INDEX

A

Absey, Anita, 63, 93, 193–194, 276–277

The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (Lencioni), 31, 34, 149, 201–203

Alignment, driving, 211–216

aligning individual incentives with global goals, 213–214

five keys to, 211–212

“Analog analogue,” 7–8

B

Baer, Josh, 3

Baldonero, Angela, 78–80

Benchmarking, value and limitations of, 217–219

Bilbrey, George, 3, 54–55, 63

Blank, Steven Gary, 12, 13, 37, 43, 243

Blumberg, Bob, 353

Blumberg, Mariquita, 339–340

Board of directors

building, 257–265

advisory board, 264–265

compensating, 259–260

feedback process, 263–264

members, 257–258

recruiting, 258–259

structuring, 261–263

as teams, 260–261

compensation and review, working with board on, 287–291

CEO's compensation, 288–290

CEO's performance review, 287–288

expenses, 290–291

decision making and, 281–285

firing a CEO, 284–285

making difficult decisions in concert, 282–283

managing conflict, 283–284

meeting materials, 267–270

Board Book, 267–269

value of preparing for, 269–270

meetings, effective, 271–277

executive and closed sessions, 275–276

forward-looking agenda, building, 272–273

in-meeting materials, 273–274

protocol, 274–275

scheduling, 271–272

staff/board interactions, 276–277

non–board meeting time, 279–280

ad hoc meetings, 279

premeetings, 280

social outings, 280

serving on other boards, 293–299

basics of, 293–294

substance vs. style, 296

value of, 253–256

reasons for having, 253–255

Bootstrapping, 172–173

company's cash flow, 173

customer financing, 172–173

Bottom-up approach, 30–31

“Broken Windows” theory, 328

Business pivots (changes in substance), 44–45

C

“Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?” (Collis & Rukstad), 27, 30

