Every Company Needs a Good Map

I meet with investors, inventors, and company founders fairly frequently. On occasion, I am asked if I want to be their CEO or to help them find a leader for their venture. As I am only one person, I can't take on everything and I know my qualifications, so I only want to get directly involved when I feel I can do what needs to be done. 

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Recently, I met with an inventor who has a very promising idea. He has been working on his idea for several years and he is just about ready to roll it out. He needs funding and a team to do this. He feels he needs a leader to really complete the package. We have chatted a few times now and I like the idea but I am concerned that he is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the task ahead. (Raising the right amount of money, building the best team, and the rest of the business development needs.)

The way this Modern Magellan described his feelings regarding these issues, impressed me to ask, "Are you looking for a chauffer?" I was not thinking about his future wealth, but rather the kind of leader he was seeking. Later, I expanded this line of thought to create a list of driver types that are analogous to various kinds of leaders. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this list and your driver types.

First the list... 

1. The Chauffer - Has a nice car, opens the door for you, but ultimately you are put in the back and have little to say about the route. The ride can be very pleasant but you are a passenger not a participant in the decision process.
2. The Taxi Driver - Get in, sit down, shut-up, and hang-on. This happens to you more often than it happens by you; when investors impose a driver on a team. The founders, builders, and early participants are taken for a ride. They have no input on the means and methods of the journey.
3. The Distracted Driver - Like the person on the mobile phone, with the dog in the lap, or doing their make-up (shaving) while driving, this driver is not giving their full attention to the most important task. This driver is interested more in image than substance. The "Blue-Sky Idealist" can often be this kind of driver. The team may be allowed to  say something, but the process goes on forever without purposeful decisions being made.
   
4. The Hummer Driver - Has to have a very big machine. Issues of compensation, status, and grand statements are more important than the actual success of the outfit. Only big, bold, and high profile moves are made. Direction is not as important as display.
5. The Racecar Driver - This professional knows that the quality of the team is essential to victory. A skilled driver can only go so far. This person involves founders, investors, and everyone on the team to make the successful run. Decisions have to be made and they are. There is not a lot of time to discuss once the race starts.

As with any analogy there are holes in this one, and it could use more expansion. I will probably refine it over time but I hope you get the idea. I lean towards looking for #5. I worry when founders look for chauffeurs because they are, in a sense, abdicating the control of the company. Not that many founders make great CEOs, but they should try to remain a part of the decision process. If this company is their baby, then they have the passion for, and often the vision of, where it is capable of going. Founders will be very unhappy if they find their creation distorted, corrupted, and ultimately destroyed, where they had nothing to say about how it got that way.

If you are facing such a decision, keep in mind that no one cares about your company as much as you do. If you need help with this decision, send me a note. I am always happy to be of assistance. If you are looking for a leader, I know a few who I can highly recommend if the situation is right. If you are an investor trying to convince a team that they need help, I can be of assistance in that area as well. Whatever the reason - I am always open to a conversation.

(Another BTW - CK got an R-rating on her blog by the dating site Mingle2. This blog's rating: G.

Mingle² - Online Dating)

Some other types that came to mind:

• The Motorcycle Driver - Likes to go it alone.
  
• Soccer Parent - crowd of noisy kids in the back, on the phone, lots of stops
• Road Rage Driver - Screams if they do not get their way
• Road Hog - nothing gets past them
• Retired Driver - Proceeds very slowly