Building a New Venture Team and
Planning for the Next Generation
Leaders don’t create followers; they
create more leaders.
-Tom Peters
Leaders in the New Economy
Effective leaders exhibit certain behaviors. They:
 Create a set of values and beliefs for employees and
passionately pursue them.
 Define and then constantly reinforce the vision they have for
the company.
 Respect and support their employees.
 Set the example for their employees.
 Create a climate of trust in the organization.
 Build credibility with their employees.
 Focus employees’ efforts on challenging goals and keep them
driving toward those goals.
 provide the resources employees need to achieve their goals.
 Communicate with their employees.
Leaders in the New Economy
(cont’d)
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Value the diversity of their workers.
Celebrate their workers’ successes.
Are willing to take risks.
Encourage creativity among their workers.
Maintain a sense of humor.
Create an environment in which people have the motivation,
the training, and the freedom to achieve the goals they have
set.
Become a catalyst for change.
Keep their eyes on the horizon.
Add the right employees to the entrepreneurial team an
constantly improve their skills.
Create a culture for retaining employees.
Plan for “passing the torch” to the next generation of
leadership.
Building an Entrepreneurial Team:
Hiring the Right Employees
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Avoiding hiring mistakes
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Elevate recruiting to a strategic position in the company
Look inside the company first
Encourage employee referrals
Make employment advertisements stand out
Use the internet as a recruiting tool
Recruit on campus
Forge relationships with schools and other sources of
workers
Recruit “retired” workers
Consider using offbeat recruiting techniques
Offer what workers want
Building an Entrepreneurial Team:
Hiring the Right Employees (cont’d)
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Create practical job descriptions and job
specifications
Plan an effective interview
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Develop a series of core questions and ask them of every
candidate.
Ask open-ended questions (including on-the-job
“scenarios”) rather than questions calling for “yes or no”
answers.
Create hypothetical situations candidates would be likely
to encounter on the job and ask how they would handle
them.
Probe for specific examples in the candidate’s past work
experiences that demonstrate the necessary trails and
characteristics.
Building an Entrepreneurial Team:
Hiring the Right Employees (cont’d)
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ask candidates to describe a recent success and a
recent failure and how they dealt with them.
Arrange a “non-interview” setting that allows several
employees to observe the candidate in an informal
setting.
Conduct the interview
Breaking the ice
Asking questions
Selling the candidate on the company
Contact references and conduct a background
check
Creating an Organizational Culture That
Encourages Employee Retention
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Company culture
Respect for work and life balance
A sense of purpose
A sense of fun
Diversity
Integrity
Participative management
Learning environment
Managing growth and a changing
culture
Rewards and compensation
Management Succession: Passing
the Torch of Leadership
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How to develop a management succession plan
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1. select the successor
2. create a survival kit for the successor
3. groom the successor
4. promote and environment of trust and respect
5. cope with the financial realities of estate and gift taxes
Buy-sell agreement
Lifetime gifting
Setting up a trust
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Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
Bypass trust.
Irrevocable life insurance trust
Irrevocable asset trust.
Grantor retained trust
Estate freeze
Family limited partnership
Exit Strategies
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Selling to outsiders
Selling to insiders
A sale for cash plus a
note
Leveraged buyouts
Employee stock
ownership plans