In honor of Monday's holiday, I thought I'd change up the subject and talk a little bit about leadership in a small business startup. This is a subject that I don't have nearly the authority or experience to speak about in the same way as SEO. After all, I've worked on dozens of successful search marketing projects, but only one startup - SEOmoz. Despite this limitation, I've had the privilege of working with and meeting dozens of other successful (and not so successful) CEOs and entrepreneurs from startups around the world.
Rather than attempt to dictate what all startup CEOs should do or what separates the good from the bad, I'd like to simply share my personal experience - where I went right and where I've gone wrong. Hopefully, by seeing the strengths and weaknesses of another CEO, you can begin your own self examination (or an examination of your company's CEO).
Traits that Have Helped Me to Be a Better CEO
- A Voracious Appetite for Knowledge
Particularly in the world of web startups, an all-consuming need to have information has been a boon. It means that I'm not only ahead of the curve in seeing trends or being able to blog about what's coming, but also that I've helped to make SEOmoz a source for those seeking to learn more. It's also a positive for when the press comes calling and needs a comment on the latest algorithm change or vertical search inclusion at Google. - An Addiction to Multi-Tasking
As frustrating as this can be for anyone who's got tough deadlines, it's generally a positive for a CEO. I find that I can read & respond to email, chat with employees over IM, edit a document, and browse the news all while composing a blog entry. It's certainly not the most efficient way to get things done, but it means that very little slips by unnoticed and the most pressing issue can take priority. - Seeing the Good in Everyone
As with the above, it's a double-edged sword, but I think it makes for a great culture around SEOmoz and internally with the team. My sometimes naive optimism has also been a great olive branch to making friends and connections in the industry, although I've occasionally been duped by a client who was never going to pay or given up valuable time trying to smooth thing over a non-issue. - Caring About More than Money
If you're always pursuing the fastest way to high profits, you could be missing sight of the bigger picture. Successful management means thinking more broadly and creatively about where there's a need waiting to be fulfilled and how to fill that niche. I've also found that personally, it's easy to spot someone who's just in the business for the money vs. those who really care and want something great for the industry. It might be the optimism speaking, but I feel that the latter group usually produces the brightest innovations (and eventually, profit, too). - The Ability to Communicate in Multiple Mediums
Writing, orating, & speaking on the phone are essential to building a business. For me, they've helped to build a profile in the industry, create lasting relationships with companies and people in the field, and, of course, market SEOmoz through the blog. Don't underestimate the power of great email composition either - since it's so often the first point of contact outsiders have with the CEO, crafting great emails makes for memorable, positive brand experiences. - A Background in Usability
Not every CEO needs this, but I've found that in a web-based market, having watched dozens of people navigate (or try to navigate) websites has given me an extra edge in empathizing with the user and trying to understand what they need. Even to this day, if you meet me and we're hanging out at a conference, I'll probably be watching someone browse the web on their computer - seeing where they go and how they follow links. If you catch me doing this, I promise, it's just the usability guy in me - nothing creepy.
Areas Where I've Struggled
- Inconsistent in Recognizing Talent
Not only have I made a few mistakes in hiring the wrong folks, I've also struggled to find the best fit for the talented people we do bring on board. I'm deeply envious of CEOs who can magically size up a person's strengths and weaknesses and put them in a position to leverage the former and minimize the latter. - Trouble Giving Negative Feedback
This is probably my toughest issue. I'm great at telling people when they've done a good job, but awful at criticizing any effort. In order to overcome, I've started hiring only those folks who have a deep, internal need for perfectionism. If you are your own harshest critic, it helps me to work around this pervasive flaw. - Not Cultivating a Strong Culture of Analytics
I knew a CEO of a venture-backed company who swore by measuring, testing, and improving everything so rigidly, he literally told a conference of other CEOs to "fire anyone who doesn't love analytics with every fiber of their being." At SEOmoz, we do a mediocre job of measuring our own success (though things have gotten much better in the last 3 months), despite the great work we've done tracking stats and analyzing the work we do for our clients. - Taking Things Personally
I constantly have to remind myself that even when the criticism comes hot and heavy, it's just the Internet and people are bound to be far bolder and braver than they would be offline. I've gotten better at ignoring critics of myself and SEOmoz, but I still find my heart racing and blood pounding in my ears when I see my friends taking heat - I need to keep working on that. - Admitting that a Company is Not a Democracy
It's a dictatorship. When tough decisions come up, they're my responsibility. I've noticed that even with little things, when we take a company vote, dissent and discomfort abound. If you want to run a company with a pseudo-democracy, take everyone's opinion and input, then make the decision. You need to be able to take the blame when something goes awry, and bowing to internal pressure is no excuse.
