Under construction Evaluating the team
This is just an outline at this point
Need material & tools for self evaluation and for evaluation of the team.
Need guidelines for constructing a management team, assessing skill needs, hiring, etc.
Team
Competence
Ø Technical background
Ø Management experience
Ø Network / contacts
Ø Track record
Decision making
Ø Must be clear, consistent, competent
Ø Requires a process
Ø Hard to implement without clear authority
Character
Ø Motivation
Ø Energy
Ø Self - critical / honesty / listening
Ø Integrity
Leadership
Ø Character
o Inspiration
o Integrity
o Fairness
Ø Intellectual capabilities
o Competence
o Decision making
Ø Personal bond
o Loyalty
o Concern
o Trust
Ø Leadership is relative: picking the right team is essential for success.
Complementary skill sets
Ø Careful analysis of skills needed based on what needs to be done (and also what is firm’s competitive position)
Ø All firms have a diversity of skill needs
Ø Experience is important in a start-up: danger of having employees facing problems or issues for the first time
Ø Founding team should get help.
Culture
Ø Elements: results orientation, teamwork, openness, pace, accountability, …
Ø How is it achieved? People, modeling, rewards, …
Outsourcing vs internal
Ø Decide what is core to your strategic advantage and do that internally. You do not have to be good at everything.
Hiring plan
Ø Staffing plan:
o Skills & experience needed,
o Numbers & timing
o Compensation ranges per position (salary, equity, benefits) based on market
Ø Hiring process:
o Sourcing of candidates
o Evaluating candidates (who is involved & how decisions are made)
o Exception handing
Ø Decide what is core to your strategic advantage and do that internally. You do not have to be good at everything.
Managing downsizings
Ø Two approaches:
o What can I cut? (Current budget is baseline.)
o What do I need? (Baseline is 0.)
Ø Good
planning and flexible skill sets can reduce the probability that
downsizings will be necessary, but there is always uncertainty.
| 