Life Is Too Short...

Life Is Too Short...

"In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."-- Warren Buffett
I was having dinner with a good friend the other night and we began to talk about ways to deal with the increasing pressures and velocity of today. We were talking about my recent post on burnout. He agreed that the current late stage of the business cycle increases demands on the average person but added that the intrusion of instant communications (Blackberries, IM, etc) exacerbates everything. You can’t wind down and it becomes more difficult to escape the rat race.
My friend is one of the most productive people I know. He gets more done by Tuesday than most people do by Friday. I probed him for a nugget or two on how to manage the 28 hour day. Instead of a time management strategy, he surprised me with one simple piece of advice:
“ Life is too short to deal with assholes, so I don’t"As I reflected on his advice, I realized how much this resonated with my world. There is no shortage of stress, surprises or setbacks in the life of an entrepreneur or venture capitalist. Over 50% of VC deals end poorly and the ones that succeed usually dance with death at least once or twice. While this is not enjoyable for either entrepreneur or VC, it is the interpersonal behavior that makes life bearable or miserable for all involved.
As I look back at the variety of experiences I’ve had, I see several themes or characteristics that emerge. I’ve had successful investments like FeedBurner where the management team was phenomenal to work with. I’ve also had situations where, despite the success, it was contentious to the very end. I’ve also had less than successful investments, like 800.com, where the team (led by CEO Greg Drew) worked ethically, hand in hand with the investors to find the best solution for all.
What are the early signs that your partner (VC or entrepreneur) will be easy to work with or a potential nightmare? Looking backward, I’ve come up with several guide posts:
1) Are communications open, transparent and proactive or are they reactive and filtered? Good CEO’s communicate frequently and openly with investors and give them the good and the bad. They take responsibilities for poor decisions and identify potential icebergs well before others see them. Poor CEO’s filter the information that flows up from the ranks. They continually spin bad news (only after having to divulge it). They suppress comments from the rest of the management team and make comments/threats to them like “are you committed to being a member of this team or not…”. Both sides know when the other is being insincere and less than forthcoming.2) Do they help others or are they always taking? Good CEO’s realize that building up goodwill is critical for future success. Opportunists are always trying to figure out how to suck more out of others. Look at their behavior and see how often they are helping others advance, especially when there is nothing in it for him/her.3) Is the leadership in the game for a greater good/purpose or solely as a mercenary? When you ask a CEO what motivates him/her, will he/she say “to make a lot of money” or “to change a part of the world”? Investors are playing with fire when they back leadership that is looking primarily to strike it rich in two or three years. They are driven primarily by profit motive and will either begin to self-optimize or head out when things don’t go as planned. This is not to say that managers don’t burn out or lose conviction in realizing the greater good, but how they interact and respond to crisis illustrates a lot.4) Does the CEO (or VC) strive to grow the pie or simply to enlarge his/her piece of it? If the different sides continually try to recut the deal or comment on how they are getting screwed, you will have trouble on your hands. Should things not go well, the in-fighting will make the external developments pale in comparison. CEO’s or VC’s that portray themselves as “victims” will make very poor partners.5) Does the CEO (or VC) look out for the other key team members or will he/she self-optimize his/her own position at each point in time? Early on, you get a taste of this when dilution from a new financing occurs. Some CEO’s will take less for themselves so that others on the team are taken care of. Others will spend very little time discussing the impact of the event on others.6) In the end, do you trust your partner or are you plagued by suspicion? Your gut is very accurate on matters like these. Does it question your own behavior/actions or do you worry that others’ key actions are going on behind your back? If you find either your partner’s responses evasive or that you are being evasive, then you’ve got trouble brewing.
A good partner is rewarding to work with and you are appreciative of their commitment and value-add. In venture capital & entrepreneurship, whom you back or hire will amplify the good or the bad. Good CEO’s attract top talent and deceptive ones repress it. Both types are competitive but one sees a broader horizon while the other simply looks at his/her own path.
Julian Robertson, the legendary founder of the Tiger hedge funds, was maniacal on the importance of management. “Have you done your work on management?” He’d grill subordinates on all aspects of management ranging from where they went to school to actions they had taken to details about their lives. He wanted his team to know everything there was to know about the people running the companies they invested in.
Life is too short to deal with assholes. Be very careful with how you pick partners to work with. It is very difficult to stop the cascade of misery once you start down the path of “overlooking” certain personality flaws or “explaining away” certain aberrant behaviors. Over time, work towards creating an asshole free environment.
