How to Build Your Winning Team
How to Build Your Winning Team
What made it particularly awkward was my nemesis of a partner was forcing us to air our dirty laundry in front of our board members and investors, some of whom were billionaires, centi-millionaires, CEOs and chairmen of major corporations.
Kind of embarrassing and humiliating to have a partner telling a group like that how incompetent I was and how I should be removed from the company.
But as founder and CEO, and with a LOT of effort and most of our board and partners on my side, I was able to somewhat contain my nemesis from doing too much damage.
It was an odd way to end up with him because we started as friends and really excited about what we were building. I thought I had done my “due diligence” and background check on him and we spoke a lot about our roles and responsibilities before deciding to work together.
And while we all have read horror stories about partnerships or employee relationships that go completely haywire, until it happens to you personally, it doesn’t really equate to much of anything.
Looking back at the hundreds of business relationships I’ve had in five companies over the last quarter century—employees, investors, partners, vendors/suppliers, subcontractors, consultants, board of advisors and directors, volunteers, bankers and many joint ventures—I can say with confidence that only a few ended up really bad.
But then, only a few dozen were extraordinary. The vast majority were pretty much just “OK”. Not great, not terrible.
And one would think that after all this time and experience I’d be getting better at my choices. And yet, I still hit and miss. Here is the distinction: I’ve learned to accelerate through my mistakes.
And by exiting out much faster, less is left on the table to disagree over when completing a relationship.
Here are some tips on setting up a winning team:
* Identify the position—who you want and their roles and responsibilities.
* Put the word out—ask your trusted colleagues for referrals. Word of mouth is a big plus. Anyone can say or write whatever they want in an interview or on a resume.
* Interview at least three people—especially when you think you know you have a “winner”. It will keep you in check with your emotions.
* Articulate your expectations—make sure they understand what you want from them and by when.
* Identify an exit strategy—what happens if things don’t work out. How much time will you give them and what are their milestones they must hit along the way.
* Explain their ROI—their return on investment when they hit a home run for you.
* Get it in WRITING—in the beginning! Almost nothing worse than getting into a “he said, she said” discussion.
* Set up a trial period—with specific and measurable results. Use your milestones and have a clear understanding on what has to happen and by when.
* Communicate clearly at each milestone. What worked, what didn’t and what needs to be adjusted in order to get back on track (if necessary).
* Be your word—stick to your agreement. Have an outside person with no attachment to your success (or failure) hold you accountable to making sure stick to your plan.
* Keep the winners—don’t get lazy once they are on board. Replacing them can be a pain if they are not feeling like you are taking care of them.
Most important: be patient. Just know you will make mistakes, no matter how much due diligence you do beforehand. Simply accelerate through it all knowing it is part of getting your right team in place.
Action Steps for the Week:
Review your stakeholders plan. Remember, stakeholders are anyone who is involved in your business. Identify the key positions for your business.
Focus on the paid stakeholders like employees, partners, contractors, and venders. Set up agreements with them. Even if they’re already working with you. Just sit down with them and set something up.
When done correctly, both of you will feel more secure in your relationship.
How to Build Your Winning Team - To learn more about this author, visit Stefan Doering's Website.
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In late summer 2001 I was sitting in a board of directors meeting with one of my founding partners glaring at me from the other side of the table. Our relationship had gone from bad to worse and now we were in a struggle for control of our company.
What made it particularly awkward was my nemesis of a partner was forcing us to air our dirty laundry in front of our board members and investors, some of whom were billionaires, centi-millionaires, CEOs and chairmen of major corporations.
Kind of embarrassing and humiliating to have a partner telling a group like that how incompetent I was and how I should be removed from the company.
But as founder and CEO, and with a LOT of effort and most of our board and partners on my side, I was able to somewhat contain my nemesis from doing too much damage.
It was an odd way to end up with him because we started as friends and really excited about what we were building. I thought I had done my “due diligence” and background check on him and we spoke a lot about our roles and responsibilities before deciding to work together.
And while we all have read horror stories about partnerships or employee relationships that go completely haywire, until it happens to you personally, it doesn’t really equate to much of anything.
Looking back at the hundreds of business relationships I’ve had in five companies over the last quarter century—employees, investors, partners, vendors/suppliers, subcontractors, consultants, board of advisors and directors, volunteers, bankers and many joint ventures—I can say with confidence that only a few ended up really bad.
But then, only a few dozen were extraordinary. The vast majority were pretty much just “OK”. Not great, not terrible.
And one would think that after all this time and experience I’d be getting better at my choices. And yet, I still hit and miss. Here is the distinction: I’ve learned to accelerate through my mistakes.
And by exiting out much faster, less is left on the table to disagree over when completing a relationship.
Here are some tips on setting up a winning team:
* Identify the position—who you want and their roles and responsibilities.
* Put the word out—ask your trusted colleagues for referrals. Word of mouth is a big plus. Anyone can say or write whatever they want in an interview or on a resume.
* Interview at least three people—especially when you think you know you have a “winner”. It will keep you in check with your emotions.
* Articulate your expectations—make sure they understand what you want from them and by when.
* Identify an exit strategy—what happens if things don’t work out. How much time will you give them and what are their milestones they must hit along the way.
* Explain their ROI—their return on investment when they hit a home run for you.
* Get it in WRITING—in the beginning! Almost nothing worse than getting into a “he said, she said” discussion.
* Set up a trial period—with specific and measurable results. Use your milestones and have a clear understanding on what has to happen and by when.
* Communicate clearly at each milestone. What worked, what didn’t and what needs to be adjusted in order to get back on track (if necessary).
* Be your word—stick to your agreement. Have an outside person with no attachment to your success (or failure) hold you accountable to making sure stick to your plan.
* Keep the winners—don’t get lazy once they are on board. Replacing them can be a pain if they are not feeling like you are taking care of them.
Most important: be patient. Just know you will make mistakes, no matter how much due diligence you do beforehand. Simply accelerate through it all knowing it is part of getting your right team in place.
Action Steps for the Week:
Review your stakeholders plan. Remember, stakeholders are anyone who is involved in your business. Identify the key positions for your business.
Focus on the paid stakeholders like employees, partners, contractors, and venders. Set up agreements with them. Even if they’re already working with you. Just sit down with them and set something up.
When done correctly, both of you will feel more secure in your relationship.
How to Build Your Winning Team - To learn more about this author, visit Stefan Doering's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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