Stereotypes & Myths About Leadership that I've Found
- A Leader Never Follows
Not true at all - leaders can follow trends, they can follow other industry notables, and they can even follow their employees. Part of building a great team and being a great leader means recognizing ability and taking inspiration from the work of others. Don't discount an idea just because someone else thought of it or refuse to follow a course just because it's been done before. Innovation is important, but excluding options out of pride is a deadly mistake. - Only Strong Personalities Can Lead
I've met some very understated leaders in the past 5 years, and I think that I often end up having more respect for the deep intellectual than the boisterous go-getter. Maybe it's just in the geek world of web startups, but a brash personality doesn't always make for the best leadership. - You Have to Be Tall
I must have seen dozens of studies about how most CEOs are exceptionally tall - usually more than 6'2". However, other than Bill Gurley from Benchmark (who's not even technically a CEO), I've yet to meet these gigantic CEOs in the web startup world.
Some Important Lessons
- Don't Get Too Far Removed
There have been a few instances I've seen of CEOs who got too far away from the day-to-day operations of their company and suffered for it. If you can't empathize with what your employees do, what your customers use, and what it's like to be in someone else's shoes, you might be in danger of losing your ability to lead effectively. Book your own travel sometimes and definitely take a few customer services phone calls or emails every month. - Don't Be Afraid to Change
Just because some skill, ability, or product got you where you are today doesn't mean you should never give it up. I learned this lesson when SEOmoz struggled to choose between many large, lucrative consulting projects and the premium content model. While we still do a small amount of the former, it's clear that premium was an excellent business decision. - Delegation is Your Greatest Ally
Don't ignore the power of others to do your work for you. If you're good at hiring and inspiring the best from your staff, delegating even the tough, important jobs is a wise decision. Many times, you'll see the true value of an employee when times are tough. - Sometimes, It's Just a Tempest in a Teapot
I can remember dozens of times when I felt like the world was crashing down around me - that I could barely hold up another day. I think all CEOs probably need to have those experiences a few times before they start to recognize that nothing is as bad as it seems, the sun's coming up tomorrow, and time heals more than you think it could. That employee who's struggled the last few months may indeed turn things around. The client who hasn't paid might just need a little extra contact. The product that's not taking off yet could, with a few tiny fixes, soar.
For those interested, I received an email from Richard Durnall that an interview he conducted with me last week is up on his site. I actually thought that although broad in subject matter, it turned into a good piece.
p.s. Happy MLK Day, everyone. Here's an old post with some good links to help commemorate.
p.p.s. Couldn't help but submit to YCombinator News - currently my favorite social news source.
Great article Rand - and very insightful. Thoughtful and honest introspection is a hallmark of a good CEO. God knows there are an abundance of those that either don't take the time or are unwilling or incapable of seeing the collective reality in a manner that allows them to make effective changes in direction and approach when necessary.
"I'm great at telling people when they've done a good job, but awful at criticizing any effort. In order to overcome, I've started hiring only those folks who have a deep, internal need for perfectionism. If you are your own harshest critic, it helps me to work around this pervasive flaw."
