Seen.
Build
This week one of us was alongside a founder who had decided to shift gear, and start building.
Although things feel tougher than ever right now, they managed to recapture their drive as the clarity emerges on the path out of lockdown.
The impact on the team was immediate. They were committed to make the renewed business a success.
It was clear that there was a huge latent potential within their team. Given the opportunity they were ready to bring their best.
Is it time to start building? What latent potential might this unleash in your team?
Read.
Friction
A founder was inspired by a story in Radical Candour by Kim Scott. It was about Steve Jobs.
When he was little, someone showed him a rock tumbler. A can spun on a motor. They added some rocks and grit and left the device running for two days.
When they returned to it, the plain rocks had transformed into beautiful polished stones.
Jobs saw this a metaphor for teams. The friction and noise that can happen in teams can be seen as part of the process of polishing each member, and allowing them to shine.
Learned.
Better
This week a founder was inspired by a 2 year old who was being slightly over boisterous.
His parents corrected the bad behaviour as it happened, as most of us would expect parents to do.
This made the founder wonder: what would it have been like if his parents did this like he did feedback in his business? Sitting the child down a week or a month or a year later, and reviewing their behaviour?
It would be ridiculous, and wouldn't work.
But sometimes this is how we give feedback at work. The conversations make us uncomfortable, so we put them off and save them up. The result is no less ridiculous, and in this founders experience, it rarely worked.
Isn't it strange we are more respectful of children's ability to accept feedback in the moment, than that of the adults we work with?
This founder discovered that whether criticism or praise, feedback in the moment can help make sure it's given authentically, is easier for the recipient to understand, and that it doesn't get confused with assessment (which is also important, but different).
And finally.
We were delighted this week to welcome Dom Jones, co-founder of Maray, a restaurant group based in Liverpool, as our first ever guest on the #founderhacks podcast
If you're a founder and would like to share your #founderhacks with our readers and listeners, drop us a line at hello@atomex.co.uk.
Don’t forget to check out the accompanying podcast version of #founderhacks for a tantalising live experience of team atomex!