Catcher Hypothesis, 109–110

CEO

communication, cheat sheet for, 205–206

firing, 284–285

as functional supervisor, 71–75

rules for general managers, 71–73

performance review, 287–288

role in execution, 248–249

Cleveland Airport test, 93

Climbing Mount Improbable (Dawkins), 77

Coach, working with, 317–321

purpose of, 318–321

value of, 317–318

Colonna, Jerry, 7

Company building, critical elements of, 48–50

communication patterns, 50

driving force, 49

expenses, policies about, 50

geography, 48–49

office, type of, 49

personal acknowledgment, 50

staffing and compensation, 49

systems, 49

time off, policies about, 49

Company culture, crafting, 77–85

company values, 80

environment of trust, building, 82

fig wasp 879, 77–78

work-life balance, 80–81

Company operating system, creating, 145–148

modes of operating, 147–148

rhythms, 145–146

Compensation, 111–118

determining, general guidelines for, 111–112

three elements of, 112–116

base pay, 112–113

equity, 114–116

incentive pay, 113–114

pay reductions, 116–117

Competition, 239–242

good and bad, 241–242

playing hardball, 239–240

playing offense vs. playing defense, 240–241

Consolidating, 40–41

Covey, Stephen, 327

Coy, Jen 128

D

Data, collecting, 189–194

external, 189–192

learning from customers, 190–191

learning from (un)employees, 191

internal, 192–194

productive eavesdropping, 193–194

skip-level meetings, 192–193

subbing, 193

Debt, 170–172

bank loans, 171–172

convertible debt, 170

personal debt, 172

venture debt, 170–171

Defining and testing the story, 11–18

admitting you're wrong, 11–13

lean business plan template, 13–17

channels, 16

cost structure and revenue streams, 17

customer segments, 16–17

key metrics, 15

problem, 13–14

solution, 14–15

unique value proposition and unfair advantage, 15–16

Development plans, sample, 108–109

Dickerson, Chad, 140–141

Difficult business situation, managing in, 198–199

Diversifying, 41–42

Divestiture, 232–233

Drucker, Peter, 154

E

Economic downturn, managing in 195–198

Employees. See Firing employees; Hiring employes

Entrepreneurship and creativity, 3–4

Epstein, Jeff, 154–155

Equity, 114–116, 290

Equity investors, 166–169

angel investors, 167–168

dumb money, 168–169

smart money, 169

strategic investors, 168

venture capitalists, 166–167

Executive assistant, working with, 311–315

finding, 311–312

job description, 312–314

Exits, 355–358

and liquidity, 355–357

rules of thumb for, 357–358

Extremes, learning from, 219

F

Failure, 243–249

acknowledging, 244–245

learning from, 245–246

and the startup model, 243–244

Family, 337–343

bringing work principles home, 340–342

home life, 337–338

involving in work, 338–339

Feedback, 99–110

crafting and meeting development plans, 107–110

Matrix, 99–105

1:1 check-ins, 100–101

“hallway” feedback, 101

live 360 review, 102–104

performance reviews, 102

soliciting, 105–107

Feld, Brad, 61–62, 255–256, 284–285, 336

Fig wasp 879, 77–78, 212

Financial planning, 151

Financing, 165–173

bootstrapping, 172–173

company's cash flow, 173

customer financing, 172–173

debt, 170–172

bank loans, 171–172

convertible debt, 170

personal debt, 172

venture debt, 170–171

equity investors, 166–169

angel investors, 167–168

dumb money, 168–169

smart money, 169

strategic investors, 168

venture capitalists, 166–167

Firing employees, 135–141

layoffs, 138

severance pay, 137

stages that should precede, 135–136

transparency, limits of, 136–137

Fishkin, Rand, 35–36

Forecasting and budgeting, 181–188

aligning resources with strategy, 183

checking predictions against reality, 182–183

in context of uncertainty, 185

in a downturn, 182

early and often, 185–187

financial modeling, rigorous, 181–182

Forman, Tami, 205–206

French Fry Theory, 335

Funds, company, 159–164

boiling the frog, 160–161

financial instincts, scaling, 159–160

growth vs. profitability, 161–164

choosing growth, 162–163

choosing profits, 163–164

perfecting the model, 162

the third way, 164

G

General managers, rules for, 71–73

Gladwell, Malcolm, 3–4

Goldman, Jen, 90

H

Hardball (Stalk & Lachenauer), 239

Healy, Stephanie, 337

Hindi, Hanny, 5

Hiring employees, 59–69, 87–98

building the best team, 60–62

hiring friends and family, 88–89

human resources, 62–63

interviewing, 92–95

key questions, 95

onboarding, 96–97

recruiting outstanding talent, 89–92

CEO's role in, 90

staying “in-market,” 91

tools, 91–92

sales and marketing, 63–65

scaling the team, 66–67

startup stage, growing out of, 59–60

startups, unique challenges for, 87–88

Hybrid approach, 31–33

I

Ideas, vetting, 6–8

Incentive pay, 113–114, 289

International presence, developing, 223–228

best practices for managing offices and employees, 225–227

challenges, overcoming, 224–225

global presence, establishing, 224

Interviewing potential candidates, 92–95

key questions, 94

Investors, telling the story to, 19–25

business plan, 19

presentation, 20–24

competitive advantage, 21

current status and road map from today, 21–22

elevator pitch, 20

for larger startups, 25

opportunity, size of, 21

summary financials, 22–23

team, strength of, 22

Irvine, Cella, 67–68

J

Jobs, Steve, 5–6, 162

K

Kidder, David, 43–44

L

Layoffs, 138

Lean Canvas business plan, 13–17

channels, 16

cost structure and revenue streams, 17