Out of the entire post, this paragraph struck me. With all due respect, this is not a solution and I would highly encourage you to invest time in a mentoring program. From my experience, especially dealing with young professionals, they have an inner need for this. They want to learn and be led. It will make you more well-rounded across the board and lead to greater levels of performance and success. Plus, it will lend more credence to your positive praises - which you are very effective at.
That said, you've done some very impressive things and have created what appears to be a rabidly loyal team. Congratulations.
Great comment, Sean. I agree & would think that one of the greatest incentives to sign on with SEOmoz as a prospective employee is to learn from some great people (Rand included). I think your employees, particularly new ones, would appreciate constructive criticism.
That paragraph raised a flag for me too, although I thought you were only half-serious. Perfectionists can have their own set of issues (I know because I am one) that you'll have to manage.
No matter who you hire, you're going to have to give some negative feedback eventually, so you might as well learn how.
I'm not sure if that was slightly tongue-in-cheek on Rand's part, but I have to add that I personally am a perfectionist with a deep need for feedback. The problem with being your own worst critic is that there's a certain unreality to your self-perception, and you need an outside voice to correct it.
I'm torn between Rand's stance on hiring people who are self-motivated and self-critical and Sean's stance on negative feedback lending more credence to positive feedback.
Rand's stance probably works OK with a small team of great people, and less well as the team gets bigger and with a greater diversity of vision/leadership/ability. If you can get some whip crackers on board early this would probably also help.
Hey Nick. Thanks for the comment.
When it comes to coaching and leading individuals, I don't believe in "negative feedback", nor do I feel it would be productive.
However, "constructive feedback" (I don't even like the word criticism), is essential to helping individuals grow. When done properly I wouldn't consider it negative - whether I'm on the delivering or receiving end.
We all have our strengths and "opportunities for improvement". Part of the challenge of leadership is helping an individual maximize the former while improving on the latter.
One of the most effective and disarming methods I've found in approaching this is to ask an individual if there are areas where he or she feels they need to improve to be their best. In doing so, I've found that most are well aware of their strengths and weaknesses (most, not all), and in that manner it's much easier to discuss and implement a plan of action for improvement.
Great article Rand. Many issues here that I recognise, like the naive optimism. But it helps taking on assignments that shouldn't be possible and pulling them through. And you are doing great things with SEOmoz.
@ seanmag. I'm watchin American Idol on TV as I write this, and I can't agree to never being negative. Sometimes, you just need to tell it like it is :) Some people just don't have a clue ...
@Hjortur - I'm watching The Apprentice on tv as I write this. Let me simply say - "You're fired!"
;)
@seanmag @Hjortur: I am @ work... I am so fired...
it's good I'm my own boss. Otherwise I would be so fired for spending to much time on social networks :)
eh? personally, I think that if you can work effectively with somewhat dysfunctional people, it is often a great boon for the both of you. What success I have had as a business owner has come from my ability to identify and extract value from people who are technically good, but that lack (usually socially) some bits that make it so they have a difficult time interacting productively with most people- that is, people who are good, but who can't get good jobs. I've gotten some extremely skilled people to work for me at very low rates, and some of my employees have gone on to much bigger and better thngs after they proved (through work they did for me) that they were, in fact, valuable people.
Possitive reinforcement goes a lot further than negative feedback. That said, if you want to find out who has been slumping in their work, open your office door and yell "You! Yes YOU - you suck! You know you suck! Why are you even here?"
The person crying is guilty.
Ok, don't really do that. That would be horrible. But you do have to get past your fear of confrontation eventually if you want your people to get the best they can from you. ;)
Hi Rand, nice MLK article, he is one of my heroes too, for as long as I can remember.
It is good to hear you share your thoughts on the CEO thing.
A long time ago in a galaxy far away I had another job, logistics. It was my job to go somewhere and start things, over the course of 8 years or so I hired thousands of people, mostly in groups of 10 to 30 at a time for specific projects, often in cities or countries where I wasn't working (could not immediately supervise)
I learned something, and it sounds very unleadershippy.
What I learned was...
