“Don’t F**k It Up: How Founders and Their Successors Can Avoid the Clichés That Inhibit Growth” By Les Trachtman (River Grove Books)
It may be true that you can’t always judge a book by its cover, but the cover of Les Trachtman’s book certainly succeeds in grabbing your attention.
The book’s title, the author says, was actually a parting salvo from one of the founders of a company Trachtman was guiding through a transfer of leadership. Even while the founder applauded the changes Trachtman helped bring, his statement captures the difficulty in transitioning from founder to successor in particular, and transitions on any level.
Later in the book, the author gives a more in-depth explanation of the blunt title. “This is one of the worst things you can say to an employee,” he says. Employees and especially managers hear this as “Don’t fail, or else.” If you want employees to take measured risk and initiative, leadership has to provide them opportunity, even if they fail.
The irony is that you need to “F***k it up,” Trachtman claims. In particular, this is important for founders and their successors—the target audience for this book.
Companies too often squander their early competitive edge, Trachtman says. It happens when organizations fail to recognize failure quickly, regroup and try a different tactic. Success can also get in the way.
For example, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), a leading vendor of computer systems from the 1950s and into the ’90s, was one of the most profitable companies in the world. Its founder, Ken Olsen, was once named America’s most successful entrepreneur. Olsen pushed away any advice, trusting only his own belief that the personal computer would never become a success. When it did, DEC took a tumble and was acquired by Compaq.
Kodak is another example. It was long considered one of the world’s most admired brands. However, due to out-of-touch management steadfast about the company’s dominance in film, the company continued with business as usual. Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
Trachtman cites Blockbuster as another company that avoided risk and innovation. Insular and arrogant, its leadership scoffed when another company, based around an innovative new business model, suggested partnering with them. Blockbuster ended up filing for bankruptcy, and that little innovative company, Netflix, is today worth $70 billion.
The eight chapters of the book are filled with cautionary examples, many of them taken from Trachtman’s own 20-year work history and experience. The book is structured as a series of challenges and lessons, which can be read interchangeably. Studying them, it becomes readily understood that there is more than one right way or one reason.
The author’s guidelines can be applied to any level of management, not just the founder or CEO. Among the issues Trachtman addresses:
• Know when it is time to move into a new role.
• Empower others in the organization to be part of important decisions.
• Build muscle so that you will be freed up for targeted responsibilities.
• Wean customers from depending on you personally.
• Detail what your new role will be when you end your current one.
“Running a company as a founder or CEO is a difficult job,” Trachtman says. “Despite how some view it, making hard decisions that affect people’s live and livelihoods cannot be taken lightly.”
As one of his board members suggested: “If you want a friend, get a dog.”