Daria, a COREageous entrepreneur from Florida writes: I’m looking for a co-founder for my startup. I’ve met several people who are good candidates, but I think I need a checklist of sorts instead of just relying on my gut. I’ve been told that having the right co-founder can make all the difference between success and failure.
You are right on, Daria, about the importance of finding the right co-founder! Here are the most important traits to look for when interviewing co-founders:
One of the most crucial aspects of a successful co-founder relationship is complementary skills. While it’s great to have someone who shares your passion and vision, it’s equally important that they bring a different skill set to the table. If you’re the creative visionary, look for someone who excels in operations or finance. This synergy will ensure that you cover all bases and can tackle challenges from multiple angles, while also balancing the give and take of the relationship.
What skills or areas of expertise are weakest for you? What kind of tasks do you disdain and cannot outsource? Find these as strengths in your co-founder.
While complementary skills are essential, shared values and vision are equally important. Your co-founder should be aligned with your long-term goals for the company and share your values and principles.
Can you clearly articulate your vision for a candidate? What are your values and principles?
There will be setbacks, failures, and moments of doubt along the way. That’s why resilience and grit are invaluable qualities in a co-founder.
Can your candidate give examples of how they made tough decisions, bounced back from failure and persevered through tough times?
Clear and open communication is the cornerstone of any successful partnership, and the co-founder relationship is no exception. Look for someone who can communicate effectively, listen mindfully* and provide constructive feedback.
When speaking with them, do you feel heard and understood? Have you observed their communication skills in other social situations? What are they like under stress?
While past success is not a guarantee of future success, it can be an indicator of someone’s ability to deliver results. Look for a co-founder who has a track record of achievement in their field, whether it’s launching successful startups, leading teams, or driving growth in a corporate setting.
What specific kind of expertise are you looking for in a co-founder?
Adaptability and flexibility are essential qualities in a co-founder. You need someone who can pivot when necessary, embrace change, and thrive in uncertain environments. The ability to quickly adjust course and execute based on feedback and solid evidence is crucial for staying ahead of the curve.
Again, ask for examples of their ability to pivot and produce in less than ideal conditions.
Last, but certainly not least, trust is the foundation of any successful partnership. You need to have complete trust in your co-founder’s integrity, judgment, and commitment to the venture.
Because trust is something that takes time to build, is there any evidence from shared contacts about your candidate’s trustworthiness?
With the right co-founder by your side, you’ll have a powerful ally as you embark on the exhilarating journey of entrepreneurship. So, take your time, choose wisely, and together, you can turn your startup dreams into reality.
*Learn the characteristics of what it means to be a Mindful Listener. Get my book/Audiobook: “The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction.”Amazon.com : the zen of listening, rebecca shafir
In coaching founders, developing and sticking to an efficient email management process continues to be one of the most frequent requests. As a founder or solopreneur, it is essential that you stick to an efficient system for managing emails. Timely communication is essential. Constantly checking your emails detracts from the more important deep work tasks.
Whether you’re drowning in a sea of unread messages or simply aiming to streamline your communication, here are some tried-and-true tips to help you manage email effectively.
Reduce the number of email boxes: Do you really need five email accounts? Consolidate or eliminate as many as possible.
Prioritize Your Inbox: Start by sorting your emails based on urgency and importance. Focus on tackling high-priority emails first, ensuring that critical messages are addressed promptly.
Utilize Email Filters and Folders: Organize your inbox by creating filters and folders to automatically categorize incoming emails. This helps reduce clutter and allows you to concentrate on specific topics or projects at a time.
Set Specific Email Time Blocks: Instead of constantly checking your inbox throughout the day, allocate dedicated only 2-3 time blocks for email management. This prevents constant interruptions, allowing you to concentrate on other tasks without being overwhelmed by a flood of messages.
Unsubscribe and Declutter: Weed out unnecessary emails by unsubscribing from newsletters and promotional emails that no longer serve your interests. Decluttering your inbox from irrelevant content can significantly reduce the time spent sifting through messages.
Use Keyboard Shortcuts: Familiarize yourself with keyboard shortcuts for your email platform. These shortcuts can help you navigate through emails swiftly, improving your overall efficiency. See keyboard shortcuts for email
Batch Process Emails: Group similar tasks together and batch process emails to enhance productivity. Respond to similar queries in one go, reducing the mental load associated with context-switching between diverse topics.
By implementing these strategies, you can regain control of your inbox, boost productivity, and ensure that your email communication aligns seamlessly with your daily workflow. Remember, the key lies in finding a personalized approach that suits your work style and enables you to navigate the digital realm with ease.
What else takes up valuable time and energy in your workday? Contact me at Rebecca@MIndfulCommunication.com. Visit MindfulCommunication.com
Attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the U.S., this quote is one to ponder. As we get closer to the holidays, we tend to reflect and compare our accomplishments over the last year with other people. Folks around the dinner table will be asking if you’ve broke even yet, while they rave about their kid who sold her company to Google following her engagement to an investment banker. We may see an old school chum driving their Maserati down Main Street with some hot date in the passenger seat.
