As a startup co-founder, I often find myself having to manage freelancers and vendors.
I've recently read Dale Carnegie's classic "How to win friends and influence people", and am trying to put into practice the lessons given in the book. Particularly when dealing with freelancers or vendors who aren't living up to our expectations, and whom we have to continue working with in the short-term at least.
The Dale-Carnegie approach that I'm trying to follow:
- Do not argue, belittle, nag, scold, yell, make a scene, etc etc
- Tell them what you need, and frame it in a way that appeals to their self-interest
- Compliment them, and let them know how highly you and others think of them
- Emphasize to them the importance of the problem you're facing
- Let them know that everyone is counting on them, and encourage them to live up to their high ideals and reputation
My co-founder's style, which I've also seen in many corporate managers/directors/VPs, incorporates some of the above lessons as well. But it diverges significantly in that it involves a lot of "nagging", "scolding", "playing bad cop" and "raising hell" when problem occur.
Lately my co-founder and I have been butting heads over this. She thinks that I'm being too "soft", and that my approach isn't going to get the best results. I'm certainly willing to embrace conflict where I think it will be helpful - but I genuinely believe that the Carnegie style can deliver the best results. Am I being too naive?
Personally, I keep an internal bozo meter and use that to guide responses. A key area of concern is to make sure you are not the bozo as well!
Most people are acting in good faith and poor performance is a symptom of some problem. The priority with them is to get your needs prioritized.
At some point you start to understand that some people are acting in bad faith, or are too incompetent to know the difference. In those cases, you need to compel performance in a way that is appropriate. It’s never productive or moral to belittle people, but is appropriate to nag.
Another key thing that you and your cofounder need to respect is that you have different styles and you don’t cross boundaries. You don’t want to be a sheep, she cannot be a jerk.