How to Break Bad News to Employees. No matter how many times a business leader has to fire an employee or deny a bonus, having tough conversations doesn't get any easier. However, you can increase your confidence and maintain strong relationships by learning to lead the conversation respectfully and productively. "You want to convey the information in a way that the person can hear, learn from and act upon," says Ben Dattner, an organizational psychologist and founder of Dattner Consulting. "Not in a way that's going to make them shut down. " Related: Richard Branson on When Workers Rebel Against a New Manager Ultimately, you want to show respect and sensitivity to their circumstances and feelings.
"If you make them feel like a valued, autonomous agent, you are much more likely to have a willing participant who will make an effort to solve a problem, rather than someone who will be your enemy," Dattner says. 1. Related: Five Problem Employees and What You Can Do About Them 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. How Much Should A Startup Founder/CEO Pay Herself? I would say $60-$150K is about right, and I agree it's important that the CEO (as well as other founders) demonstrate that they have put at least some sweat equity in the game for a few months. A start-up needs to be very conscious of expenses, but it also needs to be able to operate in the market. Too often dedicated entrepreneurs go too long without pay, and too far into their third mortgage, or are very successful at finding successive teams to put in a little sweat equity. At the end of the day, whether CEO salary or an actual paying customer, if people aren't willing to support the effort with cash money perhaps the entrepreneur should consider plan B.
The Founders should pay themselves whatever it costs for them to live and pay their bills, but to go beyond that would be a waste of capital. I would pay myself increasing salaries as the Company reaches certain milestones. Otherwise I'd feel like I was stealing money from my investors. I couldn't agree more with Pavan. I'm shocked! How to Hire the Right Employees for Your Startup. How many employees do you have? People often ask startups how many employees they have. I'm not entirely sure why they do or why I care, but something about this perpetually asked question bothers me.
Yes, there are real organizational differences as you grow significantly, but most of the time when it's asked of small startups the answer is pretty obvious, i.e. somewhere less than 30. Instagram having thirteen people should be evidence enough that this question is pretty irrelevant. Other famous acquisitions bear this out as well. For us (DuckDuckGo), it is even more complicated because there is no straightforward answer. That's because we have a lot of people who contribute on a part-time, contractor and ad hoc basis. I think this disconnect is only increasing generally. The subtext there is that they're relying on a much greater number of people in the background, either directly or indirectly.
15 Roles Every Startup Needs Filled. To Be Number One, Get the Right Number Two - Rosabeth Moss Kanter. By Rosabeth Moss Kanter | 7:00 AM August 14, 2012 Picking a number two is among the most important decisions any leader makes. Getting it right shapes a leader’s direction, effectiveness, and legacy. In U.S. Presidential elections, the choice of a running mate can influence voter views of the candidate and shift the dialogue, as happened following Mitt Romney’s naming of conservative budget-chopping congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential pick in the race for the White House. Unlike the U.S. political system, the business world has no rules requiring that every leader have a backup, or that every corporate chief executive has a chief operating officer. In fact, some CEOs don’t want a strong number two, perhaps finding it threatening that they could be surpassed.
Still, most leaders benefit from a running-the-company mate. If you want to get the right number two, consider these three factors. 1. 2. 3. Even the greatest leaders sometimes fumble this factor.