Coach not captain.

Fred Destin wrote an excellent post mapping out the appropriate roles for a founder/CEO vs a non-executive/investor in a start-up. Actually, his advice holds true for any company but I suspect is much more often a problem in start-ups due to the executive teams generally having little or no real experience of working with and for a Board of Directors. I’m not going to rewrite or paraphrase his post, here is an exerpt but really if you are a start-up executive, please just go read it:

If you really believe in what you are doing, you come to the board telling board members what you are planning to do, taking considered advice on whether this is the right strategy, considering that advice and executing on what is, in your best judgement, the right path for the business. That’s what you are there to do. Take decisions fast, don’t fall for analysis-paralysis, trust your gut, execute and iterate. As Tim Ferriss would say, ask for forgiveness, not permission.

I particularly liked his list of why executives need to know how to manage their non-executives and filter their input:

Here are the top five lighthearted reasons why VC’s should not drive your strategy:

• We forget 50% of what we said at the last board
• We don’t know the people inside the company and hence have no clue what the team can really execute
• We meet many smart people and hence we have way too many ideas that you cannot possibly implement
• We are focused on the 5 year vision, yet we are focused on the quarter too, even we are confused
• We don’t need to deliver on it, you do. We come and collect when the job is done.

Item 1 and 3 hit particularly close to home!

The (dysfunctional) situation Fred describes reminds me of American football where the coaches (non-executives) are constantly telling the players (executives) what to do. I think the dynamic that is needed in a corporate setting is much more rugby, the coaches work with the players throughout the season, helping them to develop both their individual skills and a positive team dynamic, scouting the competition and staying on the lookout for new talent, but ultimately when the players run out onto the field, they are on their own. They need to make their own decisions and they determine who wins and who loses. The coach? Well he sits in the stands and watches. I’ve never seen one yet who scored a try or kicked a goal.

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