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When the Founder Is the Rainmaker: How to Scale Without Losing the Spark
In many founder-led businesses, the founder isn’t just the leader—they’re also the best (and often only) rainmaker. They land the big deals. They have the trusted relationships. They know the pitch inside and out because they are the pitch.
It works—until it doesn’t.
As the business grows, this model creates a bottleneck. Every new opportunity depends on one and only person. And it’s the same person every time. But there’s a downside. When that person is also responsible for running the business, mentoring the team, and shaping the vision, something eventually gives.
Staying "Uncomfortable" with Conflict
Thu, Jul 19, 2012 — Guest Blogger - Brian Jones, Patrick Lencioni's Table Group Consulting The Best Teams Embrace Discomfort Recently I was asked by a CEO during a meeting with her team, "How long will it take for us to become comfortable with conflict?" I suspected that what she was asking was: "How long until we start disagreeing with each other without thinking about it too much in advance?" But her question (and I hope my response) led to a great discussion, for the truth is, we should never become too comfortable with conflict. It should always stay a bit uncomfortable. Here's why and how, but first, a reminder that we define conflict as "passionate debate between trusting team members in pursuit of the best idea. Conflict without trust is politics."
New Twist to Executive Staffing: Think EaaS
Tue, Feb 14, 2012 — Executives for Rent While management consultants, marketing agencies and executive staffing have been around for decades, the notion of “hiring” just the amount of executive talent you need is something relatively new. It wasn’t until 1993 that John and Doug Tatum founded the firm that became synonymous with fractional CFOs. Their part-time executives join companies that can’t justify a full-time chief financial officer. Over time, Tatum grew to offer CIOs, COOs, and other “Os”. Jim McBride, senior managing member of Blue Sage Capital here in Austin, TX, once said to me, “if one of our companies needs a CFO, I know I can pick up the phone, call Tatum, and it’s done.” Great Idea for Marketing Execs Clearly, our firm Chief Outsiders is fashioned after this model. We see a growing demand for part-time or interim chief marketing officers. We’re even running ads now that say, “Why Hire a CMO?…When You Can Rent One, Fast.” So what’s all this about? Is this new model for executive staffing here to stay? We certainly think so. In some ways, it was inevitable. It’s even similar to shifts in other markets, including how people access technology services.
Four Must-Have Strategists Every CEO Needs
Sun, May 8, 2011 — Every CEO has the responsibility to set the vision and make certain the strategies to address this vision are created and implemented. The CEO must determine what resource options are best suited to help develop and implement the various strategies and budget accordingly.