Nesheim Online

BLOWS TO STARTUPS TRIGGER WINNERS: Adversity (1st in a series)

Today I decided to begin a series on what impacts new enterprises so hard that such events strikes blows to people like you who are leading startups.

My decision to discuss the series was triggered by an event I attended this past weekend. Ina conference center among the coastal redwood mountains near my home, I listened to a group of men share how they had coped with adversity in their lives. Each had a very personal story that we listened to. We benefited from the adverse experiences of other men. This was part of a weekend retreat sponsored by the church I belong to. We focused on testing how we had applied the advice of Jesus to troubling events in our lives. Then we told what had happened.

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I will begin today with adversity.

Adversity is one blow to leaders of startups. To some it breaks the will of the person and erodes their character, leading to a personal crash and -- most likely -- failure of the new enterprise. To others it awakens adrenaline and starts them off to respond with energized will and ends in strengthened character and a new enterprise that continues on its quest for enduring success.

"Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records." William A. Ward, writer. 

That was my Twitter of today.

There are blows that hit people in startups. They happen inevitably. They always come. They are always a surprise, are never planned. Here are a list of just a few I have encountered in the lives of people in real startups:

• VP got a heart attack.
• VP hooked on heroin.
• Founder lost girlfriend ("Either me or the startup").
• Lost wife ("I can't take it any more!")
• Three year old child got brain stem tumor.
• Went through window of rental car in crash in London.
• Wife nearly died from first pregnancy -- lost the baby.
• Investors fired me/founder/CEO.
• Investors changed their minds, no more cash.
• Customers changed their minds, went with lying competitor.
• CTO could not deliver, was incompetent.
• CTO sued the startup.
• CTO won a bungled lawsuit.
• CTO that won hired away key engineer.
• Kids say they hate startups.
• Wife agrees.
• Miss second wedding anniversary weekend celebration.
• Miss all birthdays in family the past year.
• Husband says he is having an affair.
• Engineer starts company in Asia by stealing our technology.
• 42 venture capital partners decline to invest.
• Surprise launch of stealth startup for same product as ours occurs nine months before we are ready.

And the list could go on much farther.

Let me ask you a question: "How would you respond to such adversity?"

Your response will determine a great deal of your success (attracting investors, hiring key employees, getting first customers to commit, signing strategic partner deals, and so on).

Why? Because adversity is a constant companion to startup leaders.

Last night I listened to a super-techie say "It's time to pack it in. The technical staff does not have what it takes. Better to cut the losses and live to fight a different battle." That was his response to adversity.

To encourage you, I can tall you that in each of the above examples of adversity, the startup leader got through it with personal victory and the startups kept going. Some had already strong character formed by events that kill people (wars). Others had grown because they found strength and encouragement from a spiritual source and religion. Many sought professional advice (self-help books, in-person coaches and therapists). Family and friends were most often the first line of supportive help. And (it  may surprise some of you) so too were people on the board of directors, as well as other employees.

BOTTOM LINE: Before you go further with your startup idea, think about how well you handle adversity. It is going to come to you and your startup. When you can respond well to adversity, you can inspire your entire startup to do the same. Your entire company culture will be strengthened, it will become a powerful element of your unfair competitive advantage.

STARTUP WINNERS HAVE RESILIENCE: (4th in a series) It is imbedded in the culture of the company

During the recent bad business months, I've noted a characteristic that stands out in winning startups: They are resilient.

Resilient:

1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

RESILIENT CULTURES

How resilient is your company culture?

I've found serial entrepreneurs begin shaping their company culture from the moment the startup is given birth. Great VCs believe it is formed within months of the company's life. The characteristics of the culture determine what people value and how they are motivated. That is why startup cultures are so important.

Here are some characteristics I've found in resilient startup cultures:

• Celebrations. Resilient cultures celebrate, often and with enthusiasm. They acknowledge the rough times and how they recovered. They toast the people who were deeply involved. Awards are handed out, some home-made, a few humorous, a clever email, a wall plaque or two and perhaps a financial award. All hands are gathered, a toast is made and then back to work. Big recoveries are done over food, perhaps a lunch or even a dinner. All are forms of celebrations. All celebrate a resilient event.
  
  
• Everyone is Involved. Management gets the news out fast about the sudden bad surprise. Its not done behind closed board room doors. All hands meet to talk it over and then depart, swinging into action. They know the ship is floundering and they have to right it. All of the company works together to return the business to its planned growth. It is not just top management or a handful of the employees. Co-pany means literally people together breaking bread. That is personal and intimate. It is how resilient cultures behave.
  
• Stories. People relate and recall the times past when the bad thing happened and the company recovered. "Do you remember when the system crashed, customers went ballistic, and we did two all-nighters and got things running again?" "Man, if you think this is bad, you should have been here when . . ." All are depicted with color and gusto. Over time the stories morph, become larger and more than life. That is how stories progress. As they are collected, they become tales that over time tell the saga of the startup. Stories are part of the culture of resiliency.
  
