By Melissa Cohen
BostInno - March 25, 2013
One of the greatest perks of working with emerging companies is getting a direct line to the kind of leaders who create things that never existed before and establish markets that become fundamental. These are the executives who also teach us valuable management lessons. Here are a few recent favorites:
1. “Focus on the big stuff – the elephants in the room, not the bunnies (because they reproduce all the time).” – Paula Long, co-founder and CEO, DataGravity
When Long spoke to the audience at Women 2.0, she shared this bit of advice she heard earlier in her career, and she focused on startup lessons she’s gathered as a serial entrepreneur. However, the one-liners featured in her presentation offer guidance to employees looking to create their own success alongside that of emerging companies.
2. “Great people under you push you up. They don’t push you out.” – Steve Pogorzelski, CEO of ClickFuel
In a CNNMoney article titled, “5 ways to be a really bad boss,” Pogorzelski says his best management lessons came from his worst supervisors, and he now uses those negative exemplars to inform his management style and make sure he is serving as a coach to his employees.
3. “Look for people who have a very strong work ethic.” – Liz Elting, founder and co-CEO of TransPerfect
The first step in being a successful manager is choosing a team that can succeed, and Elting has shared her hiring strategies with numerous publications, including this Business Insider piece, in which she touts not only work ethic, but also open communication and building up individual employees.
4. “It’s rare to find the right mix of entrepreneurial spirit and organizational acumen; when I spot that in someone, I know I’m looking at a smart investment.” – Shlomo Kramer, angel investor and founder of Imperva
Management acumen starts with the right set of personal qualities. Kramer shared his experience in identifying and cultivating the ideal mix with the Wall Street Journal’s Accelerators column.