"It is huge dumb and stupid as poo to be professional during the hiring process"
Every long term valuable person I have ever hired, I have hired from an interview at a bar. Each of the core people essential to very important and often dangerous work were hired more from conversations about other things rather than conversations about the work place, or this or that particular skill set.
I know you do not hire at SEOmoz from bars, but one of my favorite articles from Rebecca is the one about your hiring process. It is really one of neater and healthy hiring processes I have ever read about.
When I was reading that, I was blown away by the gems it offers to anyone hiring people. It was actually that article more than any other that got me to start returning regularly to SEOmoz. Weird huh?
But the proof is in the pudding...
What a marvelous team you have Rand!
To get someone as talented and sensible as Rebecca, and to have her involved in your hiring process is wonderful amazing I think. (sorry Becs if I am making you blush) but wow.
If you have to hire people read her article. It is one of the best articles you can read about how to structure your hiring process, particularly for start-ups.
Incredible balance of "skill set" vs "would I hang out with this person"
Yum.
I'm Asian, so I'm incapable of blushing. ;)
Thanks for the kudos, Pat. You're good people.
Asian Blush Test:
Think about a certain video of a certain night that involved a certain 12 bars
Ears are hot, but still no rosy cheeks.
Thanks for the earred asian news
(I know that was lame, but I just had to.)
I know a few Asian people who do turn bright red when they drink, though.
Me too--my sister and one of my brothers being two examples. I don't, though.
You're a freak of nature!
... in a good way
Just look at my friend on the right of my profile picture...he face kinda looks like a stop light.
Those are really good insights.
I'm pretty sure that you do have to be tall to be a good CEO though. That's why I've started selling human growth hormone:
<insert spammy links to growth hormone here >
Or trade in the Pumas for platform shoes? ;-)
someone please get rand some mega man platform shoes to improve his CEOness
https://www.partypants.co.uk/images/retro-mens-platform-shoes-white.jpg
One thing I was expecting to see but did not was to "trust your instincts". This idea was put very succinctly for me by someone from Ignition at your holiday party (I'm terrible with names, but he was a sharp guy!).
I was telling him about some mistakes I made with my start-up. All of the issues I have, boil down to me ignoring my instincts about a few early decisions. As it turned out, these were bad decisions, and have made things much more difficult for me at this point.
Nick - I'd bet it was Chris Howard who told you that, and yeah - he is very sharp (and a really sweet guy, to boot) :)
I'd agree, too, that trusting instincts is a good thing once you've got some experience under your belt. I know that in my early days setting direction, going with my gut would often land us in a tough spot - that's when it was priceless having Gillian around to help keep things on course (and still is).
Rand,
I can never find the references when I need them - but your comment about the height of a CEO triggered a memory.
There are so many stereotypes floating around about companies and CEOs. So the way the story goes - after World War 2, all of the men came back from military service indoctrinated in the military system of command and control. In that setting, physical bearing influences people.
So the point is, I think some of these 'beliefs' about CEOs is close to urban myth at this point. We don't look for the same qualities in a CEO in 2008 then we did in 68, 78, 88 or even 98.
Lead with passion.
Dave
A Background in Usabilty: Check. 1 out of 6 ain't bad, right? :)
If I had to pick one major failure point in my role as VP at my former company, it would definitely be delegation. The problem with being a multi-tasker and having a broad skill set is that you often make the mistake of trying to pitch in and do everything. That's a great instinct, and probably vital to a start-up up to a point, but past that points it becomes destructive.
Delegation is my problem. I have a tendency to try do everything myself and it always comes as a surprise when I realize there are only 24 hours a day.
I think one of the most important things that make a good CEO is the ability to realize the talents of your employees and delegate your work to them. I have a lot to learn there.
Fantastic article, and refreshingly honest.
