For those of us who watch English football, we have all observed our favorite manager retreating from the touch line on the pitch to a row of seats in the stands removed from the field of play.  Some managers write in notebooks while seated, others chat with an assistant, and some just think about the action on the pitch and how to affect it in a positive way.

I encourage each of my CEO clients and their executive teams to let the players play.  Set the direction and the match plan for the startup team, share that clear plan with your c-suite coaching staff, and then leave the pitch and sit a few rows back from time to time.

The spectators in today’s metaphor are either the venture capitalist or the private investors who have funded the startup.  Cheer for your team.  Your investment decision has been made and your loyalty established.  Express your opinions in  public forums but make clear your total support for the startup and its internal team.

Let the players play.  Spend tons of time picking your team, setting the strategy, getting it funded, and then sit back and enjoy.

As for the officials, leave that interface for your attorneys and accountants.

Virtually live from Old Trafford, this is Christopher Meatto, Esq., and my small team is Harvardlaw74.com in New York City.

WELCOME VIRTUALLY TO OLD TRAFFORD IN MANCHESTER ENGLAND AND TO HARVARDLAW74.COM.

I AM CHRISTOPHER MEATTO, A GRADUATE OF HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, THE FOUNDER OF HARVARDLAW.COM AND AN ATTORNEY ADMITTED TO PRACTICE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

I HAVE WORKED EXCLUSIVELY WITH STARTUPS FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS.  I OFTEN ALSO ACT AS A DE FACTO CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FOR EARLY STAGE STARTUPS.

I RARELY CONSULT ” Y COMBINATOR” , BUT PREFER FOOTBALL METAPHORS TO DELIVER MY STARTUP ADVICE.

A Team is only as Strong as its Weakest Player

THE PROBLEM WITH THIS FORMULATION IS THAT IT DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO QUANTIFY THE EFFECT OF AN UNDERPERFORMING PLAYER ON THE PITCH OR CFO IN THE C SUITE.  TO DO SO, ALLOW ME TO READ FROM AN ARTICLE ON WAGERBOP, A SITE WHICH SHOULD NEED NO EXPLANATION AS TO ITS PURPOSE:

https://www.wagerbop.com/the-weakest-link-in-soccer/

WAGERBOP OPINES AS FOLLOWS

It is the strength of a football team’s weakest link that determines how much success a side will have, or that games are most often decided by errors, breakdowns in communication, or by finely tuned tactical systems falling apart. Football games are defined by mistakes – it is only natural that the worst player on the team is most likely to misplace a pass, or forget to mark his man, and lay a whole’s week’s preparation to waste.

It is the manager’s job to minimize the potential impact of his worst player, both on the pitch on any given day and over the course of a season. Recognizing that football is a game disproportionately influenced by its weakest links is the first step – it should pay a significant role in setting the manager’s agenda.