Entrepreneurial Leadership

When deciding what to pay your new hires, get it right. Pay too little, and they will quickly become dissatisfied and/or resentful—and quit for a better opportunity. Pay too much, and they’ll be happy for a while—but soon may feel they’ve traded away their freedom for financial security.

Organizations made up of people who chose their jobs based on the highest salaries are miserable places to work—full of petty jealousies and politics, and hostile to new hires.

Instead of making it all about the paycheck, entrepreneurial leaders help team members find meaning in their jobs and feel invested in the purpose of the organization by using specific tools: access to senior management, titles, public credit when projects go well, and learning opportunities, whether through formal programs or informal mentorship.

MISTAKE #7: MAKING IT ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

MISTAKE #8: NOT ONBOARDING PROPERLY

When I hire someone, I start by making the new employee’s success an explicit personal goal. By the end of ninety days, I want the team to wonder how they got along before the new person joined, I want the new employee to marvel at how much she enjoys the job—and as the manager, I want to be excited about how much the new employee might develop and contribute in the future.

It’s always best to face mistakes squarely, do your best to address them, and move forward.

Consider the process of writing the job description, sourcing candidates, interviewing them, onboarding new hires, giving assignments and feedback, reassignments, and coaching your most important jobs as an entrepreneurial leader.

Learn from your mistakes. No one gets hiring right all the time.

“People are going to fight for you only if they like you,”

“Even in such technical [work] as engineering, about 15 percent of one’s financial success is due to one’s technical knowledge and about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering—to having the personality and ability to lead

“Even in such technical [work] as engineering, about 15 percent of one’s financial success is due to one’s technical knowledge and about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering—to having the personality and ability to lead people,”

each night, people write down three events of that day for which they were grateful. “Writing about why the positive events in your life happened may seem awkward at first, but please stick with it for one week,” he says. “It will get easier. The odds are that you will be less depressed, happier, and addicted to this exercise six months from now.”

Comparison is the thief of joy.”)

Unhappy people carry an inconsolable bitterness that is an organizational cancer. I’ve seen cultures heal simply by encouraging those who are unhappy to be miserable elsewhere.

be happy in your day-to-day work life—and if you’re not, find something else to do.

‘You’re in charge of yourself, and you get to decide who you want to be. Other people matter a lot, so take time to care for and be kind to them. Work hard at something that’s meaningful to you. Tell the truth. And bear in mind that your reputation follows you everywhere.’”

Intellectual humility recognizes that no matter how much you’ve achieved, there are likely others smarter than you.

Moral humility recognizes that “no matter how self-assured you are about your moral compass, you are vulnerable, under stress or in certain contexts, to losing your way,”

“No matter what you accomplish, always remain humble.”