The Art of Team Formation by Ken Singer

THE ART OF TEAM FORMATION

July 7, 2014Confidential Material: Property of Ken Singer

Your Team is Your Competitive EdgeYour Team is Your Competitive Edge

The Art of Team FormationThe Art of Team Formation



Choose Your Team WiselyChoose Your Team Wisely



Your Team must be able to:

• Ideation• Team management and grow• Project Management• Product and UI/UX Design• Product development & engineering• Product marketing & positioning• Customer qualification• Lead generation and marketing• Business and revenue modeling• Competitive analysis and managing “co-opetition”• Sales and evangelization• Customer management & support• Deployment and system management• Accounting and budgeting• Fund raising



Diversity is an Act of SurvivalDiversity is an Act of Survival



3 Ways to look at a team.

• By Business function

• By Roles

• By Dynamic



Business Functions

• Project Manager

• Designer (user/creative)

• Engineer

• Sales/Marketing

• Business Planning/Data Analyst



Roles to Play

• Idea Guy

• The Communicator

• The Problem Finder

• The Problem Solver

• Executor (Ninja)

• Balloon Popper

• Puppy Shooter



Team Dynamic

• Accelerator

• Clutch

• Brake



Traits of successful

teams.

• Brutal honesty

• Efficient communication

• Ability to listen to everyone

• Creativity in all parts of the business

• Risk taking: view failure as a step towards

success

• Prioritization and rational decision making

• Execution and attention to detail

• Team Diversity – division of work / diversity of skill



Brutal Honesty IS a Business StrategyBrutal Honesty IS a Business Strategy



Different Personalities Communicate DifferentlyDifferent Personalities Communicate Differently



Lesson: Listening is Your Most Powerful Tool Lesson: Listening is Your Most Powerful Tool



Must be Creative in All Parts of the Business Must be Creative in All Parts of the Business



Yes, You have to Take RisksYes, You have to Take Risks



But then you have to Accept and Learning from FailureBut then you have to Accept and Learning from Failure



Prioritization and Rational Decision Making:

Know which Decisions You Need to Make

Prioritization and Rational Decision Making:

Know which Decisions You Need to Make



Good Execution is More Important than StrategyGood Execution is More Important than Strategy



Team building begins with you.



Self Profile



Self Evaluation

• What are your strong suits?

• What are your weaknesses?

• What are your key interests?

• Why do you want to do a startup?

• What are your personality quirks?

• What is your risk profile?



You = Team…Sink or Swim together

So you better find other good swimmers.



• Don’t choose members because they are “agreeable”

• Find smart people you can disagree with but can come to

agreement eventually

• Discuss everyone’s strengths and weaknesses early on

• Find those who fill your weaknesses

• Set ground rules and revisit often

• Set clear delineated roles and functions

• Set clear achievable goals

• Set up regular check ins & establish strong culture of

communication

How to build a team.

The Art of Team Formation by Ken Singer

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Transcript of The Art of Team Formation by Ken Singer