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?
- Dirty hands help clear the stink cloud of company politics. So many founders/owners get caught up in their egos with needlessly large titles. It is not uncommon to see a 10,20, 30, or 50-employee company with CxOs, Executive Vice Presidents, Managing Directors, etc. Why self-impose such a hierarchy? Battles are more quickly won with leadership in the front lines. Your team is much more likely to give 200%, when the leaders of the company are right next to them burning the midnight oil. As your company scales, there is a need for specialization, but not for title inflation or creation of a thiefdom.
- If you need to hand out big titles to attract people, are you bringing in the right team members? I have met and worked with some amazing “rainmakers” who could care less about their titles. They saved that spot on their business cards for more valuable information. If someone cares so much about their title within your organization, do you think they will be “low maintenance”?
Original article appeared in my Lean Startups Blog: “If you are in a startup and have a title, you are not doing enough work…” This is an updated version.
