What’s Your Tribal Role At Your Startup?
What’s Your Tribal Role At Your Startup?

		This article previously appeared at OnStartups, HERE
Note: This is Part V  in the Startup Team Building series. Read  Part I HERE,  Part II HERE, Part  III HERE and Part IV HERE.
You may not realize  it, but your adVenture’s Core Team, the senior executives who make the key  decisions which drive the company’s strategic direction, is akin to a primitive  tribe.
Primitive tribes and your startup both entail a small number  of people banded together to battle an uncaring, hostile world. Like the tribe,  your company’s survival is always in question and never guaranteed. Success  depends upon everyone pulling together for the common good and striving to accomplish  common goals. Everyone’s efforts must initially focus on survival before the tribe  can prosper and eventually evolve into a thriving, self-sustaining community. 
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Tribes are effective societal structures, as evidenced by man’s  ascension to the top of the food chain. Understanding the tribal organizational  structure is vital to gaining an appreciation of the various roles played by  your Core Team. 
In partnership with Docstoc,  I created the following video, in which I discuss the various roles in a tribal  startup.  You can watch the embeded video  below or at YouTube: http://youtu.be/o_nEUIPS60U

Tribes and startups thrive when labor is efficiently  divided. Long before Meyers met Briggs, people in tribal communities migrated  to those roles which best suited their personalities, proclivities and skills.  The key roles in tribes and startups are identical: Hunter, Skinner, Shaman, Chief  and Tribal Elder.
Hunter
The Hunter provides for the tribe and literally brings home  the bacon. These individuals are highly autonomous, independent and thrive on  frequent recognition. When they have a successful hunt, they want everyone to  know about it.
The Hunter is generally not a visionary. However, once they  are pointed in the right direction, they are clever enough to improvise a  tactical plan to achieve a strategic objective. They do not want to be told how  to take the hill, just which hill needs to be taken.
At your adVenture, the hunter is the rainmaker, in the form  of a Business Development Executive, VP of Sales or Corporate Development  Officer. Once they are told the type of deal that is needed, they are capable  of autonomously devising the appropriate tactics to get the deal done. 
A typical Hunter’s characteristics include:

 Work hard
 Driven to do right thing
 Fast and furious 
 Under communicate - do not  like to confer with or answer to the group
 Excel under pressure
 Emphasis on achieving goals  - second guess their tactics at your peril
 Deliver quantity over  quality - close enough is okay
 Work well outside the box

Skinner
The Skinner makes the Hunter look good. When the Hunter  brings back the kill, it is the Skinner who dresses the meat, tans the hides  and preserves whatever is not initially eaten for the tribe to subsist upon  during lean times. 
The Skinner at your adVenture will likely take the form of  the VP of Operations, VP of Professional Services or Chief Operating Officer.  They ensure that your company delivers on the Hunters’ promises by exceeding  your partners’ and customers’ expectations. 
A typical Skinner’s characteristics include:

 Work correctly
 Driven to do things the  right way
 Slow and careful
 Service oriented - want to  meet stakeholders’ needs within the organization
 Over communicate -  encourage meetings and agreement regarding goals
 Quality over quantity - do  things “by the book”
 Work well inside the box

Shaman
Shamans invent new tools and processes that improve the overall  quality of life within the tribe. For instance, the Shaman will spend his days  thinking of a better fishhook, a new tool for cleaning skins or searching for  new medicinal plants to cure the tribe’s ailments.
At your adVenture, the Shaman is often the Founder. They may  also take the form of Chief Technical Officer, VP of Engineering or VP of  Product. By whatever name, the Shaman is the person who devises and develops  the innovations upon which your business is based. 
A typical Shaman’s characteristics include:

 Work differently
 Creative visionary
 Communicate differently -  requires careful listening
 Seek a better way
 Create quickly and freely
 Tripped up by details
 Prone to devise complicated  solutions
 Prize a solution’s  technical elegance over its functionality
 Are unaware that a box  exists

Chief 
Every tribe needs a Chief, just like every adVenture needs a  CEO. The Chief defines and communicates the tribe’s strategic direction, such  as a new valley to forage or a mountain retreat to escape the heat of summer.  The Chief listens to the opinions of the other tribal members, makes decisions  that impact everyone and ensures an adequate level of acceptance of such  decisions to facilitate their ultimate success. 
A typical Chief’s characteristics include:

 Work together
 Shepherd the team toward  its strategic goals
 Slow and connected
 Communicates clearly and  supportively
 Driven to maintain cohesion  within the team 
 Indecisive
 Prone to being railroaded
 Defines the box

One of the best CEO’s I worked  with exhibited nearly all of the above characteristics. As a Hunter, I was frequently  frustrated, as he was often slow to act. In his effort to keep harmony within the  Core Team, he seemingly agreed with everyone, even people who held  diametrically opposed opinions.  
In retrospect, I now realize that  his ability to sincerely empathize with everyone’s respective positions,  especially on difficult issues, was imperative in keeping our Core Team  together during the numerous challenges we encountered on our road to a  successful exit. 
One of his favorite sayings  infuriated me at the time, but I now appreciate its underlying wisdom, “Some of the best decisions I ever made were  the decisions I never made.” Despite my Hunter-driven frustration at his  hesitancy, more often than not, his resistance to making a  snap decision proved to be prudent. 
Tribal Elders
Tribal Elders spend their time sitting by the fire dozing  and recounting the tribe’s history.  They  cannot be counted on to do any heavy lifting nor are they in a position to  execute the day-to-day tasks necessary for the tribe to thrive. However, they  occasionally offer bits of sage advice that allow the tribe to avoid hardships  and reap windfalls. As such, the wise Chief knows when to solicit their counsel  and when to allow sleeping Elders to lie, as described more fully in Free  Advice.
At your adVenture, the Tribal Elders are represented by your  Board of Directors and Advisors. The Board Members likely have a varied and  broad business history upon which to draw. They may be able to provide general  guidance at certain pivotal points during your adVenture’s journey. However, as  noted in Your VC Is Not John Lennon, do not heed their advice blindly,  as it is impossible for them to have your level of insight into the operational  details of your adVenture. 
Pop Quiz
Question: Which Tribal member is the most important?
Answer: All of them.
Without the Hunter, the Shaman’s ideas would never be put  into practice. Likewise, without the Skinner, much of the Hunter’s efforts  would be wasted. He might be able to feed himself, but he would not be able to  sustain the tribe on his own.
Without the Shaman, neither the Hunter nor the Skinner would  have the tools necessary to carry out their respective roles within the tribe.  Without the Chief, the tribe would wander aimlessly, fighting among itself  until the group eventually dispersed and the individual members were melded  with other tribes with healthier cultures and a more focused sense of  direction.
As noted in Be The Beatles,  balance is the key to a successful team. Thus, every member of your adVenture’s  Core Team is the most important member. Your Core Team is your startup’s most important asset. Respect man’s  evolution and heed the tribal lessons of old.   If you do, you may just end up on top of your industry’s food chain.
Note: This is Part V  in the Startup Team Building series. Read  Part I HERE,  Part II HERE, Part  III HERE and Part IV HERE.

					



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