I was particularly pleased to note that there's apparently little or nothing to back up the studies on the average height of most CEOs. I'm not a CEO yet, mostly because I've been hanging in there for one final growth spurt. I'm guessing there's no need to wait :o)
Awesome post Rand. I suck at multi tasking, and thats where I really want to improve. You have just made me realized that I have long long way to go. I have bookmarked your post on my PC and I will read it every morning....!!!, untill the CEO in me is up and running !! Thanks a lot..!! :)
Rand:
I appreciate your sentiments with regards to honesty and openness. I believe your ideology is well suited to your way of doing business. And yes, I would suggest that it is easier to teach a skill to someone than it is to teach a personality trait. Chose the quick learner and mold them into the perfect SEO ninja.
I linked to your piece at my blog for the Innovators-Network in hopes that some of my readership will visit SEOmoz and read the rest of your piece. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
Best luck,
Anthony Kuhn
I think that the two key points for a good CEO are : 1. Being surrounding by smart people in each necessary field (people even smarter than themselves) and 2. They must delegate all the operation because a CEO needs a lot of time for thinking, which is the most important task: thinking about goals, thinking about strategies, thinking about trends, researching, analytics, etc. And of course, they must take decisions.
Forgot it was MLK day, guess we don't celebrate it in Taiwan.
I am the son of a white eastern european immigrant so I have never really stuck out as a minority.
But over here in Taiwan, things are a bit different...I get stared at as I walk down the street, eat food, people treat me funny, called names, girls are scared of me cuz Im white...it screwed with me for the first couple months I was here.
But this 'uncomfortable-ness' I felt is incomparable to what Black people have gone through my home country, USA.
IF you want a book that puts you in the shoes of a black family in the 1920ish who had internalized racism, read "The Bluest Eye" by Tony Morrison. I cried when I read it. https://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/tonimorrison/bluest.htm
I learned about parts of America that I didnt even know existed. I am thankful for progress towards greater equality in the states.
But when I was last in the states I was hearing alot of anti Middle Eastern racism...
Wow Rand, we share almost the exact same weaknesses or shall I say, "struggling areas".
It's very hard to recognize talent until you get 'em in there and observe them for a few weeks. Some people don't show well on paper or in person at all and end up being great employees. Some present great, look great on paper, and end up being duds.
Rand, it's great that you took the time to put this stuff online.
It's exceedingly rare to find anyone who runs a company from a balanced-passion point of view. I think we'll have to wait for genetic engineering to kick in full steam before we get this. :-)
What I mean by balanced-passion is that the core of their efforts are driven by passion, but they steer the energy towards the good of the organization. They're mindful of their surroundings and encouraging to their subordinates.
I went through the list and thought of some of my clients and it was eye-opening.
Sphunn.
thanks for sharing, pretty interesting article, m going to print it and highlight the headlines
Reading this post, I am jealous I do not work for you. It's rare to see a CEO with so much transperancy, honesty and understanding of the task at hand.
Paraphrasing Plato for a second: He who recognizes his shortcoming is the knowledgeable one.
Great insight. I can relate to many of your points. We must have read the same book or something :)
It'll be no surprise to you to hear that I loved this post. Really useful (and I can certainly see some weaknesses in myself). One thing that came to mind when reading the conversation above (about feedback) was the difficulty of getting feedback when you are at the top. Obviously the wider world and the market is feeding back to you all the time (sometimes brutally) but useful internal feedback can be hard to come by.
I think Duncan mainly keeps me in check (and vice versa) but it is tricky.
It also depends on the kind of culture you have in the company. Open communication helps you in long term
A mighty fine post, straight from the horses mouth of a sucessfull start-up CEO, great stuff, thanks Rand.
I just don't believe you actually get any criticism in any way shape or form! Not when Search is such a transparent marketplace, Ha!
Maybe it's from within the team? Jane, Rebecca have you been picking on Rand again?
Only a little!
My one piece of advice for a CEO starting up a small company: Implement ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment). I’ve heard that lots of small companies are looking into this because it’s the ultimate talent magnet – not to mention a huge productivity booster. The premise is that you give people total trust to do whatever they want with their time as long as their work gets done. It’s working famously at Best Buy, and it sounds like it’s moving to some other companies now. The creators of ROWE, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, have a great blog, too – www.caliandjody.com/blog. These two are going to shake things up – check it out.
