I overheard someone asking last week why so few recent startups have come out of certain very successful Canadian tech firms. Though I did not chime in at the time, I would suggest that the answer lies in the entrepreneurs who founded and in some instances continue to drive these businesses. Specifically, few tech sector entrepreneurs nurture future entrepreneurs or even strong leaders for that matter. I would even argue that small communities which are dominated by great entrepreneurs usually go entrepreneurially dry when those individuals leave the scene. Let me explain…
Successful entrepreneurs are that rare mishmash of vision, drive, determination, resilience and whatever else makes them special. Often idiosyncratic but with instincts that rarely fail them, these explorers travel places where few others have the courage to even imagine. And they lead from out front, not as benevolent travel guides, but as supreme leaders. It is their adrenaline-fed adventure, risks be dammed, and it is their glory. Because of this, entrepreneurs tend to be supported by role players who execute tasks and take direction, individuals who do not need the spotlight, and even better, voluntarily redirect any light that wanders in their direction back to the entrepreneur who feeds off of it.This is not to suggest that entrepreneurs have no interest in driven, bright, charismatic, high performing leaders. The entrepreneur is often fascinated by these people and the specialized knowledge or skills they possess, the companies they have worked for, and the successes they have had. The entrepreneur wants what they have and what they know. In some instances, the entrepreneur craves the business maturity and progress which the addition of these executives promises…and so pursues them. And successful entrepreneurs tend to get what they want.
But when entrepreneurs hire high performers, two outcomes are most likely. In many instances the sponge-like entrepreneur quickly absorbs the specialized knowledge or wisdom of the newly hired executive. As this happens the infatuation fades and disillusionment creeps in. The true value of the now figured-out, suddenly all-too-human executive is questioned, as is the premium compensation paid to attract him or her. It is only a matter of time before the entrepreneur begins to resent the executive and they are discarded. The departing executive never really knows what hit him or her.
In the second scenario, the entrepreneur finds that the newly hired star executive has brought unwanted baggage. Perhaps they are independently minded; perhaps they are insufficiently deferential, occasionally questioning the entrepreneur; perhaps they view the entrepreneur’s ‘hands-on’ style as unnecessarily meddling; perhaps they push for change that cuts a little too close to the entrepreneur; or heaven forbid, perhaps they have an ego which craves credit or limelight. While it is likely that the career successes of many of these star performers were built on the strength of many of these very same attributes, they do not bode well when working for the entrepreneur. The other executives are also not amused by someone who asks questions and threatens change and they start to whisper to the entrepreneur that this person is not fitting in. It is only a matter of time before the entrepreneur eventually finds a way to get rid of the executive.
For better and worse, entrepreneurial leaders find themselves surrounded by a coterie of followers. These people execute, serve, tolerate and above all stay loyal to their entrepreneurial benefactor. But living in the shadows, tethered to an entrepreneurial life force is not the ideal incubator for the next generation of leaders. Dependence does not breed independence, lifelong followership does not foster leadership, comfort does not beget the entrepreneurial itch. And even when these executives leave or are pushed out of the nest they tend to be entrepreneurial poseurs, handicapped by that part of them which served them so well under their previous master. Few thrive…
And so, next time you look around at the many highly successful Canadian tech firms and ask yourself why so few new or successful companies have been created from their loins you will know why….
Looking for a dynamic HR role? Stay away from the entrepreneurial tech sector.
January 1, 2012
In a recent survey of HR graduate students, the technology sector rated among the most coveted destinations to ply their trade. It is viewed as a world of innovative people, technologies and approaches where progressive talent management, OB/OD and related HR work awaits.
The Cry to Replace RIM's CEOs – A Truly Dumb Idea
October 13, 2011
Leaving aside the recent service outages, the shellacking of RIM in the press is a tad surreal to behold.
For the few Luddites not familiar with the firm, Research in Motion is the successful Canadian smart phone pioneer with revenues of $20bb per year, no debt and cash in the bank. They manufacture products that remain popular around the world and continue to boast technological innovations unmatched by any competitor. Their most recently launched smart phone devices have been well reviewed and appear to be selling well. And though the company's first version of its new tablet, the Playbook, has room for improvement, it is a promising piece of technology.
