Meatto from Old Trafford: A Startup is only as Strong as its Weakest Player

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.