Great start-up cultures
Aaron shared with me a link about thirteen key characteristics of a great start-up. In the article, there's a wonderful quote about leadership and morale from George Marshall (the Marshall Plan after World War II was named after him): "Gentleman, enlisted men may be entitled to morale problems, but officers are not. I expect all officers in this department to take care of their own morale. No one is taking care of my morale."
This a sentiment that I felt (but hadn't materialized into a formative thought) the weeks before I left for my trip. In the position I am at work, I cannot expect anybody to take care of my morale. I am responsible for my own morale, and I must learn to deal with it on my own, even if the situation is out of my control.
I'll be honest - the past couple of weeks have been pretty rough at work in the way that it forces you to toughen up and become better. It's nice to see quotes like these every once in a while to help bring together all the random thoughts that are bouncing through my mind.
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bert
the morale thing is true of all companies and not just startups.
on a separate note, I was talking to someone about differences between startups and big businesses...
One thing someone mentioned to me is that established business will think strategically from a cause and effect point of view. They basically have a set target and we need to address how to best attack it.
Startups think very differently. They are more (i think the word used was...) "effectual." Basically they ID what they have, and say.. given this, then what can we solve right now. How does that change after tomorrow introduces something new?
bert
