Entrepreneurs: Follow the Founder
by Miki SaxonTuesday I wrote about what some companies are doing to force their people to disconnect and yesterday I offered some ideas about how individual managers at any level can encourage it.
Is any of this applicable to startups?
Actually, it’s especially true in startups where environments, which 30 years ago meant 80-hour weeks, but have increased to near 24/7.
Not only do we have difficulty maintaining personal boundaries with work because our lives and jobs are so enmeshed with technology, but we also feel intense pressure from our organizations to be “always on” and immediately responsive to calls and emails outside of normal working hours. —Knowledge @ Wharton
That’s a pretty accurate description of most founders and, like it of not, they are their company’s primary role model—the person everyone tries to channel.
Do a little eavesdropping any place where startup people congregate and you may leave with the impression that pulling all-nighters is a competitive sport.
But people are like batteries and down time is the equivalent of an alternator.
If the alternator on your car stops working and you keep driving eventually the battery dies.
Come back tomorrow for a look at the benefits of extending founder vision beyond your product.
Flickr image credit: Doug Waldron
