Bleeding Edge

Do you like Do It Yourself projects?

Do you like building things?

Do you really want to built a Company?

What about building a Great Company?

Do you want to work for a Great Company?

Do you want to create a Great Company that others love too?

If Yes is your answer to any of the above simple questions — then this is for you.

So, here’s how to built a Great Company in Ten [10] simple steps:

1) PRODUCT:
Great companies have great products and services. Things that answer real needs and solve real problems in the lives of people. If your company has that — your main problems are solved. Focus on that as your number One priority.

2) PEOPLE:
Great companies keep their hiring standards tight. They make candidates work hard to join the ranks by meeting strict criteria that center around intelligence and previous experience and by undergoing an arduous interview process. Great talent that is happy and creatively rewarded, has an uncanny ability of attracting other talent. Don’t forget we live in a Social Media World. That effort to attract top talent and weeding out the bad apples, is key along with the sharing of the company’s equity justly through generous stock options that share the wealth, the upside, and widely attract talent. Always do this, and whether your company is public, or private, and pre-IPO, a rising stock price attracts all new-comers, and performs like the best hiring agent, C-level headhunter, and Executive retention magnet.

3) PROFITS:
Great companies are profitable and growing by offering a good product and service that people want to use, and further want to pay folding money to acquire. If you have that then the markets take notice of you and reward you with valuable equity. Stock options share the wealth and attract talent, but they are also the leading indicator of your funding success. Always, whether public or private, and pre-IPO, a rising stock price attracts all new comers and performs like a hiring and retention magnet. But beyond that, only thriving companies can promise you a future with career mobility and the potential of increased financial rewards, that when you actually reach the public markets, you become a wealthy participant in an exhilarating ride. Don’t forget money is just a measure of success yardstick and nothing more than that.

4) PROCESS:
Great companies have business processes that allow all the Team members to be valued and to contribute towards a great positive and mutually beneficial outcome. Getting everybody to contribute and weeding out the undesirables from the valued team members is the key here. The ones who remain are the real A-team and their contributions to building product, company, and culture, collectively — constitute the Holy Grail of Great Company Creation.

5) IP:
Only great Intellectual Property allows people to get a level playing field with adequate time license to ply their trade undisturbed for a few years in order to create generous wealth for all concerned. IP protection grants us property rights that allows us to operate in a way that will be innovative and generally forward looking without compromises. And the resultant wealth creates a virtuous cycle effect because it allows us to do further research and development, in order to create better and better products and services.

6) PASSION & FUN:
Follow your passion and make work a play. Further enhance the atmosphere by employing the most passionate people you can find about the process you do. Then have everyone at liberty to have fun at work. Do this and that actin alone launches a virtuous cycle. The best team attracts the best team, and winning often leads to more winning. It’s a ride that you and your people will never want to get off. Indeed, one of the most intoxicating things a company can say to a potential employee, is: “Join us for the ride of your life.”

7) COMMITMENT:
Great companies demonstrate a real commitment to continuous learning. No lip service. These companies invest in the development of their people through classes, training programs, and off-site experiences, all sending the message that the organization is eager to facilitate a steady path to personal growth.

8) MERIT:
Great companies are meritocracies. Pay and promotions are tightly linked to performance, and rigorous appraisal systems consistently make people aware of where they stand. As at every company, the people you know and the school you went to might help get you in the door. But after that, it’s all about results. People with brains, self-confidence, and competitive spirit are always attracted to such environments.

9) RISK:
Great companies not only allow people to take risks but also celebrate those who do. And they don’t shoot those who try but fail. As with meritocracies, a culture of risk-taking attracts exactly the kind of creative, bold employees companies want and need in a global marketplace where innovation is the single best defense against unrelenting cost competition.

10) SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
Great companies understand that what is good for society is also good for business. Gender, race, and nationality are never limitations; everyone’s ideas matter. Preferred employers are diverse and global in their outlook and environmentally sensitive in their practices. They offer flexibility in work schedules to those who earn it with performance. In a word, great companies are enlightened.

Let’s do this now and along the way “We Just Might Change The World” in ways great and small.

Yours,
Dr Kroko

PS:

So make these Ten Panoisms yours, since I love giving my software away, as Open Source Wisdom, and maybe You can make them your Mantra too and built a great company to boot.

And if you want to built a Great Company under my tutelage and command — join me here in Seattle this Weekend: http://www.meetup.com/AmericanAngels/events/223951750/

STARTUP WEEKEND FLYER

Join up with the American Angels here: http://www.meetup.com/AmericanAngels  because then we will be able to connect so you can participate with me, in our StartUp Weekends when they get to your City. Mainly because this year we’ll have a few more StartUp Weekend Innovation Accelerators taking place in San Francisco, in New York, in Shanghai, in Beijing, and in London as well.