Context: When Companies Confuse Start-up Experience for Start-up Experience
October 7, 2011
I had the occasion this week to chat with an entrepreneur still licking his wounds from a stalled startup venture. His tale is a reminder of how easily companies misunderstand organizational context when hiring. For startups, such a misunderstanding can be fatal.
The CEO Hiring Practices at HP
October 3, 2011
The press tells us that Hewlett Packard is the largest technology company in the world with revenues of $126bb. Impressive as those numbers may appear, they do not seem to impress HP's Board of Directors. You see they do not believe that any of the firm's 324,600 employees are capable of leading it. Not one person. Not this year or last year when CEO changes were made. In fact they were apparently not capable six years ago or even eleven years ago when CEO changes were also made. But before summarily indicting the firm's succession planning/leadership development programs, it is useful to consider the track record of the external candidates who were considered better choices than the firm's internal candidates. This analysis decidedly shifts the spotlight to the competence of Hewlett Packard's Board of Directors.
The Folly of Believing What You Read
September 19, 2011
Some time ago we posted a blog titled ‘So you REALLY want to be a CEO?' which looked at the human costs of climbing the upper rungs of the management ladder. The blog was based on a series of articles immediately following the ‘resignation' of Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler. All of these articles presented a cautionary tale of life in the fast lane, the long hours, the extensive global travel, and the shareholder pressures that accompany an uncooperative stock price. They also spoke poignantly of the physical and emotional toll that such unrelenting pressure took on the Pfizer CEO who eventually resigned in order to attend to his family and health. As it turns out however, much of this narrative may not have been true
Before sending us your resume (and then getting frustrated with us) ask who we work for
July 25, 2011
A friend of mine is a trustee in bankruptcy. As his title suggests, he and his firm serves those contemplating the ‘cleansing' process of personal bankruptcy. Potential customers compare service providers, select one, and then pay the chosen firm a fee to initiate and manage the ensuing process on their behalf. However, as soon as the relief-seeking customer signs on the dotted line, the trustee's allegiance shifts to the creditors for whom they then seek to maximize debt recovery. This shift in who works for whom must be a tad unsettling for people who already have a heap of problems and stress on their hands.
What Dating Services Can Teach Companies About Hiring
June 1, 2011
Executive-level hiring is a decidedly aspirational endeavor. Organizations idealize their workplace cultures, select for attributes that will fit into those romanticized environments, and then immerse unsuspecting hires into their ice-cold reality of their works-in-progress.
How to Survive a Startup - by Jill Ram
April 20, 2011
If you're an executive and you're thinking of joining a start-up, know what stage of a start-up to join. If the company is in its first year or so, don't expect to make significant changes. If you join after the company is somewhat established and mistakes have been made and learned from, you'll likely be more successful from the outset. If the founder has stepped aside, well, by then, the company is likely not considered a start-up anymore. It won't be functioning like a big company yet, and it won't have all the structure in place that it needs, but it will be run with more practicality and with less emotion. Timing is everything so choose it well.
Good News for the Old, Overqualified and Overlooked
March 18, 2011
It is expected that a significant percentage of the baby boomer generation will drive right past the Freedom 55 highway exit. For many the goal of early retirement will have proven to be unattainable hype, while for others the ups and downs of working will appear more attractive than the prospects of working up and down the local lawn bowling leadership board.
Pressed for time? Blame those Benedictine Monks.
February 24, 2011
It is among the principal reasons candidates tell us they are open to consider a change in employers. They are tethered to it, yet somehow it still flees. It is time, the most precious of resources, and for many harried executives they want some of it back.
Though their relationship with time may be strained, it is worth pointing out that it was not always this way. In his fascinating book Time Wars, Jeremy Rifkin chronicles the evolution of our modern relationship with time. He points out that in traditional agrarian and pastoral cultures, time was a very naturalistic notion maintained in cyclical, repetitive, biological and even sacred terms. The ‘passing of time' was cued via the changing seasons, biological lifecycles and lunar patterns and thus, the cadence and tempo of those societies were finely tuned to the cyclical rhythms of their physical environments. As he states, "Our early ancestors coveted the circle, perceiving time as eternal return, a ceaseless repetition of an endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth". Since these cyclical rhythms could neither be accelerated, nor altered, the cadence of these societies' was natural and harmonious.
Why Entrepreneurs do not Leave Legacies of Great or Entrepreneurial Talent
July 8, 2008