While you might think a great employee is a great employee no matter
where she works, what matters in a small, growth-oriented startup is
often very different from what matters in a huge, stability-oriented
corporation.
For one thing, the ability to successfully navigate
politics-filled waters is usually a lot less important in a startup.
Plus, since the organizations tend to be flatter, standing out is often
more a matter of what you accomplish than of whom you know.
(But then again I love startups and I love startup cultures… so I’m probably biased.)
I've been in an around startups for a long time and known some great startup folks (including many that work at HubSpot). I think I have a sense for what makes for truly sensational people at a startup.
Here’s my (partial) list:
1. They would much rather act than deliberate.
I've
only written one business plan in my life. It was while I was in
business school, and it was required. Generally, I think business plans
are pretty useless (but the planning process can be quite useful).
The
problem with business plans is that things change so quickly in the
startup world. Before the ink is even dry on that 100+ page business
plan as it shoots out the printer, things have already changed and "the
plan" is already outdated. Stuff happens: Good stuff, bad stuff -- and
every now and then, amazing stuff.
Very few startups I
know – or companies I’ve invested in – resemble their original business
plan. (And that’s a good thing, because it means they’re shaping their
businesses to meet the needs of their customers.)
Great startup employees are the same way. They think a little and then do a lot. And then they adapt and modify.
The best companies often don't start with a brilliant idea, they iterate into one.
It’s hard to learn from thinking. It’s much easier to learn from doing.
2. They don’t care about what’s behind the curtain.
In
some corporations, offices – and the perceived status that come with
them – are everything. A corner office makes you better than someone
with a hallway office. A hallway office makes you better than someone in
a cubicle.
(At my company I don’t have an office – I’m not sure what that makes me.)
Startups generally avoid politics. Instead of obsessing who has the bigger desk/office, they obsess over the customer.
Sensational
start-up employees understand calories are best spent making a real
difference for customers. Every business has finite resources. The key
is to spend as much of those resources as possible on things that matter
to the customers -- or, at least genuinely matter to the team. Fretting over trivial things doesn't help anyone. It's just a waste of energy.
3. They don’t see money as the solution to every problem.
Sure,
capital-intensive ventures that require extensive investment may need
significant cash to get going, but most businesses require little
funding to get started. (A quick glance at the Inc. 5000 list shows just
how many startups were founded with relatively little funding.)
One of the key lessons first-time entrepreneurs need to learn is resourcefulness. How do you take limited resources and turn them into something remarkable?
That’s also true of the best startup employees. They're remarkably resourceful.
They're not looking to build an army of people to do their bidding
They're not looking to spend thousands on advertising to avoid the hard
work of writing a blog. They're constantly looking for creative ways to
make the most of the resources they have.
In short, they throw
brains at problems, not money. And the solutions they come up with are
almost always better. And, the connections built between people from
solving problems creatively are some of the strongest connections that
can be built.
4. They see every customer as an individual that deserves respect.
Maybe
you have hundreds or thousands of customers. If so, that’s awesome –
but that also can mean you face the danger of thinking of your customers
as a nameless, faceless group of revenue-producing entities.
But
no matter how many customers you have, each is an individual. The day
you start thinking of them as this amorphous “collection” and stop
thinking of them as people is the day you start going out of business.
Great
startup employees never lose sight of the fact that every customer is a
person: a person with hopes, dreams, expectations, needs… and a person
who ultimately wants to be treated as a person. Yes, they worry about
the "market" and work to build a business that can scale as it grows.
But, that's shouldn't be an excuse for not caring about customers.
Great startup employees solve for the customer – and in so doing, they solve for the business.
5. They love a meritocracy.
Sensational startup employees hate politics. They hate hidden agendas. They hate the “good old boys” network.
They’re willing to succeed on their own merits – because they believe in themselves.
And they believe in others, too.
6. They care much more about their peers than the perks.
Catered
meals. Free massages. Lavish parties. These are all perks -- and
they're great if you have them. But, the best people care much more about who they work with (their peers) than the perks they get.
This is for a very simple reason: The #1 benefit of working at a startup is that you get to learn. And, how much you learn is largely a function of how much autonomy you have -- and who you're around.
Also, stars know intuitively that life is short. Too short to work with people you don't enjoy.
7. They instinctively focus on the company’s mission.
Walk through any huge corporation and you’ll find people who have created their own jobs (and not in a good way.)
Some
will have developed databases filled with data (but resulting in no
usable insight) because they love building databases. Some will have
created fancy charts (again resulting in no usable insight) because they
love creating fancy charts. Some will schedule meeting after meeting
(none of which resulting in meaningful decisions) because they love
being in charge… and they love hearing themselves talk.
Great
start-up employees focus on the core mission of the company. They build
products customers want. They meet customer needs. They help other
employees succeed. The best people don't just bide their time while
they're at work. They squeeze as much value out of that time as they
possibly can in furthering the organization's mission.
They try to make tomorrow better than today for everyone around them – because that’s what they love to do.
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