Man, you wanna teach someone grit? Have them handle tech support for grandmas for a day.

By the time they’re done, they’ll be ready to face anything.

How to Develop Grit in Others

• Why Read:

  • This article teaches founders how to cultivate grit, a crucial trait for navigating the challenges and setbacks inherent in building a successful startup.

• Featuring:

  • Admired Leadership (@AdmiredLeaders), Professional Training and Coaching

• Link: 

  • “Teaching Grit”

Key Concepts and Tactics:

1. The Meaning and Importance of Grit:

   • "In Old English, the word Grit means gravel, suggesting an abrasive way of displaying persistence. Since the late 16th century, the word has been used to refer to a strength of human character, denoting pluckiness and tenacity."

   • "Gritty people work strenuously toward challenges and maintain a constant effort despite setbacks and moments of failure. Those with grit set goals and do everything they can to reach them."

2. Teaching Grit through the "Hard Thing Rule":

   • "Angela Duckworth, who helped to bring the idea of Grit to the forefront with her research and writing, believes leaders (and parents) can teach Grit by implementing the "Hard Thing Rule.""

   • "The Hard Thing Rule is the daily practice of something outside your comfort zone. It is a practice that includes a bounty of feedback and requires a deep commitment to finish or achieve the end goal."

3. The Benefits of Practicing Hard Things:

   • "Engaging against that daily challenge requires an individual to alter their normal tendencies, teaching them to develop more Grit."

   • "Such challenging practices also require the person to make sacrifices for the sake of achieving long-term goals and mastery. They give up time, energy, and resources for the kind of practice that is uncomfortable and takes away from more pleasurable pursuits. This teaches Grit."

   1. The Role of Leaders in Developing Grit:

      • "To help others to become Grittier, leaders help them find that daily practice and commit to it. Helping them set realistic but difficult goals and then showing them how to keep track of significant milestones along the way is an essential part of the process."

      • "Leaders insist that those who commit don't give up or surrender easily. They promote the idea that the stubborn refusal to quit is a cardinal virtue. They watch and then encourage others to "embrace the suck" and to keep moving forward."

Playing to Win vs. Playing to Make Plan

Why Read: 

• This article helps founders understand the crucial distinction between "playing to win" and "playing to make plan" strategies, and how to adapt their approach based on their market landscape.

Featuring:

• Dave Kellogg (@Kellblog), Executive In Residence at Balderton Capital

Link: 

• “Playing to Win vs. Playing to Make Plan: The Two Very Different Worlds of Silicon Valley”

Key Concepts and Tactics:

• Understanding the Shifting Strategic Landscape:

  • The article notes that classic Silicon Valley strategy books were written in a different era, with assumptions around new, greenfield markets and high switching costs that may no longer apply today.

  • "Back in the day, the only real play in enterprise software was playing to win."

  Distinguishing Between "Playing to Win" and "Playing to Make Plan":

  • The article defines "playing to win" as the strategy of dominating a new market at all costs, versus "playing to make plan" which is focused on achieving more modest, but reliable growth and profitability targets.

  • "That's the distinction between 'playing to win' and 'playing to make plan.'"

  Contrasting Advice for CEOs in Each Strategic Approach:

  • For "playing to win" CEOs, the advice focuses on aggressive tactics to crush the competition and become the market leader, even at the cost of short-term chaos.

  • For "playing to make plan" CEOs, the focus is on ensuring achievable growth and profitability targets, managing costs, and positioning the company for an eventual acquisition.

  • "When I meet a CEO in the playing-to-win world, I say things like...

    • If you don’t win this market one of your competitors will.  A first-place valuation can be 10x second which in turn can be 10x third.  You must win.  Second prize really is a set of steak knives.

    • For the next several years, you will need to get in touch with your inner barbarian.  When the smoke clears at the conclusion of the hypergrowth phase, you must emerge the winner.  After you’ve won, you can do fancy interviews about the difficulty of maintaining your values during hypergrowth.  But win first.

    • Hire a VP of Sales who makes you uncomfortable.  They should be so aggressive you get worried."

  • "When I meet a CEO in the playing-to-make-plan world, I say things like... 

    • Is the total available market (TAM) big enough to support our 20-25% growth targets over the next few years?

    • If not, how can we expand into adjacent markets and/or offer new products that will help ensure we can grow?

    • Is the operating plan achievable?  Have we inspected all the key levers to ensure that we have a very good chance of achieving it?  To the extent we’re assuming changes to productivity metrics, what plans have we put in places to achieve them?  Or are they simply wishes?

    • Against whom are we competing, and do we have a playbook such that we know we can win our fair share of deals?"

  The Changing Software Market Landscape:

  • The article notes that some software markets have shifted away from winner-take-all dynamics, with more options for profitable niche players and PE-backed firms focused on "making plan".

  • "One interesting case is when an entire market goes into 'make plan' mode. I'd argue that my old category, enterprise performance management (EPM), is largely there."

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