500startupslesson

How firing > hiring for early stage teams
•	Firing > hiring (especially in early stage startups)
o	Good teammates push you forward, bad teammates you push them
o	You can’t become an extraordinary leader unless you have extraordinary teammates, bad seeds don’t grow into tall trees
o	If you’re thinking about whether a teammate has problems – it means that they do. If they are extraordinary, then that’s what you’d think about, instead of questioning whether they are good or not
o	Everyone needs to learn in a good team, not just the founders. If they need someone to teach them everything, then you need to fire them. People you hire should save time for you, not waste your time.
o	Many extraordinary startups become mediocre because the founders are loyal to the early teammates, not the startup. Truth is, people need to come and go in different stages of the startup. Your responsibility as a founder is taking this startup to its next success, not trying to please everyone.
o	Don’t compromise on early teammates, only work with the best of the bests.
o	If you have these thoughts in your head as an early team about a team member, firing is the only option:
	They have a good attitude but they learn slow, should I give them more time?
	They are no good, but without them we can’t take things forward (you’d rather slow down the progress and fire them)
	Is it my management that made them inefficient in what they’re doing? (of course you can always improve, but that’s not the reason for them to mess things up)
	Am I giving them too much pressure? (If they’re extraordinary, they will know how to prioritize. If they don’t, they are not people you should work with)
	It’s costly to rehire (if you rehire, you can probably survive, if you compromise, then the startup is over)
o	In terms of management:
	Always state why. Don’t just talk about what the work is and how to do it, but always tell why, every day.
	Don’t fire suddenly. Tell them why you’re dissatisfied, be clear that if it’s not fixed in a specified time, then you’ll fire them.
	There’s a difference between “good mistakes” and “bad mistakes”. Good mistakes are first time mistakes, always encourage good mistakes. Bad mistakes are mistakes that occurred >3 times. You don’t need teammates who make bad mistakes.
o	The premise of managing humanely is having extraordinary teammates. Mediocre teammates will cost you and everyone else’s energy and confidence in the team. Class “B” and “C” members can never work well with class “A” members. They are not the worst, but they are not the best. You don’t need someone who’s not the best to be in the team.