WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HIS VALUES FOR BUILDING COMPANIES

My goal is to help founders build great $10M, $20M or $50M businesses in a disciplined way — by attacking the chaos of startup life with a calm head and strong values.

My way of working isn’t for everyone, since I don’t believe that growing crazy-fast with aggressive hustle & grind actually works. I've endured that approach and it's not my cup of tea (or effective).

My way of working is different because it balances strategy, execution, cash flow with strong values. My judgement comes from my own experience overcoming the obstacles of entrepreneurship to achieve successful outcomes. Although my work solves for diverse problems and goals, I have a common set of beliefs. 

Scaling your company is not simply about strategy. Setting objectives is the right place to start, as part of a long term roadmap with measurable milestones. I believe as the saying goes, vision without a plan is a dream. Because execution is equally important as setting the strategy if you want to see results and a return on your investment. 

That’s why I don’t believe in:

• Overly complex strategy, because simple is beautiful;
• Relying ONLY on your gut instinct to make decisions if you want a drama free board room;
• 80-hour weeks and all-nighters are needed for success;
• Outsourcing execution to large high-cost teams;
• Continually raising money and burning through it like a tech company worth a billion dollars, because most companies get destroyed in the process;
• Short-termism because if you want to control your destiny, you need to balance today's needs with what’s right for your company’s values and longer term mission.

I want to layout my core values for you, which I've developed over decades of work with respected companies big and small; from New York to London, San Francisco and Portland. Along the way, I’ve experienced many company cultures, and approaches to building companies and navigating growth, which have helped me develop a strong point of view about what's important to me.

• I believe in teamwork because good work, and comradery, happens when people work in close partnership to get stuff done, thinking about "we" rather than "me."
• I believe that establishing clear accountabilities keeps everyone focussed on doing the right things, at the right time, and with clear metrics for what success looks like.
• I believe that diversity, equity and inclusion for people of all cultural backgrounds, genders and religions is central to an organization's success today and tomorrow.
• I believe that critical thinking is an essential muscle for making good decisions, by balancing data analysis, intuition, with hands-on wisdom of what works / doesn't work.
• I believe that simple strategies, developed by ruthlessly eliminating 80% of what's not necessary, leads to the most effective results in business and life.
• I believe that continual learning; through ongoing education, measurable experiments, and respectful debate, fuels personal development and better outcomes.
• I believe in balance to keep things moving in life and business: give and take, work and play, complexity and simplicity, graciousness and ruthlessness.
• I believe that being empathetic to customers and partners needs is good business and fuels both innovation and healthy relationships.

Do you believe in any of these things?