• Culture Pride. The stories of the early cowboy days of semiconductor startups in Silicon Valley are legendary. So are the gutsy early years of Oracle and Microsoft and Apple. You could see the radiation on the faces of the early Yahoo and Google employees talking about their fresh enterprises. Startup founders in Asia, Europe and rest of the world love to tell strangers about those earliest days of getting up daily to go out and fight the dragons (and some days the dragon won). The stories about resilient behavior of the company will grow into a verbal book that employees then take pride in. Investors brag over lunch, dinner and weekend outings. Wow, what a great startup! is on the lips of the startup and all its stakeholders. They all take great pride in their resiliency.

BOTTOM LINE: Winner startups use resiliency to power their people and grow their competitive advantage. Serial entrepreneurs build it into their cultures. Investors encourage it. The tales of recovering from bad situations becomes a mark of pride for startups. It motives and encourages newcomers. It attracts other resilient people. When resiliency becomes part of your startup culture, you'll have added a powerful element to your competitive advantage. Your competition will complain it is unfair!

I wish you The Best on your Great Adventure!

During the recent bad business months, I've noted a characteristic that stands out in winning startups: They are resilient.

Resilient:

1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

RESILIENT CULTURES

How resilient is your company culture?

I've found serial entrepreneurs begin shaping their company culture from the moment the startup is given birth. Great VCs believe it is formed within months of the company's life. The characteristics of the culture determine what people value and how they are motivated. That is why startup cultures are so important.

Here are some characteristics I've found in resilient startup cultures:

• Celebrations. Resilient cultures celebrate, often and with enthusiasm. They acknowledge the rough times and how they recovered. They toast the people who were deeply involved. Awards are handed out, some home-made, a few humorous, a clever email, a wall plaque or two and perhaps a financial award. All hands are gathered, a toast is made and then back to work. Big recoveries are done over food, perhaps a lunch or even a dinner. All are forms of celebrations. All celebrate a resilient event.
  
  
• Everyone is Involved. Management gets the news out fast about the sudden bad surprise. Its not done behind closed board room doors. All hands meet to talk it over and then depart, swinging into action. They know the ship is floundering and they have to right it. All of the company works together to return the business to its planned growth. It is not just top management or a handful of the employees. Co-pany means literally people together breaking bread. That is personal and intimate. It is how resilient cultures behave.
  
• Stories. People relate and recall the times past when the bad thing happened and the company recovered. "Do you remember when the system crashed, customers went ballistic, and we did two all-nighters and got things running again?" "Man, if you think this is bad, you should have been here when . . ." All are depicted with color and gusto. Over time the stories morph, become larger and more than life. That is how stories progress. As they are collected, they become tales that over time tell the saga of the startup. Stories are part of the culture of resiliency.
  
• Culture Pride. The stories of the early cowboy days of semiconductor startups in Silicon Valley are legendary. So are the gutsy early years of Oracle and Microsoft and Apple. You could see the radiation on the faces of the early Yahoo and Google employees talking about their fresh enterprises. Startup founders in Asia, Europe and rest of the world love to tell strangers about those earliest days of getting up daily to go out and fight the dragons (and some days the dragon won). The stories about resilient behavior of the company will grow into a verbal book that employees then take pride in. Investors brag over lunch, dinner and weekend outings. Wow, what a great startup! is on the lips of the startup and all its stakeholders. They all take great pride in their resiliency.

BOTTOM LINE: Winner startups use resiliency to power their people and grow their competitive advantage. Serial entrepreneurs build it into their cultures. Investors encourage it. The tales of recovering from bad situations becomes a mark of pride for startups. It motives and encourages newcomers. It attracts other resilient people. When resiliency becomes part of your startup culture, you'll have added a powerful element to your competitive advantage. Your competition will complain it is unfair!

I wish you The Best on your Great Adventure!

STARTUP WINNERS HAVE RESILIENCE: (3rd in a series) Great startup people are resilient, it's in their genes

During the recent bad business months, I've noted a characteristic that stands out in winning startups: They are resilient.

Resilient:

1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

RESILIENT PEOPLE

How resilient are you?

I've found startup winners to be led by people who are naturally resilient. I'll label them RPs. Check these characteristics to see how much resiliency is in your genes:

