SET‐BACKS AND GIVING YOURSELF PERMISSION TO FAIL AND LEARN IS IT TIME TO CALL IT QUITS? NO ONE GETS TO DECIDE WHEN YOU STOP BEING A STARTUP LEADER BUT YOU REFRAMING FAILURE AS ANOTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITY OTHER TYPES OF SETBACKS OTHER THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM ADVERSITY IN THE STARTUP WORLD IS A FEATURE, NOT A BUG NAVIGATING PIVOTS SUCCESSFULLY AS A STARTUP LEADER TREAT PIVOTS AS A CHANCE TO BECOME A BETTER COMPANY IN TIMES OF CRISIS, UNDERSTAND YOUR CIRCLE OF CONTROL STAY AND ACCEPT, TRY TO CHANGE THINGS, OR LEAVE? IN TIMES OF MAJOR CHANGE, CONSIDER HAVING AN “ON THE BUS OR OFF THE BUS” CONVERSATION WITH YOUR TEAM IF YOU STAY, KNOW YOU WON'T AGREE WITH ALL DECISIONS TURNING A STARTUP PIVOT INTO A STARTUP LEADERSHIP ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY: MINDY LAUCK, CEO OF BROADLY DON'T TRIANGULATE: IDENTIFY “YOU TWO” PROBLEMS ON THE FAME/BLAME CYCLE—WHEN THE HIGHS ARE HIGH AND THE LOWS ARE LOW DEPARTURES: WHEN IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON FROM YOUR ROLE DECIDING WHEN IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK WHEN DECIDING WHETHER TO LEAVE YOUR EXECUTIVE ROLE HOW TO LEAVE A ROLE LIKE AN EXECUTIVE HOW TO GIVE NOTICE WHEN YOU GIVE NOTICE: BE PREPARED TO BE ASKED TO CLOSE YOUR LAPTOP ON THE SPOT A WORD OF ADVICE: RESPECT THE COMPANY'S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) AND DON'T TAKE IT UPON DEPARTURE ANOTHER WORD OF ADVICE: BE CAREFUL ABOUT POACHING EMPLOYEES (AT LEAST RIGHT AWAY) EXERCISING YOUR VESTED EQUITY AROUND YOUR DEPARTURE TAKING TIME OFF IN BETWEEN JOBS MAKE A COMMUNICATION PLAN KEEP IT POSITIVE BEWARE THE “DILBERT PRINCIPLE” AND LEAVE WITH GRACE ANYWAY NOTES
10 PART V: PROVING, SUSTAINING, AND EXPANDING YOUR IMPACT AS A LEADER CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Measuring Success: How to Know If Things Are Working WHO CARES ABOUT LEADING AND LAGGING INDICATORS? UNDERSTANDING THE METRICS THAT SET UP YOUR DEPARTMENT FOR SUCCESS FOCUS ON MEASURES THAT SHOW OUTCOMES VS. ACTIVITY GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT TOOLS HOW THE BOARD THINKS ABOUT YOUR INDICATORS MEASURE WHAT COUNTS AT A REGULAR CADENCE OTHER “SUCCESS” MEASURES LETTING LEADING INDICATORS GUIDE YOUR EARLY‐STAGE STARTUP GROWTH RAND FISHKIN'S ADVICE FOR METRICS: KEEP IT SIMPLE HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR CEO ON MEASURING YOUR PERFORMANCE BUILDING ACCOUNTABILITY INTO YOUR TEAM REPORTING CHAPTER NINETEEN: Communicating Your Results to Your CFO, CEO, Company, and Board WHY BOARD MEETINGS EXIST (AND NO, THEY'RE NOT JUST TO TORTURE STARTUP FOUNDERS AND EXECUTIVES!) COMMUNICATING AT THE BOARD LEVEL COMMUNICATING AT THE “ALTITUDE” OF THE BOARD HOW IS YOUR BUSINESS PERFORMING WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE GREATER MARKET (OR THE VC'S PORTFOLIO?) DO YOUR HOMEWORK BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE BOARD PRIOR TO YOUR FIRST MEETING TAKING A STORYTELLING APPROACH TO BOARD PRESENTATIONS COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT TEAM TO GET WHAT YOU NEED FROM THEM CREATING YOUR BOARD SLIDES: THINK AT A HIGH ALTITUDE HOW TO CREATE YOUR BOARD SLIDES EXAMPLE DEPARTMENT OKR SNAPSHOT SLIDE REPORTING RESULTS WITH R/Y/G OTHER TYPES OF SLIDES TO INCLUDE IN YOUR BOARD DECK THE PURPOSE OF YOUR APPENDIX AND/OR PRE‐READ MATERIAL TIP: ENSURE EVERY SLIDE HAS A NARRATIVE‐DRIVEN TITLE PRESENTATION TIPS: BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE BOARD MEETING CHAPTER TWENTY: Mentorship: How to Further Grow Your Career by Networking and Giving Back MENTORSHIP POWERS THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM MENTORSHIP'S ROLE IN SUPPORTING DEVELOPING LEADERS MENTORSHIP IS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE AND CHEMISTRY MENTORS DON'T HAVE TO KNOW ALL OF THE ANSWERS ENLISTING YOUR OWN MENTORS: DEVELOPING A GROUP OF PERSONAL ADVISORS MENTORS