Old Chang CHATS - Chinese History And Tech Startups
By Chang Zi Qian
Old Chang CHATS - Chinese History And Tech Startups Sep 27, 2020
Episode 6: Learning from Liu Bang (Managing the dynamics between Founders and Professionals)
Professional Team dynamic issues often happen because there is a difference in expectations or it is an ego issue.
Both the founder and the professional need to know that success is about giving a chance to each other to make things successful. Both parties cannot achieve things on their own.
Founders need to focus on maintaining unity in the team and to keep the Generals/Administrators engaged
Professionals need to remember that the Founder is the one who has provided the platform for their professional expertise create impact.
Episode 5: Learning from Liu Bang (Scaling up beyond brotherhood Managing and Courting Professionals) 齐心聚人
3 Things Founders need to look out when they try and persuade professionals to join their mission
短期利益的保障 (His ability to Secure their short term financial interests)
长期利益的想象 (To maintain the foreseeability/visibility of the long term pay out interests)
成就感的可期待 (The possibility of attaining personal achievement)
Episode 4: Learning from Liu Bang (Scaling up beyond brotherhood Harnessing the skills of professionals 成长阶段，用专家，强力)
1. Recognise that there are 3 types of roles in an effective team 帅才，将才，相才 -the commander, the general and the administrator.
2. The commander/leader’s stays focus on knowing what to do and entrusting the correct individual to execute it. It is the leader’s role to identify the talents and ensure Unity where people accepting their place vis-a-vis those above them and around them
3. The general and adminstrator's role is knowing how to do something and doing it well.
Episode 3: Learning from Liu Bang (Creating Unity and Brotherhood) 汉高祖刘邦 初创阶段，用兄弟，心齐
Stage 1: Starting Up Phase , form with those you trust, your brothers. Unity and Staying together 初创阶段，用兄弟，心齐。
Stage 2: Scaling up Phase, make use of professional talent, to tap on each other’s strengths 成长阶段，用专家，强力。
Stage 3: Explosion phase, leverage on external partnerships to harness scale and resources 完胜阶段，用外协，集势。
- Talent comes in many forms, don’t dismiss anyone and build your brotherhood
- There will defintely be disagreements within a brotherhood. It is the leader’s job to unite the team and Unity comes from 2 elements
- people accepting their place vis-a-vis those above them and around them
- People accepting their rewards as being fair vis-a-vis those above them and around them
It is the leaders job to pain a picture of the situation the team is in and to set the rules to ensure continuous unity.
Episode 2: Learning from 3 Kingdoms (Knowing whether someone is the appropriate talent for your startup 马谡失街亭）
1. Talents come in all shapes and sizes.
2. Startup is an extreme sport. The skill sets getting into ivy league, a PHD or into a prestigious firm only reveals technical competency. The skill sets requied to get admitted into the above mentioned may not be relevant for the purposes of a startup.
3. Founders need to be clear on what kind of team they are trying form.
Episode 1: Learning from 3 Kingdoms (Courting the talent for your early stage startup 三顾茅庐 )
三顾茅庐 Experiment Episode (With Technical Error)
Hello everyone, this is my try in recording a podcast to talk about Chinese History and some learnings for startup founders. Will like to start with something famous and light today - 三顾茅庐 (San 1 Gu4 Mao 2 Lu 2 Literally which means, 3 visits to the grass hut)
Some person takeaways from the story for start up founders
1. Ask what is your current position (street cred, financial, reputational etc) to attract the talent you are courting?
2. What's the platform you are providing to people who are joining you?
3. What's the vision and ambition over here
4. What's the rebel factor you are providing in this journey?
5. Knowing the interests and ambition of the person you are courting.