“我所投资的人，必须同时具备3种素质：诚实、智慧和激情。如果他不是个诚实正直的人，拥有再多的能力也没用（或者：缺乏正直的人，拥有再多能力最终也是毁灭自己）”。-- 沃伦-巴菲特
前几天我和一个好朋友共进晚餐时，讨论了一下如何面对当今快节奏的生活和逐渐增加的压力问题，也谈及了我目前的工作。他也认为目前的商业状况正处于经济周期的后期，个人的平均需求水平在上升，而且不断发展的各种通讯设备（也算是对于私人生活的一种“侵犯”，如黑莓，IM等）也使得这种状况加剧恶化，而作为个体很难独善其身。
我这位朋友算是我所知道的多产的强人之一，别人需要5天时间完成的工作他2天就可以做完甚至完成得更多更好。我曾问他如何将一天24小时扩展为28小时，他的回答很简单也很令我吃惊：他的答案不是一张所谓的时间表之类的东西，而仅仅只是一句话：“生命太短暂了，没必要在那些小人身上浪费时间。”
当我重新思考他的建议，我发现他所说的是多么符合我所处的境地。生活不乏压力，异事以及挫折，企业家和VC也不例外。实际上，50%以上的deal都以失败或收益欠佳告终，而每一次成功的deal背后总是伴随着一两个失败的deal。这对企业家或VC来说都算不上什么高兴的事，每个deal背后总是缠绕着复杂棘手的人际关系，这些都会让人深切感受到生活的压力和痛苦。
当我回顾我以前的各种经历，可以寻到一些鲜明的主线：我曾完成过一些成功的投资比如FeedBurner，他们的管理团队很优秀，与其合作也很愉快；也有一些成功的投资，但双方合作却很不愉快地以争论告终；还有一些失败的投资，如800.com，但他们的CEO Greg Drew领导的团队却十分尽职尽责，他们同投资者共同努力寻求最佳解决方案。
如何提前得知你的伙伴（VC或者企业家们）是易合作的人还是个定时炸弹呢？我总结出7个要点以共分飨：
1) 双方能否可以开诚布公的交流？他们是否对你存在抵抗情绪？或者他所给你的信息都是经过筛选的？一个优质CEO总可以和投资者坦诚相待，而且他们会及时为投资者提供消息不论好的坏的。他们也会勇于为那些失败的决策承担责任，并可以提前发现企业航道上的暗礁。不负责的CEO则会过滤掉你的信息而跟着银行家走，对于坏消息他们总是在不得不说的情况下才拐着弯通知你；他们还会漠视团队其他人的反馈意见，还不时进行恐吓：“你这样做到底为了我们团队还是有其他什么目的？”，尽管此时彼此都心知肚明，到底谁才最虚伪最不坦率。
2) 他们是否乐于帮助别人还是他们总是索取者。优质CEO深知保持亲切友善对未来成功的重要性。观察他们的行为，看他们是否经常帮助其他公司，特别是他们在其中无利可寻时。
3) 公司领导心态如何：是想发展公司还是想捞钱走人。当你问一个CEO他创业或工作的动机是什么，他的回答是“想多赚点钱”还是“想改变世界”？当投资者下注一个主要是想在2-3年内赚钱的企业家时，这与玩火没什么不同。如果CEO的动机是利润，那么当企业发展与计划脱轨时，他们不会去努力寻求最优解决方法或者带领团队主动出击。这并不是说管理者没有尽力或者他们不想发展壮大企业，而是他们处理企业危机事件的能力有问题。
4) CEO（或者VC）是否在努力扩大市场份额还是在努力争取私人利益。如果双方有人不停修改协议条款，或者以酒醉来作为借口，你应该可以预见到麻烦要来了。显然内部斗争会拖累整个合作项目，以“牺牲品”来形容自己的CEO和VC都不会是优质合作伙伴。
5) CEO或VC是否在意团队里其他关键人物？他们能否每次都可以很好地给自己定位？当你融到资了就会深切体会到这一点。有些CEO只拿一点点，其余留给团队其他人。也有人根本不在乎这样的事情会给团队里其他人带来什么影响。6)最后，你问问自己，你相信你的合作伙伴么？你是不是被你的疑心所折磨？这很容易看出你的肚量。你会否质疑自己的行为？你有没有担心过其他人在你背后做什么小动作？如果你发现你或者你的伙伴都开始互相推诿责任，那麻烦也快来了，
一个优秀的合作者是值得共事的，他们可以承担责任并提供价值增值。在风险投资及企业合作经营中，这些风险都会不断放大。优质CEO还吸引优秀的人材，相反那些品质低下的CEO则会抵制人材；前者拥有广阔的视野，而后者则只能看到自己那条小路。
老虎对冲基金的传奇创始人朱利安-罗伯逊（Julian Robertson）对于企业管理有着非常狂热的爱好和激情。 他经常询问他的下属，“你那些管理工作都完成了么？”，他关心几乎所有方面，从他们的学校出身到各自私人生活细节都有他都要知道。同样他还希望他的团队对所投资企业的管理者要了解得一清二楚。
生命太短暂了，根本不值得在那些烦恼上浪费时光。所以，你要小心选择你的合作伙伴。如果你没有在意合作伙伴的某些人品问题以及一些含糊过去的异常举动，那千万要小心你可能会陷入后悔莫及的境地。随着时间缓缓流逝，你会发现，你已经处于一个满是痛苦的环境中了。 http://9.douban.com