The transition from founder to CEO is a hard one. To combat day to day challenges, I created a “how to work with me doc” in late 2018 and early 2019. I created this after reading Elad Gil’s High Growth Handbook.
Hope you find it helpful.
How to work with me document
In late 2018 and early 2019, I was wrestling with the transition from founder to CEO. This is a hard transition for most if not all founders. SocialWithin went from 3 to 27 people in 18 months. In a professional services company, you have to fundamentally rethink your people/process/tools when you add over two dozen people to your team in a short time frame. These were exciting times, but I was working 15 hours/day, on average, and felt like my time was spent on too many tactical items.
I wrote this how to work with me doc to help manage the team. It provided clarity to my direct reports, improved quality of 1:1s and overall helped the team get in a rhythm with me.
Too often, we see people playing social games within organizations (large or small) and time gets wasted just trying to learn how to work with someone… minimize that and focus on things that actually create value.
This doc isn’t just for founders; it’s for everyone. I encourage you to create a similar doc for yourself if you lead a team. If you’re an individual contributor, then create one and try to share with your manager. Having a “how to work with me document” reduces friction between players on a team, helps others know how you like to work and ways to support one another.
The document shared above is a sample doc. You’re welcome to copy the template, but I encourage you to create your own version of it.
Links worth sharing
Oatly raises $200M from Blackstone. DTC 3.0 will be filled with health and wellness brands. These companies will be built exclusively for millennials and Gen Z. Oatly didn’t just attract Blackstone. It attracted Roc Nation, Oprah, Natalie Portman and others to help finance their latest round. Link.
Breakthrough brands of 2020. Wonderful report by Interbrand. It goes in detail on human truths, experiences and economics of the brand with great narrative. It also shows when the brands were founded, how much money they raised, etc. Link. It’s free but requires email submission.
Social Capital 2019 Annual Letter. I’m a fan of Chamath. From his thesis on Bitcoin to commercializing space, he and his team seem to have a strong grip on how to tackle the most important challenges of today and tomorrow. He’s successfully pivoted Social Capital away from pure-play VC to a technology holding co (like Berkshire Hathaway but for tech). I’d recommend reading this 2019 annual letter. It feels like an old letter now… but many things highlighted are worth pondering upon. Link.
The work with me doc is really intuitive. I can see that being helpful at the non profit i am part of. thanks for the insight!