Be a Startup Superstar

Chapter 7Choose Carefully the Company You Keep

If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.

—Lorne Michaels, television producer

A huge part of who we are and how we perform in business and in life comes from the company that we keep. If you surround yourself with smart, dedicated, hardworking, entrepreneurial people, then their qualities will start to show up in you. They will inspire and challenge you, and you'll grow in turn. Even better, when other people see you around these high‐performers, they'll start to think of you as a high‐performer by association. The opposite holds true if you surround yourself with underachievers. This chapter outlines everything you need to know about how to pick the people to spend your time with, and the best ways to build those relationships.

Surround Yourself with A‐Plus Talent

Entrepreneur Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If this is true (and I believe it is), you've got to ask yourself how you will ever reach the C‐suite if you spend the bulk of your time with the people glued to the ground floor. Nobody starts their career knowing everything they need to know to succeed—I didn't, nobody I know did, not even Bill Gates did. One of the fastest ways to learn these important lessons is to surround yourself with A‐plus people who have gotten results comparable to what you want. Not only will you be able to learn by mimicking—they will bring out your best work. ...