• Behavior: RPs bounce back in bad times. Resilient people do not remain in the emotional dumps. They hit bottom (yes, they too are human), acknowledge the situation, and then with intense determination head up and out of the dark pit as fast as possible. That calls for realism and action. These people don't need to be told to get off their pity pot and get their butts in motion. They act. And they act realistically. They grab the fire hose, put the fire out and repair the damage. They bounce back.
• Practicality: RPs make the most of what they have. Lacking a lot of resources (all startups do), RPs use what they have to get the job done. You won't find them moaning about the missing equipment, lack of cash or inferior employees. RPs work with what they have and don't complain about it. They recover and go on, using what is available to respond and move forward.
• Innovation: RPs are constantly creative. They invent clever things in the midst of even the darkest days. They continue during the brightest. They never stop. You won't find them moaning about the lack of cash to spend on R&D or marketing. They don't put innovation on hold during slow business days. Instead, they see every day as a chance to create something clever that will boost the chances of success for their new enterprise.
• Attitude: RPs see the glass as half full. They think positively. They are confident something good can happen in the darkest night. They treat employees with a daily taste of positive thinking. RPs are optimists. Sure, they often overshoot the mark with their expectations, but this attitude is catching and encourages the gloomy to think less about the glass half empty. And RPs stimulate creative thinking that leads to discovery of new paths out of the gloom.
• Character: RPs behave consistently. You can count on them to be trustworthy. They will not let you down, personally or professionally.They remain true to themselves. I find they have a strong spiritual foundation. Some are religious, others use a practical philosophy or follow the teaching of a revered person in the world. RPs are not light thinkers. They will openly talk to you about the meaning of life and more. This spiritual side of them is one of the marks that leads them to lead people through the tough times.
• Recruiting: RPs are constantly on the lookout for other RPs. They are in continuous recruiting mode. Their radar is probing every gathering they attend, groups they spend time with and resumes that are sent to them. They know how valuable one more RP is to their fledgling startup.

Some of the world's most respected leaders are RPs. Take a Wikipedia look at what happened to Abraham Lincoln before he became President. Then review what happened to him during his time in office. He was an RP through it all. That's the highest standard of personal resiliency that I know of in not-too-ancient history. Living corporate RPs include Andy Grove of Intel, John Morgridge of Cisco, and Steve Jobs of Apple, all of whom faced life-threatening health attacks at the peak of their careers. They started life with severe personal challenges. Next week, I'll blog about one of the most amazing RPs, and entrepreneur of long ago who started life as a cripple in poverty and responded with resiliency so well that through his startup he changed business methods forever and became a hugely wealthy man. You are using today several of the techniques he pioneered.

BOTTOM LINE: Resilient people, RPs, think and act in different ways than the crowd. They are not just wildly positive. They are stern realists. Their behavior reflects a solid personal character that can be counted on. It is grounded on years of thinking and experiencing hard knocks and victories in life. When you populate your startup with RPs, you'll have added powerful assets to the construction of your company's unfair advantage.

I wish you The Best on your Great Adventure!

STARTUP WINNERS HAVE RESILIENCE: Great founders have it and use it to win

During the recent bad business months, I've noted a characteristic that stands out in winning startups: They are resilient.

Resilient:

1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress
2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

COMPANIES -- STARTUPS -- GIANT VICTORS

As I thought about the new enterprises that standout standout in my recall, I realized their company cultures were deeply rooted with resiliency.

Here are a couple of examples of new enterprises I've chose for you to learn from. I've remained close to them over the years and think their examples of resiliency can inspire your startup:

• Steve Jobs is nearly a god to some startup people because of what he has done with Apple. But at the beginning, he was learning -- just like you -- in the steaming cauldron of intense competition and scalding surprises. "First to get it right" with a commercial success in personal computers, Apple quickly attracted IBM who soon announced it was going into the same business. Jobs and Steve Wozniak as co-founders responded with an outstanding product, the Apple II along with obtaining cooperation with desktop publishing strategic partners (spreadsheets, word processors and graphics), an amazingly clever blitz of public relations, and thus survived. Their special form of response attracted a dedicated few buyers (3% market share)and entrenched a special form of resiliency forever in the culture of the company. I think it is easy to understand how resiliency was in great part responsible for Apple's amazing comeback and breakout during the recent decade (iTunes, iPod, iPhone).
  
• John Morgridge, Pierre Lamond and Don Valentine teamed to guide Cisco from a clunky IT solution in the basement of Stanford University to the world's most valued corporation. Along the way, the first CEO Morgridge called for emergency technical help from Lamond, then a venture capitalist with Sequoia Capital. Lamond inspired the technical team to swiftly resolve the serious router crashes, resulting in a stream of hot selling products. Along the way to IPO, Morgridge has a rode a rugged roller coaster. Founders had to be fired, vast numbers of employees had to be hired, and aggressive competitors had to be held off. Valentine kept fueling the rocket-like startup with venture capital through the good and bad daysl. Today Cisco employs 65,000 people worldwide who generated $36 billion of sales in 2009. Resiliency marked the trail of this remarkably successful new enterprise. It is how they expect to respond to challenging times. It marks them as a winner.

I use these ancient startups (founded in 1976 and 1984 respectively) because they had to fight their way through dark times before the crazy Internet boom-to-bust distorted the history of entrepreneurship. Today we find the easy money days are over. Now the better lessons learned are from those that did it "the old-fashioned way." One outstanding characteristic of those startups is resiliency in their cultures.

BOTTOM LINE: Resiliency can be a root of your startup tree and it can help grow the enterprise into a mighty, enduring business. Resiliency is a prize, true gold of the soul. It is priceless. Lacking it, your competitors will give up. Obtaining it, you'll use it to fuel your soul when the days are dark (and they will be -- perhaps they are today for you --). You will find you can and will emerge victorious when you have this as part of your character. Resiliency is a mark of great people. It can be one of your most important elements of building an unfair competitive advantage.

I  wish you The Best on your Great Adventure!

