Founding Teams Come in Many Forms: Respect One Another and Agree on the Rules First

Robin: “Founding teams come in many forms, but mutual respect should be central. Partners must agree on the rules beforehand and follow them.” --- Teams have all kinds of combinations: spouses, siblings, fathers and sons, classmates, colleagues, and senior or junior schoolmates. Some revolve around one central figure; others operate as equal partnerships. Different forms can all succeed. But the group must have rules agreed in advance, recognized and followed by everyone. For example, several partners may agree from the beginning that they are equal: nobody has the final say alone, and everyone must respect one another’s views. No set of rules is perfect. These rules bring drawbacks, slowing decisions and costing opportunities. But those are inevitable consequences of the arrangement everyone agreed to, and everyone must accept them. Another approach is to have one boss whom the others follow. Once the boss decides, everyone executes rather than participating in every decision. Agreeing at the outset to a model with one or a few decision-makers is also fine. The greatest danger comes when someone rejects the original rules in the middle or later stages: “Sorry, I can’t keep listening to you. I want to be the boss too; I want a turn.” Whether the rules keep shifting is crucial to the team’s longevity and effectiveness. Dangdang, for example, was run by spouses Li Guoqing and Yu Yu. Even in the early years, they often argued heatedly over internal matters. Running a husband-and-wife business is an art. Such businesses have many strengths, especially when the couple handles things well. They share much common ground and work toward the same goal; the man and woman may also complement each other in many ways. But define the core rules and each person’s role in advance: what you do and what I do. Agree on a mechanism for resolving company disagreements. Certain major matters might be decided by one person; on some categories, I seek your advice. On market matters, for example, “You understand this well, husband, so you have the final say and I accept that.” On personnel or finance, “I’m stronger. I will try to persuade you, but if I cannot, I have the final say.” Define these rules relatively clearly. The more dominant person at work should please take a less dominant role at home, giving the other person some psychological balance. Some fundamental rules cannot readily change: how rewards are shared, or whether one person decides or decisions are collective. Each change often affects the core corporate culture. Other things, such as procedures and regulations, will naturally improve and change at different stages as the company grows. Behind the most fundamental arrangements is a system—a set of rules—expressed in a deeply rooted corporate culture. Do not change that culture lightly. Changing it often makes the company different; it is no longer the same enterprise. #ChinaRenaissanceBaoFan