A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Wally Bock, who provides some of the best and most pragmatic content available on being a boss, shared the story of Ron.

I’ve known many Ron-s in my time, both male and female, and the managers who hired them—hired them even when they knew better.

They ignored the red flags and rationalized away any information or signals that contradicted their desire to have the Ron on their team

Often the Ron came in as a star; the person who could save the project/product or bailout the team.

But stars can turn into shooting stars, since their reputation and achievements are often a product of their skill at managing up.

How many Ron’s have you hired?

Image credit: HikingArtist

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Last week I wrote about the power found in vulnerability, today I have a different question for you.

What do you do when you screw up?

Do you

1. grin, bear and ignore;
2. rationalize;
3. deny; or
4. apologize.

The creed of authenticity demands you choose ‘d’, but in practice many founders are more likely to choose ‘a, ‘b’ or ‘c’.

Netflix’s Reed Hastings chose ‘d’ and did it with candor, solid information, no punches pulled or rationalizations and in a very public way.

“I messed up,” Mr. Hastings wrote in an unusually forthright September 2011 blog post. (…) In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success. (…) I wasn’t naïve enough to think most customers care if the C.E.O. apologizes, but I thought it was honest and appropriate.”

He made three other good points that are worth remembering

• “Don’t get distracted by the shiny object,” he said. And if a crisis comes, “execute on the fundamentals.”
• “…we don’t manage for the stock price.”
• “Executing better on the core mission is the way to win.”

Most importantly, he doesn’t see himself or Netflix as infallible and admits that another wrong turn could kill them.

There are a lot of founders who should take heed of his attitude and his words.

Image credit: HikingArtist

Several people I’ve talked with recently have quoted from Eric Ries’s The Lean Start Up with almost the same religious fervor people espouse Guy Kawasaki or Steve Jobs.

I haven’t read it yet, but after reading a brief column in WSJ’s About Tech Europe and watching the video I realized that Ries probably doesn’t appreciate that kind of blind devotion any more than Kawasaki or Jobs and is quick to say so.

Much of what he says is common sense,

“If 10 people in a row hate my product is that statistically significant? It is not conclusive evidence, but it is certainly telling you something.”

If you have 100 customers you can already say what percentage are paying. If it is zero then I can already start to be a bit worried about the model.”

which is often the easiest to rationalize or ignore.

Of course, you ignore it at your peril.

If you have read The Lean Startup please share your thoughts below; I’ll share mine after I’ve read it.

Image credit: Wall Street Journal

Now check out my other WW Evelyn Y. Davis says “don’t be shy”

Image credit: gregveen on flickr

See all mY generation posts here.