Bringing on an early executive means you’re placing a bet. Every leader comes with biases about what to focus on and who to hire, and also blind spots. Your early leadership team is the blueprint for your company’s functional bias and the strategies you will try as you grow. Before you build your leadership team, determine which functions your company needs to be most extraordinary at. Then, design power centers around them and use this to guide who you hire and in what order.
This is a GOLDMINE and mirrors so much of what I’ve experienced in early stage startups (the good, the bad and the ugly!). Should be required reading for any founder!
I find the idea of power centers in IT consulting companies intriguing. To me, there are three key areas where power centers tend to form:
1) Sales: Sales is the engine that drives revenue. Without it, a service-based business can't sustain itself. This feels like an obvious power center to me.
2) Delivery: After a project is sold, the focus shifts to successful delivery. It's critical to have a team that's excellent at execution, as poor delivery can undermine everything else.
3) People: Ultimately, the success of a consulting company relies on its people. Without a strong talent pool, even the best sales and delivery processes will struggle.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this perspective, especially if you see other power centers I might have missed.
This is a GOLDMINE and mirrors so much of what I’ve experienced in early stage startups (the good, the bad and the ugly!). Should be required reading for any founder!
This was an awesome post 🙌
Thank you for the great article Molly.
I find the idea of power centers in IT consulting companies intriguing. To me, there are three key areas where power centers tend to form:
1) Sales: Sales is the engine that drives revenue. Without it, a service-based business can't sustain itself. This feels like an obvious power center to me.
2) Delivery: After a project is sold, the focus shifts to successful delivery. It's critical to have a team that's excellent at execution, as poor delivery can undermine everything else.
3) People: Ultimately, the success of a consulting company relies on its people. Without a strong talent pool, even the best sales and delivery processes will struggle.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this perspective, especially if you see other power centers I might have missed.
Thanks again for the insightful article!