Chapter 29. A Drummer for Spinal Tap
Marty DiBergi: Now, during the Flower People period, who was your drummer?
David St. Hubbins: Stumpy’s replacement, Peter James Bond. He also died in mysterious circumstances.
Nigel Tufnel: It was tragic, really. He exploded on stage.
David: He just went up.
Nigel: It was like a flash of green light... and that was it. Nothing was left.
Nigel: It’s true. There was a little green globule on his drum seat.
David: You know, dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It’s just not widely reported.
Certain organizations have positions that are doomed. For those that fill these roles, their résumés can’t save them. The Ivy League didn’t prepare them. The references were no salvation. Every candidate who comes into the role leaves it shortly after.
This is a terrible thing for a company. It consumes money, resources, time, opportunity, and goodwill. And it is downright cruel to the trusting candidates who are marching to the slaughter.
Why does this happen? Serial executive failures usually have the same set of root causes: executive ignorance, role confusion, and the CEO curse.
Executive Ignorance
The funny thing about the startup CEO job is that the first time you get it you’re completely unprepared for it. How many first-time startup CEOs have hired a technical team, a sales team, a marketing department, a COO, and a receptionist?
The good news is you won’t have to hire them all at once. The bad news is that when you do, you won’t be ...
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