Quotes of The Day - On Team Building
Many think founders of startup companies are visionary, smart, couragous and opportunitistic. The lucky ones tend to be at the right place at the right time (see my previous blog on lucky vs. smart). However, any experienced VCs and entreprenuers can tell you that few of those lucky founders that made the fortunate created the success on their own, they always had a great team with them. Â
Yes, any experienced entreprenuers know that the level of success that can be achieved by a team is far greater than the level of success by an individual. A team of motivated, bounded people that share a common purpose will accomplish amazing things. French strategist Ardant du Picq had a way of describing this effect more than 100 years ago:
Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare attack a lion. Four less brave, knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely. this is the science of organization of armies in a nutshell.”
A successful team is made up of people who know and trust each other. They are the people who have shared experiences working towards a common goal. They form the foundation of the company and creates a sustainable force that is required for enterprises and startups to ride through tough waves of market and business storms. As Sun Tzu puts it,
“When the troops are united, the brave cannot advance alone, nor can the cowardly retreat.“Â
To build a great team, you must first know what it looks like. Nancy Truitt Pierce’s Woods Creek Consulting advises people to think about building the right team based on different growth stage of the company.Â
For a startup, this falls into 3 stages: start up, scale up and getting big. Each of these 3 stages of the company growth needs different mix of the team competency.
1. A Scrambler team for startup and crossing the chasm stage. Look for people that
- Jump in and scramble
- Don’t mind chaos
- Wear many hats
- Love innovating
- Love to make it up
- High tolerance of ambiguity
2. A Transitional team when company is scaling up and crossing the growth barrier. Look for people that
- Love problem solving
- Wear a few hats well
- Love designing systems
- Love to clean it up
- Deal well with Change
3. An Operational team when the company is getting big. Look for people with the following characteristics:
- Professional managers
- Love order
- Good at optimizing systems
- Love to make it right
- Specialty and depth
To build a self-motivated, united and effecient team, every team member must be constantly given the opportunity to learn through increased effort and have the support and trust from their team members and leader.Â
As a leader in your team, no matter how big or small, you must be able to forster a shared common purpose. A purpose helps everyone in the team to commit their heart, not just their heads. As Sun Tzu stated:
“He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.”
A great team can achieve the unthinkable which is fundamentally an innovative startup is all about.  Investing time and effort to build a great team from day one should be considered as one of the smartest investments that any entreprenuer and leader can make. See my other blog on some basic formula’s that can make you a great boss for your team.
