How successful startups lose their compass (BDS Rule 1)

Following on my Billion Dollar Startup post a month ago, this post will focus on BDS rule 1… “Remember Why We’re Here”. The full BDS presentation is embedded at the bottom.

Somewhere on the journey, most successful startups forget what they’re all about. Their founders and early employees create a mission or purpose behind their work that extends well beyond financial outcomes. As they grow, sadly, that mission which lived in founder hearts is eventually replaced by Mission Statements that live only on office posters. Focus shifts to the never-ending treadmill of quarterly targets.

At LinkedIn Talent Solutions, our aspirations to become a “Billion Dollar Startup” starts with a complete commitment to our mission of “Connecting Talent with Opportunity at Massive Scale.” We believe that if we can optimize our pursuit of that mission, we will inevitably build a great business around it, as well as help people and companies all over the world.

When a company stays 100% committed to a mission, it becomes an almost unfair strategic advantage because the company has the force of will to make long-term decisions that are incredibly difficult for any other company to replicate. Many of these decisions can seem strange in the moment to onlookers, and only later appear brilliant once the game is over.

Two other great things happen.

Great people engage: Great employees (especially millenials… AKA generation “why?”) want their work to stand for something. To them, work is not just a paycheck, but also a contribution to the world. If you are truly a mission driven company, then you will attract people for whom your mission means something personal. That kind of connection is the bedrock of great corporate cultures.

Decisions improve: The larger you get, the more scrutiny placed upon you by the market and external parties. The stronger your commitment to your mission, the greater your ability to make the right long-term decisions, even when risky or painful in the short term. Long term thinking enables both invention and reinvention, which is where most successful companies eventually fall down.

“Remember Why We’re Here” is like dieting (easy to say, hard to do)… which is why most companies fail. Here are three simple tactics.

Measure the mission: Our mission at LinkedIn Talent Solutions relates to the creation of economic opportunity, as so we try to estimate the number of hires that we impact around the world through our services. A year in which we grow our business, but don’t further our pursuit of the mission would be a failure. Both measures of success are critical, and they align beautifully over the long term.

Never sacrifice the mission for short term gain: Imagine your company needed to sign a partnership to hit its quarterly target… one which ran counter to what the company stood for… would you do it? Each major decision at the company either reinforces your commitment to the mission, or makes people question whether it’s just a numbers game. If you take your eye off the goal for one moment, people will begin to question your motivations and trust which takes years to build can be destroyed in a moment.

Promote missionaries. Some people on your team are incredibly loyal to the mission, and are also the first to set aside their own interest for the good of the cause. These people are invaluable and everyone around them watches for how you treat them, because they are constantly doing the right thing for the company. When those people leave, it can be a sign of something terribly wrong.

Best of luck on living in pursuit of your mission, and wish us luck in staying true to ours.

Thanks again to Brett Wallace for the incredible BDS artwork. To get the next post, please follow me on LinkedIn or on Twitter via @danshapero.