TIP OF THE WEEK: Try before you buy (people).

Spoke this week with a founder on his second startup. What struck me most listening to him was his passion to find only the best people for his new enterprise. He has learned the hard way, and is determined to apply the lessons of the past to this next endeavor.

I've found those to be the marks of the great ones.

They do not compromise on the quality of people.

Either the candidates are A people or they are not hired.

As I wrote in a recent blog, the revered VC Sequoia Capital believes the quality of the pedigree of the people in a startup is set in the first 90 days of its life. I agree. So do a lot of other winners.

One way to be sure is to give candidates a task to perform for you. Either as temps or as contractors before you make an offer of full time employment. Try before you buy lets the person see if they fit your culture and if they are able to deliver results at your high standard.

So my tip this week is twofold, yet short and simple: Never compromise on people and try before you buy.

And if you make a mistake, send the person packing immediately. Later means you just suffer longer.

BOTTOM LINE: Startups are all about people. The best hire the best. They do not compromise. Aim for the gold and you'll have the right people joining you. It will be the strongest element of your unfair advantage.

MARCH TO IPO (Part of a series): What interview questions do you ask?

Today this question came from an entrepreneur in India who is on a hot streak with a rapidly growing startup:

"I'm a regular reader of your blog and your insights has helped me tremendously. Here is one more thing I want to ask you:

1. How do I go about interviewing candidates for positions like VP/CXO for Mktg, finance, sales etc.?
2. What questions will help me assess them right?
We have a recruiter firm to shortlist profiles, but they aren't involved in the actual interview process. I involve my key employees and investors for assessing them and then compare notes to get a 360 degree feedback to get better perspective.
Still, I believe there is scope to improve the process. Your feedback will help me make a better team."

Okay, here is how I'll respond to his email: Put yourself in this situation. Since yesterday's blog, you have decided to focus on getting the best people you can find. You may be pre-seed or as in this case, you are suddenly hot and need that missing core team of aces to help you convert from small to world-class. And you have run out of able friends and colleagues for candidates. Next come the strangers (resumes emailed by other strangers, the harried recruiters). What do you ask the candidates to be more likely you are getting the people you want. the ones now represented by their resumes and references?

Here is what I suggest:

1. Use the Search feature on my blog to look up "interview". You will find several suggestions. One popular set of interview tips is from a classic posted on 2006 October 24.
2. Trust your intuition more than resumes and references. You are the expert on the chemistry in your company. You understand how people will fit your company's working culture. You know what kind of person you need for your special business.
3. Ask sensitive and personal questions. You are going to become very intimate with your employees over the next half decade. Get to know their inner secrets before you hire them. "What makes you mad?" "What kind of person irritates you?" and then "Why?" Listen well and you'll learn a lot about the person. This is especially important to do with Asian startups.
4. Ask about their coping with failures. Your startup is a child that will get into trouble. Expect a few scrapped knees. But you want vice presidents who can keep the child from getting into serious trouble. Hire people that know how to keep the child from heading off to play on a dangerous highway.
5. Discuss issues rather than grill a person. Open sharing of ideas about how to solve real problems gives both you and the candidate a chance to be real people discussing important business issues. The goal is not to see who is stronger. Rather, you want to observe how the person thinks. This is relaxing to the candidate and more likely to open up the strong skills of the person for you to observe. And the candidate is more likely to admit shortcomings.
6. Ask "What do you think you can do to help me succeed?" That is an open ended question that is less threatening and offers the chance for the person to be creative during the interview. You will often be surprised at what you hear. I have. And I often get some great ideas as a bonus.
7. Ask yourself "When I am traveling, is this a person whom I can trust to be wise running the business while I am away?" The CEO does not run the business. There is too much for that person to do (constant communicating with investors, raising fresh capital, and endless interviewing and hiring all take 40% of the CEOs time away from managing the startup). The VPs have to be able to operate with very little guidance day to day. Look for such people. They are gems. Keep thinking about how this person would work with you out of touch and that person and others like that in the office. Then you can pick wisely.
8. Be prepared to answer your own question. Able candidates will expect you to respond to any question you ask them. Don't be surprised when the ask you to. Be ready. It's fun to do.

BOTTOM LINE: Get your interview questions ready. Practice them on a friend. Get so good that you can ask your favorite key questions anywhere, anytime, of any candidate. I've seen people interviewed on elevators in hotels, while waiting for an airplane and during soccer matches. Your quick questions lead to discovery of outstanding people who were later hired. As CEO, you'll be interviewing the rest of your life. Become a  master, a black belt, of interviewing. Then you'll add the most powerful element to building your unfair advantage: Great people. I wish you The Best!

MARCH TO IPO (Part of a series): Finding GREAT people is Task Number 1

"Where do I find the people I need for my startup? How do I attract them to work for my new enterprise?"

