Lead Upwards. Sarah E. Brown

HOW SMITH “LEVELED UP” BY BUILDING A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE C‐LEVEL TEAM MASTERING DATA‐DRIVEN STORYTELLING AROUND BUSINESS OBJECTIVES GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF CROSS‐FUNCTIONAL PARTNERS AND THEIR ROLES PARTNER CLOSELY WITH YOUR FINANCE LEADERSHIP (UNLESS YOU'RE THE CFO; IN THAT CASE, PARTNER WITH EVERY OTHER EXECUTIVE TEAM) START UNOFFICIALLY RECRUITING YOUR “BENCH” DREAM TEAM FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT LEVELING UP IN THE ENGINEERING SIDE OF THE BUSINESS: JEFF AMMONS LEARNING TO LET GO OF BEING THE ONE TO WRITE CODE AND SHIFTING TO EMPOWERING HIS TEAM ON INTERNAL PROMOTIONS: NICK MEHTA'S PERSPECTIVE AS CEO OF GAINSIGHT GETTING HIRED: LANDING THE ROLE INTERNAL PROMOTIONS TO EXECUTIVE ARE POSSIBLE, BUT NOT AT EVERY COMPANY CHAPTER FIVE: Get the Offer and Secure Your Executive Seat FIND YOUR FIRST (OR NEXT) EXECUTIVE ROLE INTERVIEWING FOR YOUR EXECUTIVE ROLE NAVIGATING THE OFTEN BYZANTINE STARTUP HIRING PROCESS THE INTERVIEW PROCESS UNDERSTAND THE PRESENTATION TECH STACK AND PRACTICE YOUR PRESENTATION WITH FRIENDS MEETING WITH THE CEO: UNDERSTAND THEIR VISION WHEN THE STARTUP'S HIRING PROCESS GOES AWRY GETTING THE OFFER COMPENSATION BREAKDOWN NEGOTIATING THE OFFER DO YOUR RESEARCH RISK VS. REWARD: A NOTE ABOUT EQUITY FIND OUT THE PERCENTAGE OF EQUITY BEING RECEIVED AND ITS CURRENT VALUE UNDERSTAND YOUR VESTING SCHEDULE IN YOUR OFFER HIRE AN ACCOUNTANT AS SOON AS YOU ACCEPT AN OFFER A NOTE ON EARLY‐STAGE EQUITY HIRE A LAWYER TO REVIEW YOUR OFFER LETTER AND CONTRACT NEGOTIATING YOUR TITLE CASH VS. EQUITY: FOOD FOR THOUGHT MORE ON EQUITY AND CAP TABLES FOR UNDER‐REPRESENTED STARTUP LEADERS A WORD: IF THE DEAL GOES SOUTH WHILE YOU'RE IN NEGOTIATIONS AFTER YOU SIGN THE DEAL NOTES

      7  PART II: GETTING STARTED: NAIL YOUR FIRST 90 DAYS CHAPTER SIX: Define Your Goals and Align with Your CEO and Board on Success YOUR FIRST 90 DAYS: ONBOARDING TO YOUR NEW ROLE AND PROVING YOUR VALUE TO THE ORGANIZATION DON'T BE SHY ABOUT MAKING AN IMPACT RIGHT AWAY GET POINTS ON THE BOARD EARLY BY FOCUSING ON ACCOMPLISHING SEVERAL LOW EFFORT, HIGH IMPACT INITIATIVES IN YOUR FIRST 90 DAYS WORK WITH YOUR CEO TO IDENTIFY SUCCESS “ARE WE SEEING THE SAME GAME?” ADVICE FROM A CEO TO STARTUP EXECUTIVES: REMEMBER THAT THE CEO ROLE IS TOUGH ONBOARDING SUCCESSFULLY AS A STARTUP LEADER REQUIRES BALANCING SHORT‐TERM WINS WITH LONG‐TERM PRIORITIES SETTING YOUR OBJECTIVES AND KEY RESULTS (OKRs) SETTING OKRs—EXAMPLE: SAMPLE MARKETING OKRs OKRs AND BONUS COMPENSATION DELIVERING YOUR FIRST QUARTERLY BUSINESS REVIEW (QBR) HERE'S A GUIDE FOR WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR FIRST 90‐DAY QBR PRESENTATION NOTE CHAPTER SEVEN: Build Key Relationships: CEO, Board, Team BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CEO AND/OR CO‐FOUNDER HERE'S A SAMPLE CEO 1:1 AGENDA BUILDING TRUST WITH YOUR CEO: VALUES ALIGNMENT SET UP COMMUNICATION EXPECTATIONS WITH YOUR CEO AND LEADERSHIP TEAM GET TO KNOW YOUR CROSS‐FUNCTIONAL PARTNERS AND BUILD RAPPORT LEARN HOW YOUR KEY STAKEHOLDERS LIKE TO WORK DON'T BE AFRAID TO DISAGREE—RESPECTFULLY WHY COMPANIES BRING IN “BIG COMPANY EXECUTIVES” AND HOW TO WORK WITH THEM IF YOU'RE COMING FROM A STARTUP BACKGROUND BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR BOARD MANAGING TO YOUR BOARD'S EXPECTATIONS LEARN THE INTERESTS, HOBBIES, AND FAMILY MEMBERS OF YOUR EXECUTIVE TEAM NOTE CHAPTER EIGHT: Know Thyself: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Areas to Improve YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF AS A STARTUP LEADER IDENTIFYING YOUR STRENGTHS