I absolutely loved chapter 7 of Ascend Your Start-Up! Yu was talking my language.
She repeatedly uses the mantra that "growth thrives at the intersection of technology and humanity." This was a little hard for me to wrap my head around but I think it comes from her experience in the tech sector where tech can help or hinder just like a person can help or get in their own way. It was so helpful to see that she broke it down into some precepts.
You must create believers
I agree so strongly with this. Culture starts and ends here. I have had the benefit of working for three organizations that make sure that onboarding or orientation begins with a history lesson with the evolutionary changes that occurred along the way. My first job was at McDonald's and they made us watch 15 minute VHS tapes in a library that included Ray Kroc (founder, 1955) and his story of humble beginnings and vision for a family-friendly burger joint at reasonable prices. Then later I was employed at Leo Burnett USA, an ad agency founded in 1935 by a very eloquent creative named Leo Burnett and his When to Take My Name Off the Door speech, that still makes my hairs stand up and I keep the book 100 Leo's a pithy compilation of wise Burnett-isms. Similarly, at Ogilvy & Mather, there was a grounding in David Ogilvy and how he built his advertising business in 1948. In all three, having their vision helped me know what the day-to-day needed to look like to make that vision a reality. Each are still around, many years after their founding. It provided the "why".
Define what 'staying special' means to you
"Staying Special" to me means working in an environment where opinions are encouraged and debates welcome because that only makes the work stronger--looking at things from every angle (even if not your own), building upon other's thoughts/ideas, where laughter often breaks the tension in the room and criticism is shaken off because the end-product is something everyone can be proud of having created. Where my strength isn't a threat--I identified with Yu, hard, when she said, "I have a strong personality, for instance. I say what I think, which stems from a deep sense of commitment. For some founders, that’s a bad fit. If that’s the case, then hiring someone more green to take orders might be a good idea." I am most definitely not a 'yes' person; however, you will have no stronger advocate on the team if I am on board.
Remain close to your 'why'
Simon Sinek has a great "Why?" exercise that starts with "why are we friends?" and it boils down to this: "Your why is the thing you give to the world". Boom! This is the humanity that Yu mentions. In a start-up or small business, the founder might clearly know why he/she/they started the company (hopefully they don't lose sight of it as they build something bigger, something meaningful, possibly life-changing, for consumers to buy into. As we all know, an organization is made up of people so understanding holistically, a culture is the very soul of a company. Yu says, "Trust is key to making a collaborative culture work...Cultural Collaboration means taking intentional action to build an inclusive, thriving culture where it’s safe to share ideas." The culture doesn't just happen. It is shaped, cultivated, fed by positivity, by vision, by shared beliefs, by aligning strategy to the day-to-day. It might not always be flawlessly executed, but not everything is perfect. In fact, whatever makes you uncomfortable is your biggest opportunity for growth. Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been here before...you've never been this version of you. So give yourself a little grace and breathe through it.
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