Here are some tips from serial entrepreneurs I respect:

• Finding people will take 20% of your time as CEO for the rest of your startup life. Every day you will be recruiting. It will become as natural to you as brushing your teeth. It will be as important to you as breathing (without it, your startup will die).
• Start early -- years early. Great startup CEOs line up their core team and key techies many years before doing the startup. Yes, I said years, not months. That is how they decide that the people are great people. They know they will work well together on the job.
• Get the people before the money. Read yesterday's blog and think about it. Great investors invest in people, not ideas. Just ask them if you do not believe me.
• People you know are better than strangers. It would be foolish and dangerous to leave your children with a baby sitter you did not know. Your startup is also precious. Serial entrepreneurs do not turn their new enterprises over to be managed by strangers.
• Ability is more important than friendship. You may have to fire the person. That's how to lose friends. Better to focus on the ability of a person than a relationship. Don't pick them for religious reasons, or because they love one brand of computer over another, or because they saved your life once. They have to deliver results. Chose ability.
• "A people hire B people hire C people". That adage was cited recently in a private dinner for serial entrepreneurs that I was moderating. Time brings compromise. It is inevitable. Fight it. Keep the average as high as you can as long as you can.
• Do not compromise on quality. Serial entrepreneurs always tell me "I have learned bitter lessons about compromising on people: in a word, don't. Ever." Enough said. It is hard to do because you desperately need to fill the open position.

So where do you find the missing people? Here is the pattern that I see working in successful startups:

1. Start with people you know well because you have worked with them before.This is the quickest way to get going with quality people.
2. Fan out from your core team, get the entire company recruiting. You hired A people so get them to find more A people. Serial entrepreneur E.C. built an entire company that way, without a penny of venture capital. Amazing. But it works.
3. Birds of feather produce flocks of startup people. For instance, your university alumni organization. And small groups of people at work who like to talk quietly about startups. Forums about new enterprises attract startup people you can meet. Find out where they hang out and go there. Become one of them.
4. Recruit a great HR person, even if part-time. The HR stands for Heavy Recruiter. Able and eager to find the missing great people. That's the payoff for a true HR person in an early stage startup. Soon it will become a full time position because you'll be doubling the number of your employees each year.
5. Choose your recruiters carefully. Once you have cash, you'll grow fast and soon need to user recruiters. Pick them wisely. Serial entrepreneurs choose recruiters like they choose people, after interviewing them in depth.
6. Be patient with your company recruiting. The chances are low of you finding great people arriving in your Job email box. But it will happen. So read them all. I'll never forget John Morgridge CEO of Cisco sitting reading resumes the day I came into his office to interview him. Every resume is valuable. The haystack has some great gems hidden in it. It's your job to find them.
7. Your unfair advantage is the honey that attracts the bees. The great story that attracts the great people is about your unfair advantage. Prepare it well. Then have fun telling it. Over and over and over and over.

BOTTOM LINE: Great startups are built with great recruiting by the CEO and core team. It is a skill you've got to have. Learn it at work so when you are ready for your startup, you can be an outstanding recruiter. Plan recruiting weekly at your startup. Discuss recruiting daily. Make it a way of life for every employee. Get an army of great people recruiting for you. Your startup will then be built with great people. Leave the rest for your competition. When you can do this, you'll be well on your way to building your unfair competitive advantage.

ADDING A REAL CEO: When is best?

"When do you think we should add a heavyweight to our startup? We are techies, building a prototype with angel money. A person with great credentials is available: from the right industry, decades of experience, has great connections. Is it too early? What do you think?"

I get that question often because it is so common and so important.

Here is my response to the founder CEO:

Dear B.,

When you think about adding people to your management team, start by thinking in two categories: (1) marquee and (2) workers. Famous people seldom work, they talk. Working people are seldom famous with marquee recognition but get a lot of things done.

Then think about what thing brings your company the most credibility: (1) people saying they support the company or (2) business results. Supporters include investors and advisers. Results include competitive market positioning and sales progress.

Then decide on what mix your company needs at the early stage it is in.

I have found it best to find working people who get results. Pay them what it takes to attract and retain them. Marquee names typically run out of Rolodex contacts very quickly and are expensive for what they deliver. Work and results trump fame and names.

BOTTOM LINE: Pick people for what world-class results they can bring to your company. Betting on a few contacts to save the day is a sign of desperation. Watching a team of great workers build a great company that customers race to is an inspiration (to investors, employees and bloggers). I put my money on workers and results. Think before you make your decision. It is a key to building your unfair competitive advantage.

 

CREATIVE STARTUP PEOPLE (Number 10 last of a series) : Do you have what they have?

Today I'll move on to the final trait on the list for creative people, applying it to startups (see the introductory note at the end of this blog). The quotes are from the book cited in the endnote.

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TRAIT NUMBER 10: Openness and sensitivity of creative individuals often exposes them to suffering and pain yet also a great deal of enjoyment.

Application: Startups are both brutal and beautiful. Come prepared to experience both emotions, daily.

“Electrical engineer and prolific inventor Jacob Rabinow put it this way: 'Inventors have a low threshold of pain. Things bother them.' A badly designed machine causes pain to an inventive engineer, just as the creative writer is hurt when reading bad prose. Being alone at the forefront of a dicipline also makes you exposed and vulnerable. Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks. When an artist has invested years in making a sculpture, or a scientist in developing a theory, it is devastating if nobody cares."

"Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood."

"Perhaps the most difficult thing for a creative individual to bear is the sense of loss and emptiness experienced when, for some reason or another, he or she cannot work. This is especially painful when a person feels one's creativity drying out."

"Yet when a person is working in the area of his or her expertise, worries and cares fall away, replaced by a sense of bliss. Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake."

BOTTOM LINE: "These ten pairs of contrasting personality traits [in this series] might be the most telling characteristic of creative [startup] people. These conflicting traits are usually difficult to find in the same person. Yet without the second pole, new ideas will not be recognized. And without the first, they will not be developed to the point of acceptance. Therefore, the novelty that survives to change a domain is usually the work of someone who can operate at both ends of these polarities -- and that is the kind of person we call 'creative'." CEOs of startups find themselves pulling out their hair daily as they attempt to manage creative people. Calm will return when you learn the ten conflicting traits of creative people. Then you can turn your frustrations into constructive guidance that adds power to your startup's unfair competitive advantage.

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NOTE OF INTRODUCTION TO THIS SERIES ON CREATIVE STARTUP PEOPLE

Creativity.

That's a desired skill that stands out in great startup people: Founders, management, leaders, and employees. I also find it outstanding in the venture community: Angels, venture capitalists, bloggers, media reporters, lawyers and finance staff.

On the less positive side, creative people are also a challenge to manage (often "a pain in the neck" and worse).

I am often questioned about creative startup people, so I've decided to discuss them in a series of blogs, who they are, how to spot them and what to do about them.  The series should be about ten blogs in length, spread out over the next three weeks.

I decided begin with this question: "How creative are you?"

To help you answer that question, I'll list the traits of a creative person and let you compare yourself. I expect you to be surprised (I was).

My source for the list is a mind stretching book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi entitled Creativity. He is professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and author of several books including the bestseller, Flow. The quoted item that I use are from Creativity.

Today I'll move on to the final trait on the list for creative people, applying it to startups (see the introductory note at the end of this blog). The quotes are from the book cited in the endnote.

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TRAIT NUMBER 10: Openness and sensitivity of creative individuals often exposes them to suffering and pain yet also a great deal of enjoyment.

Application: Startups are both brutal and beautiful. Come prepared to experience both emotions, daily.

“Electrical engineer and prolific inventor Jacob Rabinow put it this way: 'Inventors have a low threshold of pain. Things bother them.' A badly designed machine causes pain to an inventive engineer, just as the creative writer is hurt when reading bad prose. Being alone at the forefront of a dicipline also makes you exposed and vulnerable. Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks. When an artist has invested years in making a sculpture, or a scientist in developing a theory, it is devastating if nobody cares."

"Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood."

"Perhaps the most difficult thing for a creative individual to bear is the sense of loss and emptiness experienced when, for some reason or another, he or she cannot work. This is especially painful when a person feels one's creativity drying out."

"Yet when a person is working in the area of his or her expertise, worries and cares fall away, replaced by a sense of bliss. Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake."

BOTTOM LINE: "These ten pairs of contrasting personality traits [in this series] might be the most telling characteristic of creative [startup] people. These conflicting traits are usually difficult to find in the same person. Yet without the second pole, new ideas will not be recognized. And without the first, they will not be developed to the point of acceptance. Therefore, the novelty that survives to change a domain is usually the work of someone who can operate at both ends of these polarities -- and that is the kind of person we call 'creative'." CEOs of startups find themselves pulling out their hair daily as they attempt to manage creative people. Calm will return when you learn the ten conflicting traits of creative people. Then you can turn your frustrations into constructive guidance that adds power to your startup's unfair competitive advantage.

=========================================================================================
NOTE OF INTRODUCTION TO THIS SERIES ON CREATIVE STARTUP PEOPLE

Creativity.

That's a desired skill that stands out in great startup people: Founders, management, leaders, and employees. I also find it outstanding in the venture community: Angels, venture capitalists, bloggers, media reporters, lawyers and finance staff.

On the less positive side, creative people are also a challenge to manage (often "a pain in the neck" and worse).

I am often questioned about creative startup people, so I've decided to discuss them in a series of blogs, who they are, how to spot them and what to do about them.  The series should be about ten blogs in length, spread out over the next three weeks.

I decided begin with this question: "How creative are you?"

To help you answer that question, I'll list the traits of a creative person and let you compare yourself. I expect you to be surprised (I was).

My source for the list is a mind stretching book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi entitled Creativity. He is professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and author of several books including the bestseller, Flow. The quoted item that I use are from Creativity.

Today I'll move on to the final trait on the list for creative people, applying it to startups (see the introductory note at the end of this blog). The quotes are from the book cited in the endnote.

======================================================

TRAIT NUMBER 10: Openness and sensitivity of creative individuals often exposes them to suffering and pain yet also a great deal of enjoyment.

Application: Startups are both brutal and beautiful. Come prepared to experience both emotions, daily.

