Suggested Readings

Founders School || Startup CEO || The Role of a CEO || Impact Guide (PDF).

Blumberg, Matt and Hanny Hindi. “Part One: Storytelling.” Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling up Your Business. Wiley, 2013. 1-55. Print.

Lafley, A.G. “What Only the CEO Can Do”. Harvard Business Review, May 2009.

Porter, Michael and Jay W. Lorsch and Nitin Nohria. “Seven Surprises for New CEOs” Harvard Business Review, May 2004.

Wong, Kyle. “Quantified Startup: What Does A Startup CEO Actually Do?” Forbes, 28 November 2013.

“Building the Right Team for Growth” – Scaling Your Company with Scale Venture Partners Rory O’Driscoll and Kate Mitchell.

“The Big Lesson” – Leadership and Motivation with Daniel Pink.

Questions for You

Can I communicate my vision for the company in a succinct paragraph?

Am I being strategic about my first hires or co-founders? Are they bringing skills I don’t possess?

Where are the skills and personnel gaps in my team?

Around what goals am I centering the company? Is everyone on my team aware of these goals and how they contribute to them?

How do my employees or teammates tell the story of our company?

How much time do I spend with actual customers and potential prospects?

In what part of the business do I spend most of my time? Is this the most efficient way to use my time? What areas need more of my attention?

Tools and exercises

Break down your day-to-day operations (not every day will be the same, but use a typical day) into a pie chart.

Analyze this to see if you are leaving any one area vulnerable to oversight or struggle. Brainstorm ways to make more efficient use of your time on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.