“We’re huge believers in $38 folding tables from Wal-Mart. If you’re working on a $38 table, that frugality tends to pervade every decision you make. That’s a lot different from some of the flashier dotcoms that bought billboards on buses. We’re focused on making every dollar count…
One positive we’ve learned from the dotcom era is the importance of partnerships—and of choosing your partners well. In a small business, the most important decisions you make are the things you decide not to do. So find what you’re good at, and recognize where your weaknesses are. Then bring on an appropriate partner who can fill in the gap.”
Laura Rippy, CEO, Handango. From “Dots Dashed: Unit of One,” by Lucy McCauley and Christine Canabou. Fast Company, February, 2001.Hiring your boss
Like most entrepreneurs, Bobby John and Aziz Hurzook wore many hats when they launched their venture, Caught in the Web, Inc. John was president, VP of technology and VP of sales at the Toronto-based web design firm, while Hurzook was CEO, CFO and creative director. Although they had grown the firm to seventy employees and sold their services to a who’s who of corporate Canada, they wanted their company to reach the next level—and figured they weren’t the right people to take it there. Solution: they replaced themselves, stepping into smaller roles and hiring their own boss.
Enter Pete Jones, then forty-seven, and who had just spent seven years as president of Apple Canada. A member of Caught’s advisory board knew Jones and suggested him for the job. So began the key step in hiring your boss: ensuring the candidate is right for your company—and for you.
Despite Jones’ track record, the founders had many concerns. “I was very apprehensive,” says John. “I was going to give up my baby to him.” Caught in the Web would soon have 100 staff—could Jones manage a company that size? Could he execute an initial public offering? How would he handle things if business went sour? “I was really trying to figure out if Pete got it,” says John.
To make sure of the fit, John and Jones met every day for a week. It was part interview, part courtship. They discussed each other’s lives, interests, and values. “Because it was a referral at both ends, you started off with a lot of trust,” says John. Hurzook joined in after a few days. In late March 2000, he was appointed Caught in the Web’s president and CEO. As the new heads of marketing and Web creation, respectively, John and Hurzook were reporting to somebody for the first time.
Jones moved quickly. He wandered around, making sure he was visible. “It would be the kiss of death to just stay in your office and send out memos,” he says. He implemented a dedicated space plan that, while better suited to an organization of Caught’s size, clashed with the established disorder that let staff work where they liked. He even tackled layoffs in the deflating Net bubble of 2000. The founders were relieved they could just watch.
From “Hiring Your Boss” by Harvey Schachter, January 2002
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