customer segments, 16–17

key metrics, 15

problem, 13–14

solution, 14–15

unique value proposition and unfair advantage, 15–16

“Lean” classics, 12–13

Lencioni, Patrick, 31, 34, 149

meeting framework, 201–203

Live 360 review, 102–104

M

“Making Mobility Matter” (Guzzo & Nalbantian), 109

Maltz, Marc, 317–321

Marciano, James, 3

Masarek, Alan, 183–184

Mather, Laura, 245–246

Maurya, Ash, 13–17

Meeting routines, 201–209

Lencioni's meeting framework, 201–203

offsite, productive, 206–208

skip-level meetings, 203–204

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A), 229–237

divestiture, 232–233

due diligence, 233

financing and closing acquisitions, mechanics of, 230–232

cash, 231

earn-out, 231–232

stock, 230–231

integration and separation, 234–236

strategic tool, using acquisitions as, 229–230

Meyer, Danny, 333–334

Miller, Tim, 355–357

Mills, Mike, 189

Mission statement, designing, 34–36

Mission, vision, and values, defining, 27–29

Mistakes, admitting, 85

Morgan, Dave, 28–29

N

NIHITO Principle, 189

Nontechnical CEOs, 73–74

O

Onboarding, 96–97

The One Minute Manager (Blanchard), 101

Operating plan, creating, 149–157

bringing your team into alignment with, 151–153

financial planning, 151

metrics-driven approach, 154–155

setting goals, guidelines for, 155–156

successful outcome, planning for, 153

turning strategic plans into, 149–150

Opportunities, exploiting, 18

P

Pay reductions, 116–117

Peer groups, importance of, 323–325

CEOs, 324–325

problem solving in tandem, 325

Performance reviews, 102

Personal operating system, creating, 303–309

agenda, managing, 304–305

calendar, managing, 305–306

feedback loops, 307–308

time, managing, 306–307

Petry, Scott, 294–295

Pointcast, 15

Ponchione, Andrea, 314–315

Postmortems, 219–221

Presentation, investor, 20–24

competitive advantage, 21

current status and road map from today, 21–22

elevator pitch, 20

for larger startups, 25

opportunity, size of, 21

summary financials, 22–23

team, strength of, 22

Product eavesdropping, 193–194

Promoting, 119–124

applying the “Peter Principle” to management, 121–122

criteria, 120

recruiting from within, 119–121

responsibilities, 123–124

reversing a promotion, 124

scaling horizontally, 122–123

R

Raising money, when and how to, 175–179

financing negotiations, 176–177

Plan B (BATNA), 178–179

venture capital, when to start looking for, 175–176

Recruiting, 89–92

CEO's role in, 90

staying “in-market,” 91

tools, 91–92

Remote offices and employees, managing, 131–134

best practices for, 133–134

discrete teams in separate locations, 134

values, 131–132

Return Path, 32–33, 40–43, 45, 48, 51–52, 66, 72–73, 81, 90, 92, 102, 104, 120–121, 131, 146, 159–161, 190–191, 221, 225–226, 232, 243–244, 317–318

acquisition of NetCreations, 243–244

consolidating, 40–41

diversifying, 41–42

focusing, 42–43

mission, vision, and values, 32–33

promotion criteria, 120

service events, 51–52

Revising the story, 37–45

business pivots (changes in substance), 44–45

change, knowing when to make, 38

corporate pivots (changes in style), 39–44

consolidating, 40–41

diversifying, 41–42

focusing, 42–43

workshopping, 37–38

Rewarding, 125–129

culture of appreciation, building, 126–128

“the spiff,” 126

Ryan, Kevin, 335

S

“Salary bridge,” 137

Sands, Greg, 59, 248–249, 281

Sautins, Andy, 73–74

Semel, Terry, 9

Severance pay, 137

Shapiro, Jonathan, 34, 330–332

Skip-level meetings, 192–193, 203–204

Startup boards, 255–256

Staying fresh, 327–336

highs and lows, managing, 327–328

mentally, 328–330

nonwork, 329–330

work, 328–329

personal time, 334–336

staying healthy, 332–333

vulnerability, 336

“Stop doing” lists, 216

Story

bringing to life, 47–55

articulating purpose, 50–51

company building, 47–50

mission of service, 51–52

defining and testing, 11–18

admitting you're wrong, 11–13

lean business plan template, 13–17

revising, 37–45

business pivots (changes in substance), 44–45

change, knowing when to make, 38

corporate pivots (changes in style), 39–44

workshopping, 37–38

telling to investors, 19–25

business plan, 19

presentation, 20–24

telling to team, 27–36

bottom-up approach, 30–31

defining mission, vision, and values, 27–29

hybrid approach, 31–33

mission statement, designing, 34–36

top-down approach, 29–30

Strategic planning, 4–6

Subbing, 193

Successful companies, defining, 28–29

Symbolism, understanding importance of, 53

T

Taking stock of the year, 349–353

celebrating “yes”; addressing “no,” 349

financial reward, 350–351

having fun, 350

learning and growing as a professional, 350

living an integrated entrepreneurial life, 353

making an impact, 351–352

Team of Rivals concept, 64–65

Team, telling the story to, 27–36

bottom-up approach, 30–31

defining mission, vision, and values, 27–29

Return Path's, 32–33

hybrid approach, 31–33

mission statement, designing, 34–36

top-down approach, 29–30

Top-down approach, 29–30

Topgrading (Smart), 95

Traveling, 345–348

handshake, sealing the deal with, 345–346

staying disciplined, 347–348

travel time, making the most of, 346–347

Trust, building an environment of, 82

V

Vetting ideas, 6–8

W

Weiss, Scott, 82–84

Wilson, Fred, xxi–xxii, 1, 186, 187, 244, 261, 297–299, 317, 323, 357

Work-life balance, 80–81

Workshopping, 37–38