You keep looking at the numbers. Why is the needle not moving in the right direction? The top line is flat, the margin is declining, and expenses are up. This new product line should be delivering great results, but instead, it is consuming both cash and organizational bandwidth. Something has got to change, and fast. As the leader, it is time to assemble your team and leverage your best minds to overcome the challenge. You must know exactly who to call—your “Ocean’s Eleven.”
In the movie “Ocean’s Eleven,” Danny Ocean plans to rob a Las Vegas Casino, so he assembles a team to help him. The team comprises a motley cast of characters, each with a specific skill set. On the surface, no one individual looks particularly impressive. But, in the aggregate, combining different skills creates a team capable of overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Danny Ocean is wise. He knows what he wants and what needs to be done. He clearly understands his strengths and weaknesses. Further, he recognizes the risks. He seeks to assemble the right team with the skills required to do the job. Together, they pull off one of the greatest, albeit fictional, heists of all time.
I am not suggesting that you plan to rob a casino, but a founder must have a strong team of people with specific, unique, and needed skills. If you are looking for the blue sky or hoping to solve a chronic challenge, you need a team that includes your big-picture thinkers. These folks don’t allow their thinking constrained by current realities or perceived limits. It helps to have a contrarian or two in the group. They can serve to ground your big-picture thinkers and challenge the assumptions being made by the group. Of course, don’t forget your bean counters or scorekeepers. These are the folks who help to ensure you put in the needed measurements and triggers. Don’t overlook the techies.
Not only is technology foundational to the success of almost any modern project, but in my experience, techies also prove to be pretty good process thinkers. I like having a few tried-and-true problem-solvers on my team. These are people who have proven to have a knack for critical thinking. Now that you have your thinkers, contrarians, bean counters, techies, and solvers, it is time to add your subject matter experts. Pretty self-explanatory here. If you are working through something in a specific business channel, competitive set, or process area, you want to include the people who know it best. So, if you put all these people together to work on an opportunity or a challenge, the outcome is some form of change. That’s why you should have the best “people” people involved. These are your change agents or influencers. Whether the impact will be internal or external, you want those on your team who are best capable and equipped to assist you in helping others navigate the change. That’s my team!
What I have outlined above illustrates what a founder’s team might look like. Your team includes employees, contractors, advisors, and board members. What is important is that you ask yourself the question, “Who are my Ocean’s Eleven?”. Take the time to build a team with the unique, specific, and needed skills to help you overcome all the obstacles that stand in the way of success.
