Tag: Being a boss

Being CEO

In a meeting, the CEO should always speak last

Chris Labs

As Jeff Bezos says so brilliantly, people might have a certain opinion. But once they hear the opinion of the CEO, they might think: Well, if this person thinks that way, maybe I missed some data or information and I should go read it again. That will alter people’s original opinion. And if they are smart enough to be in that room, their opinion was probably valuable too. Jeff Bezos, Lex Fridman Podcast Continue reading In a meeting, the CEO should always speak last

Being CEO

Format for team meetings: Memo

Chris Labs

The perfect meeting starts with a crisp document and a messy meeting. The meeting should be about asking questions that no one knows the answer to. The organization should be truth-seeking. If something can be known for sure through data or research, find the answer. 6 pages memo A typical meeting will start with a 6 pages narratively-structured memo. For 30mins, everyone in the meeting will read silently the memo quietly and write down questions they might have. If people were asked to read it beforehand, most are too busy and they would only skim the document. Or pretend they … Continue reading Format for team meetings: Memo

Being CEO

How to structure Marketing Department

Chris Labs

It is such an important role, the role of media buying. You do not want all your business to rely on one or very few individuals. On the podcast Operators, Marty gives this structure recommendation. Basically, the department should be divised into two groups: – Marty, E006: Marty Wholesome Goods, De-Risking Talent, Data & Testing, Gamers, Panzerism, Prime Day & More. Continue reading How to structure Marketing Department

Being CEO

Idea for team building activity

Chris Labs

You gotta be creative and take that many dollars of budget and make it feel like a trillion dollars of budget. Sam Parr organized a visit to Costco with the employees from The Hustle. In teams of 2 or 4, they were given a 200$ budget and they had 30mins to go into costco and buy the coolest stuff for the office and food for lunch. Everyone was then voting on who had picked the best goods. My First Million, Ep. 299, minute 1:01:10 Continue reading Idea for team building activity

Learnings

You should let your employees modulate their own space the way they want

Chris Labs

In 2010, a study was conducted to see why environment was the best for the employees. Which environment would lead to the most productivity and happiness. They tested 4 layouts: One was stripped down: bare desk, swivel chair, pencil, paper, nothing else. The second layout was softened with pot plants and almost abstract floral images. Workers enjoyed this layout (2nd) more than the minimalist one and got more and better work done there. The third and fourth layouts were superficially similar, yet produced dramatically different outcomes. In each, workers were invited to use the same plants and pictures to decorate … Continue reading You should let your employees modulate their own space the way they want

Being CEO

Watch out: Are you on a Maker’s Schedule or on a Manager’s Schedule? What about your employees?

Chris Labs

“Maker” time requires large blocks of the clock to write code, develop ideas, generate leads, recruit people, produce products, or execute on projects and plans. This time tends to be viewed in half-day increments. “Manager time”, on the other hand, gets divided into hours. This time typically has one moving from meeting to meeting, and because those who oversee or direct tend to have power and authority, “they are in a position to make everyone resonate at their frequency.” This can create a huge conflict if those needing maker time are pulled into meetings at odd hours, destroying the very … Continue reading Watch out: Are you on a Maker’s Schedule or on a Manager’s Schedule? What about your employees?

Being CEO, Hiring

Filter out losers with those questions

Chris Labs

Don’t hire losers. They might be able to do the job for which they are hired. But that is not good enough. Especially at a startup where you are able to hire a lot fewer people than you would like. Here are some of the questions you can ask to detect losers: “Tell me about what you studied in college, and what were some of your favorite classes?” A person who spent $120,000 and dedicated four years of their lives to any pursuit better be able to speak eloquently for five minutes on that humongous experience. Or else they are … Continue reading Filter out losers with those questions

Learnings

Never accept mediocrity again

Chris Labs

Too often, we receive something we paid for and it’s not exactly how we wanted it… But then we think “Huh, I guess it will be faster to do it myself” or “It’s going to take too much time for that person to make it right”. But NO. If you are to pay someone to do something, it has to be great. It has to be the best version of what it could be. If it’s not and the person can’t make it happen… then don’t pay for it. It’s not what you wanted, you shouldn’t pay for that. F*#k … Continue reading Never accept mediocrity again

Being CEO

Make sure your team is proactive with their time

Chris Labs

One of the best ways to do this is to present a real-world example of someone on your team who does this well. Walk everyone through an example week on their calendar and point out exactly how they are spending their time. Then have everyone pull out their own calendar and have them go through the same process on their own calendar. Are they batching tasks? Which of the events are high leverage activities? Are there more efficient patterns to create? You should go through this process with your entire team at least once a quarter. Lessons from Keith Rabois Continue reading Make sure your team is proactive with their time