Tag: leadership

It’s easier to push the big picture to the frontlines than to feed details to headquarters

by Chris Yeh

Most entrepreneurs are control freaks.  That’s not a bad things.  When you’re a 1- or 2-person company, and when you want to create a great product, you need the person in charge to really sweat the small stuff. The problem arises as the organization increases in size.  Soon, other people are talking with customers, writing … Continue reading It’s easier to push the big picture to the frontlines than to feed details to headquarters

Almost any idea (yes, including yours) can be improved by collaboration

by Chris Yeh

I once worked with a very successful entrepreneur.  He had founded a company, taken it public, and made him and his shareholders hundreds of millions of dollars (the total wealth created was over a billion, but I don’t think any one entity ended up making 10 figures). He told me once about how his engineering … Continue reading Almost any idea (yes, including yours) can be improved by collaboration

Are You Really Listening, Or Just Taking Turns?

by Chris Yeh

Communication is critical when you’re a startup.  Things usually begin well; the founders are old friends or colleagues, and already know how to work together. Eventually, however, you reach a point where you’ve expanded the team, and need the ability to get people on the same page. In my experience, the same passion and determination … Continue reading Are You Really Listening, Or Just Taking Turns?

Don’t be negative; do be realistic

by Chris Yeh

One problem I often encounter in the startup world is the tendency to push things to Manichean extremes.  Perhaps its because we have to live with so much uncertainty, we crave definitiveness.  Or perhaps its because the kind of mind that can write and debug thousands of lines of code likes binary answers. At any … Continue reading Don’t be negative; do be realistic

The whole point of suggestions is that *you* choose whether to follow them

by Chris Yeh

When you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll hear lots of suggestions.  These suggestions may come from co-founders, employees, investors, customers, friends, relatives, cab drivers, and so on. One rookie mistake is to rush to follow others’ suggestions, especially when those others are rich, powerful, experienced, or all three. It’s very tempting to follow the suggestions of the … Continue reading The whole point of suggestions is that *you* choose whether to follow them

You can be a warrior without being a diva

by Chris Yeh

In America, we seem to believe that to be a great success, you need to be a bit of a jerk.  The classic example is basketball star Michael Jordan (and his intentional clone Kobe Bryant).  As a player, he was fiercely competitive to the point of getting into fistfights with his teammates during practice.  He … Continue reading You can be a warrior without being a diva

Culture is never neutral

by Chris Yeh

As you know, I’m a big advocate of working on the culture of your startup.  The instant you start your company, you’re starting to build the culture, and the decisions you make in the garage days are likely to reverberate for years to come, even if your company grows by orders of magnitude. But far … Continue reading Culture is never neutral

Do something every day towards your three big priorities

by Chris Yeh

Focus, focus, focus. Focus is the key to startup success.  You have fewer resources than established companies.  Your only path to success is to focus those limited resources in a tightly-defined problem space, so that your concentrated effort burns the hapless ant of success. Easier said than done, right?  I have a very simple system … Continue reading Do something every day towards your three big priorities

The Most Important Course I Took At Stanford

by Chris Yeh

I have two degrees from Stanford University–a BS in Product Design, and a BA in Creative Writing.  Stanford is renowned in both disciplines; the d.school is probably the world’s leading center for design thinking, while the Stegner Fellowship for writers is one of the most prestigious in the literary world. Yet the most important course … Continue reading The Most Important Course I Took At Stanford