedIn (or Answers.onstartups.com) or another blog helps someone. But the world would not advance anywhere if everyone agreed! Therefore, I also highly value feedback from those who disagree with me (as long as it is presented in civilized manner). My critics and detractors keep me on my toes!
Call me old fashioned, but I cringe every time I hear another claim about how we are moving into the age of “careerism” and “just in time staffing”. Why? Because we always hear about this fad right at the tail end of every downturn. It’s like herpes spread by some “experts” who never had to operate a company.
I am yet to see a substitute for a loyal team – during bad and good times. Earned loyalty takes time to build, compared to need-based loyalty, so you must build a strategy to foster earned loyality long before you need to “cash it in”.
What do I mean by earned loyalty vs. need-based loyalty? Many people are staying with their current companies right now because of need-based loyalty – they have mortgages and car notes to pay. But this type of loyalty has no longevity because the company did not earn it. Yes, I said it: earning the loyalty is completely the job of the company and its leadership.
Progress is a #1 motivator for knowledge workers (money is not even in the top 3) and I think it is what helps keep people loyal. Here are some methods that could help build that earned loyalty…
In 2007, I was interviewing with a later stage stealth startup in Boston. During my conversation with one of the co-founders, I asked about her title. Her answer has stuck with me to this day. She said: “if you are in a startup and have a title, you are not doing enough work“! This sentiment resonated with me and made me think about why big titles are so dangerous.
I have worked for several very innovative “flat hierarchy” companies, where titles were irrelevant, that had rapid growth fueled by passionate employees who always went above and beyond to make customers happy. It is no surprise that at one company we had a 95% customer referral rate and the most loyal customers I have seen in my entire career. I also made the mistake of joining several companies that developed org-charts before they fully figured out what their customers wanted. The result was an environment of heavy office politics, innovation-squashing dictatorships, and clients leaving not too long after discovering the dysfunction. No amount of effort could turn these companies around and two out of the three went out of business.
So why are big titles so dangerous?
Ever since childhood I have been an avid “car guy”. Back in 2007 I started competing in autocross (included a video below of what it is like). I never thought I would be learning business and leadership lessons while burning some rubber.
When I started in Chicago, I did very well for a novice. But once I have moved to Boston, I have encountered much more skilled competition and it has taken me awhile to move up the competitive ladder. So as I was pondering my strategy and goals for the new year, I realized that some of the rules of racing are also very useful analogies for the world of leading companies. Here is a sampling of several things I have learned in racing that directly apply to business.
About a year ago I was readin Jeremiah Owyang’s excellent article ”What’s Your Career Mission?” . It inspired me to write down my Career Mission and the Value I bring to the table.
My career mission is to use my business operations, talent management, and technology background to build and maintain the backbones of sustainable growth companies.
So what puzzle pieces comprise my Career Mission and Value?
