book

The Soul of Startups

by Sophie Theen

August 2022

Beginner

240 pages

5h 5m

English

Wiley

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A BIT ABOUT MEMY JOURNEYFINALLY GETTING STARTED
THE FOUNDER CULTURETHE GEN Z PARADIGMTHE AFTERMATHCOLLATERAL DAMAGEWHAT WAS NEXT?NOTE
IT BEGINSMONTH 2—THE PRINCIPLES BECAME DEMANDS, A MEASURE OF YOUR PERFORMANCEMONTHS WENT BYGOODBYESTHE AFTERMATHPRESENTNOTE
WHAT IS PERFECT?RISE, COMPANY ONECRITEO, COMPANY TWOFIN, COMPANY THREENOTES

THE NEWSPROVING THE SUSPICIONPEOPLE LEAVE COMPANIES, TOO, NOT JUST MANAGERSSOME, BUT NOT ALL, WOULD HAVE LEFTSTAY ALERT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATENOTE
COMPANY ACOMPANY BCOMPANY CCOMPANY D,E,F… (OR MAYBE MORE)THE WILLINGNESS TO LEARN FROM EXPERIENCEPAYDOCK (FinTech)WHAT IF EXPERIENCED FOUNDERS FORGOT THEY ARE ALSO ON A LEARNING JOURNEY?
THE SHINY SIDE OF THE COINTHE OTHER SIDE OF THE COINLACK OF SAFETY TO FAILLACK OF CO‐CREATION OF STRATEGIESPEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY TOLD WHAT AND HOW TO DO THEIR JOBSTHERE WAS NO PURPOSE EXCEPT TO “GET IT DONE”VERY LITTLE APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY WHEN SOMETHING IS NOT DONE OR FAILSTHE CONSTANT CHANGE OF DIRECTIONS CREATED CONFUSION, EVEN FOR THE BEST OF USNOTES
A RELATIONSHIP‐LIKE CULTURETHEN SOCIETY ARGUES THAT THE OPPOSITE OF COLLECTIVISM IS INDIVIDUALISMTHE MISPERCEPTION OF INDIVIDUALISM IS USUALLY A BAD INGREDIENT FOR STARTUPSDE‐IDEALIZING COLLECTIVISMNOTES
WHAT IS COMMUNITY?THE ANATOMY OF A COMMUNITYONE—A COMMUNITY WITH A MISSIONTWO—A WHOLE COMMUNITY AROUND THE FOUNDER/STHREE—A TRAGICALLY MISALIGNED COMMUNITYHOLD ON, WHAT IF THERE WAS A FOUNDER WHO DIDN'T DO WHAT HE PREACHED?FOUR—A COMMUNITY THAT EXTENDS A CONVERSATIONSTARTUPS RELY ON THEIR COMMUNITIES FOR SUCCESSNOTES
WHO IS A KEEN LEARNER?WILLINGNESS TO LEARNWILLINGNESS TO TAKE FEEDBACK AND SUPPORT IN RETURNWILLINGNESS TO BE VULNERABLE TO FORGE TRUSTSTHE WILLINGNESS TO LEARN FROM OTHERSTHE UNWILLINGNESS BECAUSE OF EGOSO KEEN LEARNERS, ARE THEY FOUNDERS, OR ARE THEY LEADERS?NOTE
CULTURE NEEDS TO START FROM THE BEGINNINGBUILDING COMPLEMENTARY TEAMS ALL THROUGH THIS JOURNEYTHE ROLE OF THE PEOPLE LEADERSETTING THE RIGHT TONE FROM THE STARTSO, CAN CULTURE BE A CULT?DIFFERENT PEOPLE ARE NEEDED AT DIFFERENT PHASES OF GROWTHWILLINGNESS TO BE ONE TRUE SELFTHE ABILITY TO SEEK OUT HELP IN STAYING MENTALLY HEALTHY
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIREFINAL NOTE:

Content preview from The Soul of Startups

CHAPTER 7The Collectivist versus The Individualist

Collectivism versus Individualism has been one of the paramount success factors for startups as we know it. Every founder is persistently reminded of who they need to become and how to behave to run a successful business. These are paramount of all the qualities they're expected to have, albeit most have not done this before. So, what is it about these two distinctions that make them a better leader than the other, and what if I found a way to debunk these superficial terms for startups? Just because it's a critical philosophy that you learn in sociology doesn't necessarily mean that it's the recipe for success in a startup, does it?

A RELATIONSHIP‐LIKE CULTURE

A collectivistic society manifests from having close, long‐term commitments to any members of the group, sometimes whether a family, extended family, or relationships. While collectivists are motivated by group goals and would readily sacrifice their benefit to recognize their team's success, they are also sometimes seen to be too loyal where it overrides most other rules of engagement.

In general, it is said that there are many benefits of having a collectivistic leader in the community. When everyone makes decisions, real success is when the team typically feels responsible for making the right decisions. They would agree that the best way to solve problems is first to understand the tasks that would benefit the team altogether rather than having a single person ...