There are dozens of other ways where “comparison” can devolve to “envy.” When we compare ourselves to others, we can’t assume that what we see is an ideal picture. For example, your chum in the Maserati Ghibli could be parading around because he doesn’t want observers or his girlfriend to know that his business is on the skids. You may discover that your family friend’s daughter with the windfall of cash and a rich fiancé is in therapy twice a week to manage her severe OCD. Talk to just about anyone who has more luck or accomplished a lot more than you, and you’ll find their “baggage” to be similar and often weightier than yours.
Envy is a delusion. I credit the author and psychologist, Jordan Peterson, with his way of shifting our thinking away from envy to “comparing ourselves to ourselves.” He insists we look at the actions we have taken toward our goals. For example, if you have become just 1% more knowledgeable, more efficient, or more productive each month for the last 11 months, that’s approximately 12.68% better than last year at this time. (This calculation is based on the concept of compound interest, where the growth each month is not just additive but also compounds on the previous month’s growth.)
According to Peterson, and I paraphrase — neurophysiologically and neuropharmacologically, we know that the core of joy and positive emotion is observation of progress toward a desirable goal. Shift your focus from self-delusion to self-comparison. It’s kinder, measurable and better for your well-being.
Want to accrue more “compound interest” in your personal growth each month? Contact me atRebecca@MindfulCommunication.com. Learn about my CoreCoaching method at www.MindfulCommunication.com.
A COREageous CEO listens to the good, bad and the ugly.
When passion takes hold and our vision becomes invincible, our mirror gets cloudy and we’re apt to act on murky and idealistic perceptions. It is comfortable to surround ourselves with people who share the same mirror, instead of those that come from a more realistic perspective.
Include people in your organization who will expose the weaknesses you may have denied or overlooked. As in the movie, The Matrix, the character Morpheus delivered the truth. Consider forming a small team of Morpheus’s that will help you see clearly. And will you listen?
In the highly recommended book, “The Art of the Start 2.0” the author, Guy Kawasaki, suggested having a Morpheus for each aspect of your business:
Research and development
Operations
Finance
Ethics
Kawasaki claims that a Morpheus is the yang to the CEO’s yin. The CEO decides “what” while the Morpheus identifies “what could go wrong?”
Could having a Morpheus on your team safeguard your venture?
Have trouble listening to the hard stuff that could save your startup? Listening is “my thing.” Contact me at Rebecca@MIndfulCommunication.com
If you are starting fresh with your venture, or even if you’re knee deep in a startup, it’s good to ask yourself: How healthy is my business at this point? According to Patrick Lencioni, an organizational health guru and author of several books on the topic, organizational health is the single greatest factor in determining the success of your startup.
An unhealthy organization is a stressful place to work, mired in confusion and conflict, and under-producing. An organization cannot survive for long under these conditions. Lencioni claims that the health and the ultimate success of an organization rely on two main components: a cohesive leadership team and communication clarity. Does your leadership team:
1) engage in productive, unfiltered discussion and debate?
Or do they stay quiet, nod but secretly disagree, or fear reprisal for pointing out problems?
2) leave meetings with clear, specific and agreed upon next steps?
Or, do people leave meetings with unresolved issues, confusion or partial buy-in?
3) hold each other accountable to commitments and behaviors that reflect the company’s core values? (Have you established core values to behave by?)
Or assuming that you have established core values, do your team decisions and behaviors deviate from those core values?
4) put the company’s priorities ahead of their individual department’s needs?
Or do department heads compete with each other, establish goals that are personally expeditious versus company-focused?
A founder who builds a healthy organization looks first to his or her leadership team − whether it be two of you or twelve of you. It’s easy enough to hire smart leaders (experts in strategy, finance, technology, and marketing) than it is to change unhelpful attitudes and behaviors after they’ve seeped into the guts of the organization. When gossip, sham participation and confusion abound, exceptional (and expensive) talents cannot be fully utilized. Much time and money is lost in rehabilitation. In my experience coaching communication in companies, a healthy organization saves time and money allowing leaders to perform to their potential.
In the next blog post, I’ll address the second distinctive feature of healthy organizations −communication clarity.
Need more simple and time-saving ways to improve your company’s health. Send your comments and questions to me at Rebecca@MindfulCommunication.com
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A COREageous CEO listens to the good, bad and the ugly.
If you are starting fresh with your venture, or even if you’re knee deep in a startup, it’s good to ask yourself: How healthy is my business at this point? According to Patrick Lencioni, an organizational health guru and author of several books on the topic, organizational health is the single greatest factor in determining the success of your startup.
"It takes more than courage to be an Entrepreneur, it takes CORE."