Jason M. Lemkin discusses managing startup teams, focusing on accountability and discipline. CEOs struggle to enforce standards when they're likable, while boards serve as a tough room during quarterly reviews. One speaker describes pushing teams as a 'grinder' who emphasizes accountability through management meetings and peer pressure.
I know for a fact that Y holds people very accountable. It is, I have.
No doubt, much.
Tougher than she looks. And so I'm not worried about that at all, actually. Maybe, maybe in an early stage company that. That probably makes sense.
I just defer startups sometimes as CEOs, especially if you're likable like you are. You're likable. It actually, it's confusing to bring down the hammer. You can't beat people up every week. Right. And how do you manage that? And sometimes I find it helpful for the board to be the hamp, to be the tough room, even if they don't say anything. Just having to walk in every 60 or 90 days and say, Gee, I didn't deliver my SQLs, I didn't, I didn't. The. We slipped the release like. And how often can Brian or Yamini. Earlier stage, maybe. How often can you yell at the team even if you're not? I think you can yell once a year.
Yeah, you yell.
More than once a year. And it's tough, right? It's tough.
Yeah. I would say I yelled very.
Infrequently.
But I was grinding people all the time. Yeah, the grinder. And I think Yamme is a grinder. And I think people are accountable to the CEO, they're accountable to themselves and they're accountable to their peers. Hopefully, if they're adults and they've got some experience that they're deeply troubled by those numbers and they often have to sit through their own management team meetings and present all those numbers. Yeah, a lot of the condility in that management team meeting.
