How to leverage clear goal-setting to supercharge your company
The benefits of relentlessly prioritizing the things that matter most (and the catastrophic consequences of refusing to say ‘no’)
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The best thing any employee ever asked for
I was nervous about the conversation. After searching for several months for someone to lead our growing engineering team, we had settled on Michael. Michael, if he agreed to take the job, would be easily the most experienced leader on our team. I was hoping his experience at renowned startups would help with recruiting and fundraising in the years ahead.
I find there is this funny moment in any recruiting process where my mind shifts from hoping I will like the candidate to hoping the candidate will like me.
Preparing for this walk, I found myself deeply hoping that Michael would like me and that he would agree to join our fledgling team.
During the walk, I asked Michael a pretty standard question. While the question was standard, his answer was profound. It has stuck with me ever since:
Me, “If you join us, what do you think I can do to best help you succeed in the role?”
Michael, “Say no.”
Me…confused: “What do you mean?”
Michael: “The biggest weakness I see in early-stage CEOs is an inability to say no. They want to say yes to everything, to do everything. As a result, the team gets overwhelmed and lacks focus. This is particularly catastrophic for engineers. But if you can say no to everything except the few things that matter most, we will do well. So, the best thing you can do is say no.”
Damn, I loved this guy.
Michael would go on to join us and prove himself a priceless ally; this was only one of many lessons he would teach me over our many years of building the company together.