Dozens of articles and blog posts appear daily detailing the value of a good corporate culture, while others describe the difference between good and bad.
But, as the old saying goes, one picture is worth a thousand words and a real-time look at the effects of bad or dysfunctional cultures is a word picture you won’t soon forget—not those that are obvious, but the subtle ones.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is all over the news, with very few good things being said. Why is that? Why are so many people so sure that it’s not a positive move?
“The big established groups [inside Microsoft] are allowed to prey upon emerging teams, belittle their efforts, compete unfairly against them for resources, and over time hector them out of existence.” –Ex-Microsoft executive Dick Brass
Another story in the news is that of the I.M.F. managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. One item that stands out in interviews with various people is the sense that his alleged actions are nothing new; and that the ethical structure of the I.M.F. culture is severely split between the executives and the rest.
“There are a lot of controls in place when it comes to the staff, but not for the leadership.” –Katrina Campbell, a compliance and ethics expert at Global Compliance.
Finally, we have the continuing dance between the short-term culture of Wall Street and too many public corporation CEOs who say what Wall Street wants to hear and then expect their operating managers to find a way to make it happen no matter the consequences.
If more CEOs were publicly forthright about their businesses, what factors slowed growth and the time required to get growth back on track, they’d create that reprieve and start building long term value. Instead, CEOs demand their teams do whatever it takes to make the quarter, setting in motion changes that make future growth that much harder to achieve.
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here
Whether you are a startup entrepreneur, work in a startup, invest in startups or just find the whole topic interesting this series is intended to shed some light on the dark mysteries surrounding stock and options and they way they’re handled (or abused).
In general, the way startups choose to give out incentive stock options (ISO) reflects the founders’ attitudes towards fairness and merit; and it sends some signals about whether these values are authentic or just platitudes.
I’m also delighted to introduce Matt Weeks who, in addition to being on the RampUp Solutions board, is President of Actio and deeply involved in the startup world, as well as having held marketing positions in corporate America. Matt will be contributing his knowledge and experience detailing the ins and outs of startup MAP, even though he may not think of it like that.
Here’s a sneak peak of some of the ideas we’ll be discussing.
Risk mitigation
Why managers who don’t have a plan are condemned to becoming part of someone else’s—such as the candidate’s
Good vs. Great
Leading by bullying (lack of transparency and authenticity) can (possibly) make a company “good”
Leading by authenticity can dependably make a company great (because the team is driven by common goals, outlook and honesty)
Why when push comes to shove #1 falls apart (sounds obvious, but there is more subtly here than you might think), while #2 holds together and fights through.
There’s lots more, so plan on joining us every Friday as we explore these and other topics.
One last note. This series offers value even if you have no intention of being and entrepreneur or getting within a hundred feet of a startup. When all is said and done, entrepreneurs are people; people have MAP and the more you learn to recognize MAP characteristics the better off you will be, because MAP drives culture in every organization, large or small.
Option Sanity™ reflects and supports your company’s values and culture
Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock process. It’s so easy a CEO can do it.
Warning.
Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.” Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.
Investor to entrepreneur: I won’t fund you because
You are over 25
You are under 30
You are a woman with children or who might get pregnant
You haven’t done it before
I don’t know you
I don’t know the person who introduced us
Your startup isn’t a [flavor du jour] (e.g., internet or mobile business in 2011]
Do these sound ridiculous to you? They shouldn’t, all of them have happened and several to people I know personally.
It’s hard when you are looking for funding to remember that the people who seem to hold your future in their hands don’t have a pipeline to the future or supernatural powers that that lets them identify which idea is gold and which isn’t; who will succeed and who won’t.
But they don’t.
What they do have is their judgment, based on past experience and colored by their personal opinions, prejudices and peculiarities.
In other words, investors, whether VCs, angels or corporate, are just people with access to lots of money as opposed to having super-natural powers—although you may have trouble convincing some of them or that.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
Dozens of articles and blog posts appear daily detailing the value of a good corporate culture, while others describe the difference between good and bad.
Investor to entrepreneur: I won’t fund you because