Really interesting post Rand, I run a small company in the UK and I agree with nearly every point you make.
Up until a few weeks ago I would have agreed with the statement "Admitting that a Company is Not a Democracy"
However I've just finished reading 'Seven Day Weekend' by Ricardo Semler who runs the Brazilian company Semco as a democracy. It makes for very interesting reading if you haven't read it already.
Thank you for sharing this post....
you mentioned you are better at ignoring criticism.
well, sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Some comments(you may deem criticism) can be constructive and useful to you. Rather than taking it personally or ignoring it, why not take it professionally?
just my two cents,
John
Great article Rand, thanks for sharing.
One of my favourite posts here, would love to see more posts on this topic!
Keep up the good work
Hi Rand, like the post a lot and agree with the all the Traits a Successful CEO needs. A thirst for knowledge and multi-tasking is key to keeping on top of all the latest innovations whilst communicating all this to clients who might not be techie themselves. And the point about do what you do for the love of it rather than the money is a big one for me, if you're in it form money this will show through and in the longer term won't bring you fulfillment in your work.Cheers Richard
LOL I'm great at multitasking, except when it comes to the phone. Put me on a phone and I can barely open up firefox =P
"Trouble Giving Negative Feedback"
Rand, I am sure that being on this of the equation rather than "trouble giving positive feedback" has been a part of having a great team at SEOMoz. Most CEO's err on the wrong sidoe of this and hire managers to do damage control... .which is why they don't have employee loyalty.
Thanks for this post Rand. I guess leadership has to do a lot with the type of Industry, size of Company, age, etc. You have been able to manage those many aspects and get your Company this far. I would say that another important characteristic of a CEO is VISION, that's part of what have permited you get this far.
Very nicely put and thanks for being sincere.
I have huge problems with giving a negative feedback too and your way out sounds great :)
Great article, Rand.
I shared with my whole office, I think the tips are great for not-so-new CEOs and even managers in general in the industry.
~Carrie
"There have been a few instances I've seen of CEOs who got too far away from the day-to-day operations of their company and suffered for it."
I couldn't agree more. A really good, effective CEO (or MD over here) keeps his ear to the ground, maintains visibility on the floor and in doing so can always provide that much needed strategic direction their staff needs.
Rand,
Great post, I'd have to agree with you about the help I probably shouldn't be bringing this up(outside of my company), but it seems last 2 weeks I have not been able to find one person yet that is responsible and responsive to when it comes to doing there work or they get lost in there own world (or conflict of interest)...
For example one of our designers (in house) that was taking care of our design work which I'm not going to say who, but I gave him a project to do and he said he was going to work on it little bit at a time, I'm thinking to my self little bit at time your talking about something that don't even take 2 hours to do, but told me it would take 5-7 days to do... I mean for crying out loud are you going to work in it in5 mintue intervals..
I work pratically 12-14 hours a day I'm always the person to stay on top of things and get things done if not I feel bad thats just who I am which I have been told I'm extremly motivated even through the tough times I always stay on top of things.
But yea I found it kind of funny at first he said that, but then I was thinking to my self you gotta be kidding me..
Great post though Rand!
You have to be extremely optimistic to be a startup CEO. Just remember that not everyone you deal with is in it for the greater good. Vendors, clients, and VCs do not usually have your interests in mind, regardless of what they say.
One of the mistakes I've made out of the optimism that employees can improve, seeing the good in people, and taking input from all sides is that I've let problem employees go on for far too long. As soon as you realize that an employee is a problem, face the uncomfortable and take care of it. Either get them progressing on a plan to meet your standards, or get them out. Your other employees will respect you less for being a soft touch. And they will become even more loyal when you show them respect by removing the poor performers.
If you ever figure out how to hire perfectly, please let me know. Anybody who claims to have the solution for this is selling something...