Running Your Startup: How to build your team

by Serena Ehrlich, SVP Social Media on August 2, 2009

I just read an excellent article from Marty Zwilling called Entrepreneurs: Team With People Smarter Than You.

When it comes to building your start up, one of the most important part of the process is selecting the team that will surround you on a daily basis. When you are building your company, the secret sauce ideas rarely come from a vacuum. They are brought to you or inspired by your team. If they aren’t, then take a second look at the team you selected to build your dream company.

Marty points out six great elements of a solid team (take a minute to read the entire article) member including:

* Gets things done. Smart people know what’s required, or can figure it out, and are confident enough to make decisions without you. Getting things done is crucial to running a business. Often people with advanced degrees have academic smarts, but are not closers. You can’t afford to make every decision, and have to push every action item.

* Recommend their own ideas. How often do the people around you recommend sound ideas that you never knew were possibilities? If you’re teaming with people who are smarter than you, you should be frequently surprised with their new ideas and solutions. You will be constantly learning from them.

* Passionate and positive. The smart people you want are as positive and passionate about your business as you are. They take ownership and responsibility for their actions. They convince you with their actions and questions that they understand the big picture. They speak confidently and deliberately, rather than defensively.

* More listening than talking. Look for team members who are active listeners, where you can see yourself seeking them out for answers, rather than always the other way around. It’s great to team with inexperienced people who are growing so fast, that you can envision working for them soon, or having them take the helm of your business.

* Avoid the narcissists. Their energy, self-confidence, and charm make them look smart, but they resist accepting suggestions, thinking it will make them appear weak, and they don’t believe that others have anything useful to tell them. Narcissists will take credit for all successes, and always find someone to blame for their failures and shortcomings.

I love the first point – I think for all the talk in the world, in the end, companies are built on action. The ability to always be pushing forward should be innate in company team members.

I would also add in that a strong team member will be organized or willing to be organized. I am always surprised at the amount of time (and money) lost within a startup because many items, including valuable personal, financial, business development and media contacts are never set up in a thoughtful, usable, organized manner.

If you or your company needs help getting organized or setting up lead generation, customer management tools, marketing or PR systems, let us know. We’d love to help.