Unpacking the 3 Pillars of Co-founder Conflict Prevention

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Unpacking the 3 Pillars of Co-founder Conflict
Prevention
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(No Transcript)
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• When a movie about 4th richest man on Earth hit
  the big screen, people went to see it in droves.
• The movie is rated 9/10 on rotten tomatoes and
  while their real-life counterparts didnt evoke
  any emotions from onlookers, one did end up
  feeling bad about the breakup of Jesse Eisenberg
  (cast as Mark Zuckerberg) and Andrew Garfield
  (cast as Eduardo Saverin).

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• Couldnt it be prevented? Why did the two college
  buddies have such an ugly falling out? In reality
  Mark Zuckerberg began his company The Facebook
  with the financial assistance from Eduardo
  Saverin.
• The two attended Harvard and while Zuckerberg had
  the wits and idea, he desperately needed
  financial aid that Saverin generously provided.
• As The Facebook began to grow exponentially,
  Saverin and Zuckerberg left the campus. Saverin
  continued his investments but took up an
  interning opportunity at New York while
  Zuckerberg left for the West Coast, looking to
  grow the The Facebook.

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• Distance and lack of alignment led to a sudden
  ousting of Saverin less than two years after the
  companys foundation.
• Laws suits, gossip mongering paparazzi and other
  people looking for revenge soon followed. Was
  there another way to prevent all this?

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• Every healthy relationship needs three things a
  foundation, honesty and respect to sustain
  itself.
• Yes, youve known your co-founder for years and
  you know him/her inside out, but heres a quick
  guide to safeguarding your relationship against
  any Cofounder Conflicts.

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Pillar 1 Structural Foundation Structures that
prevent conflict

• A Founders Agreement This is the bedrock
  structure that co-founders must curate.
• This is the document which specifies intellectual
  property rights, division of labour,
  accountability and ownership structures and other
  nuances upon which the organisations functioning
  and founders responsibilities would be curated.
• It should also discuss the circumstances that
  need to be met in order for one founder to take
  action towards another and what the scope of
  those actions can be.
• These conversations arent a preparation for the
  proverbial divorce. They are instead a
  documentation of the founders deciding what the
  upper limit for mistakes and consequences would
  be.

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Pillar 1 Structural Foundation Structures that
prevent conflict

• This document would also later serve as an
  autopilot course to correcting mistakes and
  holding founders responsible, shall a troublesome
  situation ever arise.
• It should also contain clauses to discuss
  co-founders leaving the organisation, that too
  would serve as the autopilot response shall a
  founder later choose to walk away.

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Pillar 1 Structural Foundation Structures that
prevent conflict

• The Primary Role Deciding what each founders
  primary role in the organisation would be is
  another structural cornerstone to prevent
  conflict.
• This helps founders create clear boundaries in
  operations, giving one person the final say in
  specific matters.
• It also helps bring to light the extent to which
  each role is or is not an equitable contributor
  towards the functioning of the organisation.

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Pillar 1 Structural Foundation Structures that
prevent conflict

• The We Time Just making a pinky promise to
  always be honest and upfront about everything is
  not enough to sustain a co-founder relationship.
• Just like structural interventions like having
  glass doors, or an unseparated workspace between
  manager and team is required to drive home the
  point that synchrony is key for success, founders
  too need a structural component like a weekly
  Founders Hour specifically in place to talk
  about their relationship.
• Was there a conversation that went too far? Or an
  argument that still bugs you? This is your chance
  to bring it up, not because youre free or
  because your founder seems open to listening, but
  because this is what the task of the meeting is!

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Pillar 2 Honest Communication

• My Goal through my Organisation Why have you
  started this organisation? No, not why theres a
  need for this company in the market.
• Why have you decided to invest in your brainchild
  and what do you intend to personally achieve from
  this chapter of your life? You and your
  co-founder may want the same things for the
  company, but different things in your life by
  stepping into this endeavour.
• For instance, one co-founder might want this to
  be her entrepreneurial debut into the market and
  see a future growth into multiple market spheres,
  through branching out, while another co-founder
  may see this as way of reforming the market for
  the better and see just that as an end to itself.

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Pillar 2 Honest Communication

• I draw my line here It is essential to talk
  about what each cofounder considers the final
  limit.
• One may be too particular about timeliness, other
  regarding presentational skills, still another
  about social media presence.
• Understanding what ticks your co-founders is
  information which will help you prevent some
  arguments and understand your co-founders during
  others.

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Pillar 2 Honest Communication

• My values v/s Organisations values It is now a
  well-known organisational practice to decide the
  core values of organisation.
• It however is also important to know where your
  personal values stand with respect to the
  organisational values.
• Each founder reflecting in this domain would help
  foresee problematic areas, wherein ones values
  may be in conflict the organisational values.
• It can serve as a preventive reminder and also
  help in developing some mitigation measures

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Pillar 3 Healthy Boundaries

• Your Co-founder is NOT your friend, but your
  friend (conditions apply) Once you enter a
  professional relationship with someone, no matter
  how long youve known the said person and whether
  or not youve shared a friendly relationship with
  them, things will be different now.
• Friendship is a relationship dependent upon
  comfort. Friends help you feel better when you
  are low, get away from your Cofounder Problems
  where you need a breather and most of all,
  friends are the ones you run to when you want to
  vent about an annoying co-worker!
• Once you make the decision to get in a
  professional relationship with someone, its
  bedrock principles giving honest feedback,
  holding your colleagues accountable and expecting
  performance from them are all the exact
  opposite of a comfortable relationship.

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Pillar 3 Healthy Boundaries

• Even on a good day, co-founders may end up having
  confrontational interactions. Expecting the
  freedoms of friendship in a cofounder
  relationship can often come to bite one back.
• There are boundaries you need to maintain with
  your friend now.
• While you cant be two different people in the
  office as colleagues and outside as friends, the
  conversations you have as professionals should be
  limited by whether they are Necessary,
  Professional (a good reality check is to reflect
  whether you would use the same words, tone and
  volume with other co-workers?) and Constructive.
  Want to share your opinions with your partner?

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Pillar 3 Healthy Boundaries

• Is it necessary for your organisation? Is it
  professional? Is it constructive will it be
  required for your companys growth?
• If the answer to any of these is no, then maybe
  you need to talk to someone other than your
  friend. Maintaining these boundaries helps make
  sure that the co-founder relationship doesnt
  have a backlog emotional hurt but also makes sure
  that youre not expecting too much from your
  co-founder they now have a dual role, to be
  your friend and your co-founder.
• The former may end up taking the backseat within
  the walls of the office and not only that, it may
  also be necessary for your organisation that they
  do so!

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Feeling like things are out of control? Your
co-founder and you cant see eye to eye
regarding anything? These are the signs to know
when your relationship with your co-founder is
souring beyond control. Contact us here, if
youre looking to resolve cofounder conflict.
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Have a tete-a-tete with our coach!
Coffee on us. Promise.
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