“Electrical engineer and prolific inventor Jacob Rabinow put it this way: 'Inventors have a low threshold of pain. Things bother them.' A badly designed machine causes pain to an inventive engineer, just as the creative writer is hurt when reading bad prose. Being alone at the forefront of a dicipline also makes you exposed and vulnerable. Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks. When an artist has invested years in making a sculpture, or a scientist in developing a theory, it is devastating if nobody cares."

"Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood."

"Perhaps the most difficult thing for a creative individual to bear is the sense of loss and emptiness experienced when, for some reason or another, he or she cannot work. This is especially painful when a person feels one's creativity drying out."

"Yet when a person is working in the area of his or her expertise, worries and cares fall away, replaced by a sense of bliss. Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake."

BOTTOM LINE: "These ten pairs of contrasting personality traits [in this series] might be the most telling characteristic of creative [startup] people. These conflicting traits are usually difficult to find in the same person. Yet without the second pole, new ideas will not be recognized. And without the first, they will not be developed to the point of acceptance. Therefore, the novelty that survives to change a domain is usually the work of someone who can operate at both ends of these polarities -- and that is the kind of person we call 'creative'." CEOs of startups find themselves pulling out their hair daily as they attempt to manage creative people. Calm will return when you learn the ten conflicting traits of creative people. Then you can turn your frustrations into constructive guidance that adds power to your startup's unfair competitive advantage.

=========================================================================================
NOTE OF INTRODUCTION TO THIS SERIES ON CREATIVE STARTUP PEOPLE

Creativity.

That's a desired skill that stands out in great startup people: Founders, management, leaders, and employees. I also find it outstanding in the venture community: Angels, venture capitalists, bloggers, media reporters, lawyers and finance staff.

On the less positive side, creative people are also a challenge to manage (often "a pain in the neck" and worse).

I am often questioned about creative startup people, so I've decided to discuss them in a series of blogs, who they are, how to spot them and what to do about them.  The series should be about ten blogs in length, spread out over the next three weeks.

I decided begin with this question: "How creative are you?"

To help you answer that question, I'll list the traits of a creative person and let you compare yourself. I expect you to be surprised (I was).

My source for the list is a mind stretching book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi entitled Creativity. He is professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and author of several books including the bestseller, Flow. The quoted item that I use are from Creativity.

Today I'll move on to the final trait on the list for creative people, applying it to startups (see the introductory note at the end of this blog). The quotes are from the book cited in the endnote.

======================================================

TRAIT NUMBER 10: Openness and sensitivity of creative individuals often exposes them to suffering and pain yet also a great deal of enjoyment.

Application: Startups are both brutal and beautiful. Come prepared to experience both emotions, daily.

“Electrical engineer and prolific inventor Jacob Rabinow put it this way: 'Inventors have a low threshold of pain. Things bother them.' A badly designed machine causes pain to an inventive engineer, just as the creative writer is hurt when reading bad prose. Being alone at the forefront of a dicipline also makes you exposed and vulnerable. Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks. When an artist has invested years in making a sculpture, or a scientist in developing a theory, it is devastating if nobody cares."

"Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood."

"Perhaps the most difficult thing for a creative individual to bear is the sense of loss and emptiness experienced when, for some reason or another, he or she cannot work. This is especially painful when a person feels one's creativity drying out."

"Yet when a person is working in the area of his or her expertise, worries and cares fall away, replaced by a sense of bliss. Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake."

BOTTOM LINE: "These ten pairs of contrasting personality traits [in this series] might be the most telling characteristic of creative [startup] people. These conflicting traits are usually difficult to find in the same person. Yet without the second pole, new ideas will not be recognized. And without the first, they will not be developed to the point of acceptance. Therefore, the novelty that survives to change a domain is usually the work of someone who can operate at both ends of these polarities -- and that is the kind of person we call 'creative'." CEOs of startups find themselves pulling out their hair daily as they attempt to manage creative people. Calm will return when you learn the ten conflicting traits of creative people. Then you can turn your frustrations into constructive guidance that adds power to your startup's unfair competitive advantage.

=========================================================================================
NOTE OF INTRODUCTION TO THIS SERIES ON CREATIVE STARTUP PEOPLE

Creativity.

That's a desired skill that stands out in great startup people: Founders, management, leaders, and employees. I also find it outstanding in the venture community: Angels, venture capitalists, bloggers, media reporters, lawyers and finance staff.

On the less positive side, creative people are also a challenge to manage (often "a pain in the neck" and worse).

I am often questioned about creative startup people, so I've decided to discuss them in a series of blogs, who they are, how to spot them and what to do about them.  The series should be about ten blogs in length, spread out over the next three weeks.

I decided begin with this question: "How creative are you?"

To help you answer that question, I'll list the traits of a creative person and let you compare yourself. I expect you to be surprised (I was).

My source for the list is a mind stretching book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi entitled Creativity. He is professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and author of several books including the bestseller, Flow. The quoted item that I use are from Creativity.

Today I'll move on to the final trait on the list for creative people, applying it to startups (see the introductory note at the end of this blog). The quotes are from the book cited in the endnote.

