Executive Team First Principles

There is nothing like ringing the bell at Nasdaq with a team you love!

I have long been a fan of first principles thinking. First introduced by Aristotle, a first principle is a foundational proposition or assumption that stands alone. We cannot deduce first principles from any other proposition or assumption. For example, economies of scale is a first principle;  higher production or purchasing volumes improve efficiencies and lowers unit costs. 

In the midst of forming, executive teams will frequently try to operate without grounding themselves in first principles that apply to the executive team itself, let alone the business. If you build the executive team from high quality first principles, and follow them, you make it more likely that the company will succeed, as nothing is more predictive of a company’s success than the performance of its executive team. 

With this in mind, here are some executive team principles that you might find helpful. 

• Trust: Trust is the foundation of all relationships. 

  • We trust each other and we build that trust by assuming good intent and by being vulnerable with each other.   

• Conflict: Hard discussions are necessary to make high quality decisions that foster alignment. 

  • Conflict avoidance does not further the business. We are candid with each other and do so in a kind and generous way. As a result, ideas and strategies are very well thought out, and our time together is meaningful.

• Commitment:  Executive teams must be collectively committed to the decisions they make for them to be successful. 

  • When we have made a decision, we align on what we are doing and we all rally behind that decision. We wholeheartedly support it with our teams and with each other. 

• Accountability: Great teams hold each other accountable. 

  • We hold each other accountable for both our performance and behavior. We share responsibility for our challenges, their solutions, and the results.

• Company First: No functional team can be successful if the Company is not successful.  

  • We do what is best for the Company as a whole and focus on collective outcomes. Only then do we focus on what is best for the departments we lead. 

• Clarity: Decisions cannot be implemented if they are not communicated clearly. 

  • We strive to communicate decisions in a way that all employees can easily understand, and we will over-communicate so that there is a lower chance of not being heard. 

  • We will repeat mission-critical matters (like our purpose, values, and our shared goals) regularly so that no matter where or when employees join the team, they will know what’s important. 

• Attention: Multitasking is ineffective. 

  • To stay engaged during executive team meetings we will close laptops and put down phones.

• Commitment to Growth: Constant team and personal growth is a competitive edge.  

  • We will commit to a growth mindset and work to continuously learn more about our industry, our business, each other and ourselves. 

• Leadership: The primary function of a leader is to attract, train and retain great talent. 

  • We are never better than the teams we lead, and we are in service to the teams we lead. 

• Gratitude: We can choose how we want to feel. 

  • We choose to be grateful for each other and for this journey we are on together.  

Credit to Pat Lencioni and “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” on principles 1-5.