Steve Blank When Sh!t Hits the Fan – Founders in a Crisis
a day ago
- Great founders recognize and act decisively in a crisis, while ordinary ones let their companies fail.
- An e-bike company's founders lost a major city contract and failed to learn from the loss or treat the next competition as a life-or-death crisis.
- CEOs must articulate why a specific event is an existential threat and draft a memo outlining what changed, why it matters, and why current operations are insufficient.
- Effective crisis response includes personally leading a dedicated team, setting up a war room, moving to the problem location, and bringing in experienced people.
- A competent founder spots a crisis, a good founder builds new skills, and a great founder already has a plan B.
- Without urgency and action, investors and competitors will make decisions for you, leading to failure.