Start-up Entrepreneurs' Blog

What George Washington Could Teach Start-Ups

February 8, 2012

I decided to read a novel – Valley Forge by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. My house is filled with non-fiction books. While there are many fiction books, most belong to my daughters who read Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter. There was one novel, a gift, sitting on our book shelf and so I read it. The events of the book are about a well-known historical account in American history that school children learn many times over. Oddly, I found myself taking notes. The book had so many parallels to what I see go on in start-ups. The book focused on the people involved in the event, not the event itself. It was how people behave in a new organization that was so accurate.  Many of the situations resonated with me because I had been involved in these situations, as well as having reached the same revelations as the characters did. 

After a start-up has become known and successful, everyone wants to know the founders and leaders of the new company. What most don’t realize is that it was not smooth sailing to get there. There will always be those in the organization that doubt the correctness of the current direction, and openly scheme to try to take control of the company – to pursue a different direction. George Washington acted like the CEO of a company, his officers were the other key people of the start-up, and the new Congress was the investors.

As the authors noted, “As to George Washington as commander throughout these crucial months of the Revolution: He showed remarkable genius and a gambler’s instinct, so crucial to victorious generals…It is easy today to assume that our heroic image of the memory of General Washington stood as solid then as it does now…Oftentimes, men who are judged to be icons were mistrusted and indeed hated by their contemporaries. Only victory at the end proved their wisdom and their place in history. And so it was with Washington. The conspiracy to destroy his reputation and have him removed was indeed real.”

One common reason entrepreneurs start a new business is to control their own destiny. They believe they will be in charge, that those joining the start-up will have their passion and embrace the mission statement and direction of the start-up. Like Washington, they don’t realize that when the risk and stakes are so high, people behave in ways they never encountered before.  As to the above, I’ve seen many founders removed or replaced by the investors for various reasons. In Silicon Valley, the pushed aside founder often takes on the title of Executive Vice President.

Here are some more parallels …

“What the rebels lacked in proper training they more than made up in enthusiasm and their passion – the later was something that was indeed lacking in nearly all the armies of Europe.” Large companies are filled with big staffs of people who just do their job, who put in the hours, and have no passion for their work. They mindlessly follow processes and procedures because they were done before or someone told them to do it, not because they make sense. This is a weakness start-ups must exploit.

The American army was different than the European ones. It took three years to train a soldier for a European army and a strict command structure was enforced. The American army was comprised of short-term volunteers, who might not be in the army for a year much less three years. It demanded a new type of army.  According to Washington, “he didn’t wish to see, nor would he tolerate the type of mindless discipline instilled by the British army in their troops. He wanted an army of men that could think, could seize the moment and lead without looking over their shoulders for direction. He wanted one that could beat their professional opponents at their own game.” Start-ups can’t afford mindless drones that simply know how to push buttons, use computer software, and create paper work procedures; everyone needs to be able to think for themselves. I would rather hire someone with the right attitude and the ability to think, than hire someone who has experience.

“A year and a half after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, there was a staggering collapse of fortunes in just one year. The bravado of the colonists was gradually overwhelmed by a series of defeats. After the initial victories, even George Washington naively believed the war would indeed by over with by summer.” This is one business lesson I’ve noted time and again. It’s a hard fought and long road to the top, but the decline can be as fast as falling off a cliff.  In my experience, new start-up workers have between 12 and 18 months of unbridled enthusiasm for the new venture before settling back into a daily, mundane routine. Similarly, early adopters may love your new product, but the mainstream customer is quite different. It’s often naïve thinking on the part of a start-up when they believe the warm reception by the first customers will translate into droves of mainstream ones.

And my favorite passage that takes place as a battle is going badly due to the conservative approach of his second in command. “Gone was any remaining self-doubt. While in the future Washington would seek counsel and advice, he would always do so with the knowledge that his instincts and judgment would be the final arbiter of what needed to be done.” This really hit home with me.  Everyone spends many years in the school system that teaches us to think and reason before we act or make a decision. We are led to believe that the thinking process is superior to our gut reactions.  What I’ve learned is that instinct is of equal importance because in a start-up, you never have all the information needed to make an accurate thinking choice and what remains is your instinct.

Filed under: From Concept to Start-Up,Management

Tags: lessons from george washington