the importance of people

I'm fascinated by the entire entrepreneurial process - to the point that when someone occasionally refers to me as an entrepreneur, I take it as the highest compliment I could be given (perhaps second only to "that was the best meal I've ever had").

One of the most important part of the entrepreneurial process is managing and developing the role of key people. As some of my previous posts reveal, I am dead-set against some of the cult of individual 'heroes' that surrounds many social entrepreneurship initiatives, funding schemes, and communities. That said, I believe firmly that people and teams are a key component to building any successful business or organisation, so in that sense getting the right individuals in the right role at the right time, with the right support, is absolutely essential to social businesses and social enterprises.

Last night at our 2007 conference for social business CEOs, I was talking to Patrick Shine of UK grantmaker UnLtd. Patrick had a couple of really insightful points about the role of people in growing businesses

1. There are two types of entrepreneurs - First there are those that blaze a trail and keep forging ahead, leaving a trail of dead and dying sherpa-like suppliers behind them. The second type are those that blaze trail one mile at a time, and at each mile, make six trips back and forth bringing the others along and creating a clear, wide path for people to follow. I've known and worked with many of both types and the difference really is tangible.

2. We then were talking about how social businesses (and indeed other entrepreneurial businesses) can transition from founder-leader to a more professionalised organisation - often founder/chief execs take the first step to this by hiring a COO or MD. Patrick noted that in his experience, 'the first COO never lasts'. That first COO most often ends up hating the job, being hated by staff and the founder, and leaving in frustration. It's this experience that prepares the entrepreneurial organisation for what it's going to be like to professionalise and grow up. After the first COO, a second COO can step in, work with the team, and begin to build in structure to the business. Kind of a John-the-Baptist approach - the first one comes in with a message nobody wants to hear, gets his head chopped off, and paves the way for the next one who can make his message heard. (Important to note, for Patrick's sake, that the religious analogy is mine, not his.)

I'd add one additional thought for now - sometimes it is in everyone's best interests to hire someone who really annoys the shit out of you. I am not referring to anyone in particular I have worked with over the years - let's call it more of a generic observation across the more than 15 social businesses I have worked with over the past year, and over life in general. That really annoying person probably has completely different skills to yours, will grate on you in various ways that make you better at what you do, will bring completely different ideas and approaches to the table, and will certainly prevent you from falling into the "hiring in your own image" trap. So off you go - find that pain in the ass and give him a job.