INNOVATION BLOCKERS employees into the values creation process , collectively setting up tenets like “ always get better ,” “ care for the communal ,” “ drive the mission ,” and “ be empowered .” That last item comes from the founders ’ strong belief in Andy Grove ’ s high output management style and the exponential value in teaching others . They ’ re avid about “ teaching others to fish instead of fishing for them ” and set clear goals for employees to avoid bottlenecking progress .
These values inform the behavioral questions the Fernish team uses in interviews with potential hires . They also double down on these points over the lifecycle of the business , such as during company-wide meetings , when they call out specific instances of “ getting better ” or “ caring for the communal .” Dickey says it ’ s important to repeat core values out loud to ensure they ’ re being used in daily business practices .
ROOKIE MISTAKE # 5 : MUDDLING THE COMPANY NARRATIVE
By their nature , startups pivot often , but consistency in narrative is key to both customer and company retention . “ You need to make sure that you fulfill promises — especially internally — in this narrative context because as a collective entity , [ employees ] have a really good memory ,” says Dickey . Startups are built on talent , and founders have to be thoughtful about the stories they ’ re presenting their talent . “ You can ’ t switch your story on a regular basis because that will hurt you on retention ,” says Dickey .
Barlow acknowledges that maintaining a consistent narrative is challenging for founders , who are in uncharted territory by definition . “ No one ’ s done this exact thing you ’ re doing as good as you are going to do it , right ?” he says . “ There ’ s no way to be perfect about it ,” he adds , but being mindful of the impact company narrative has on employees helps founders strive for balance .
ROOKIE MISTAKE # 6 : GETTING STUCK IN ANALYSIS PARALYSIS
Dickey admits he and Barlow have engaged in analysis paralysis in the past , but they now use speed as a business tactic . They separate out the issues that demand deliberation versus ones that demand a decision be made quickly so the team can move forward . Dickey says this attitude is based upon the Andy Grove principle that “ sometimes indecision is far worse than making the wrong decision , which you can quickly learn from and move on .” +
* This article was originally published on the Lean Startup Co . blog https :// leanstartup . co / analysisparalysis-and-other-innovation-blockers /
BY : ERIC RIES & LEAN STARTUP CO . EDUCATION PROGRAM
Eric Ries is an entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way . He serves on the advisory board of several technology startups and has been named Entrepreneur-in- Residence at Harvard Business School , named one of the Best Young Entrepreneurs of Tech by BusinessWeek and honored with a TechFellow award in the category of Engineering Leadership . Previously , he co-founded and served as CTO of IMVU . He is currently Founder & CEO of the Long-Term Stock Exchange .
11