======================================================

TRAIT NUMBER 10: Openness and sensitivity of creative individuals often exposes them to suffering and pain yet also a great deal of enjoyment.

Application: Startups are both brutal and beautiful. Come prepared to experience both emotions, daily.

“Electrical engineer and prolific inventor Jacob Rabinow put it this way: 'Inventors have a low threshold of pain. Things bother them.' A badly designed machine causes pain to an inventive engineer, just as the creative writer is hurt when reading bad prose. Being alone at the forefront of a dicipline also makes you exposed and vulnerable. Eminence invites criticism and often vicious attacks. When an artist has invested years in making a sculpture, or a scientist in developing a theory, it is devastating if nobody cares."

"Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood."

"Perhaps the most difficult thing for a creative individual to bear is the sense of loss and emptiness experienced when, for some reason or another, he or she cannot work. This is especially painful when a person feels one's creativity drying out."

"Yet when a person is working in the area of his or her expertise, worries and cares fall away, replaced by a sense of bliss. Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake."

BOTTOM LINE: "These ten pairs of contrasting personality traits [in this series] might be the most telling characteristic of creative [startup] people. These conflicting traits are usually difficult to find in the same person. Yet without the second pole, new ideas will not be recognized. And without the first, they will not be developed to the point of acceptance. Therefore, the novelty that survives to change a domain is usually the work of someone who can operate at both ends of these polarities -- and that is the kind of person we call 'creative'." CEOs of startups find themselves pulling out their hair daily as they attempt to manage creative people. Calm will return when you learn the ten conflicting traits of creative people. Then you can turn your frustrations into constructive guidance that adds power to your startup's unfair competitive advantage.

=========================================================================================
NOTE OF INTRODUCTION TO THIS SERIES ON CREATIVE STARTUP PEOPLE

Creativity.

That's a desired skill that stands out in great startup people: Founders, management, leaders, and employees. I also find it outstanding in the venture community: Angels, venture capitalists, bloggers, media reporters, lawyers and finance staff.

On the less positive side, creative people are also a challenge to manage (often "a pain in the neck" and worse).

I am often questioned about creative startup people, so I've decided to discuss them in a series of blogs, who they are, how to spot them and what to do about them.  The series should be about ten blogs in length, spread out over the next three weeks.

I decided begin with this question: "How creative are you?"

To help you answer that question, I'll list the traits of a creative person and let you compare yourself. I expect you to be surprised (I was).

My source for the list is a mind stretching book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi entitled Creativity. He is professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and author of several books including the bestseller, Flow. The quoted item that I use are from Creativity.

REAL ENTREPRENEURS DON'T MAKE EXCUSES: They make lemonade from the lemons and go IPO

I'm staring out of my jet lagged eyes at the cityscape of Seoul, Korea. Home to hot digital games and food that will turn you mouth into red hot. I'm here helping a couple of great startup leaders prepare for their first board meeting tomorrow morning.

This is the office of Nurien, the world leader of 3D social networks. It was founded by two Cornell graduates, one a former student of mine. The closed beta of their first game will begin in the coming months.

Today they closed on a large Round A financing from world-class venture capital firms who do not have offices here.

The company rocks! Lots of creative employees (Nurenians), attractive working quarters and American business methods in a high intensity industrial center of the global economy. The country has optical fiber to every home. Wireless is everywhere. Taxi drivers use two mobile phones, talk via Blue tooth, have GPSS and digital fare meters with receipt printers. Stores are filled with buyers of world class brands, and giant advertising LCD screens light up the day and night from miles of skyscrapers. This place is hot!

Nurien has special meaning to its root name, but more importantly, in this intense labor market, to me it means "rock" in Korea. And the co-founders, Andy and Tim, know it. In fact they have deliberately taken advantage of the situation here. They have created a startup that stands out so brightly that it cannot be overlooked. The rest of the startups in the city have employees that work for cash wages (not very lucrative) and report to classical Asian managers (not much fun). So for Nurien, a company culture created deliberatively has become a local magnet, attracting the best of the best in the competitive talent market. And it is very competitive: this is the world center for massive player on-line games. The games are hot (make a ton of money) in Korea and China and the rest of the world. Just ask Shanda, Giant Interactive and Perfect World (IPOs now on Wall Street).

Do you think like Andy and Tim? Test yourself: have you complained recently that your local labor market is too tough to compete in? Or that you are missing great investors? Or that your neighborhood is a poor place to do a global startup?

Andy and Tim did not. They saw opportunity where others saw negative conditions surrounding them. And now they are launching a series of breathtaking games created by inventive people who are excited about working with Nurien. Andy and Tim made lemonade from what others saw as lemons. I hope you do that.

BOTTOM LINE: To launch your startup where you live, look for the positives and sew them together as part of your competitive advantage. Think about how to use a company culture to out-maneuver your competition. Cogitate on what management style would attract the best of the best to rush to come to work for you. Those are signs of the serial entrepreneur who knows that with a magnet that attracts top talent comes one of the most powerful elements of unfair advantage building. They know how to make lemonade out of even the most sour of lemons.