Anyone can start a business. But only leaders can succeed.

Most entrepreneurs know the long odds: only a fraction of them will lead their enterprises through the rocky stages of growth to launch self-sustaining companies. Very few know how to outflank the failures that await them at every turn, including the most painful—being abandoned by key members of their team or getting pushed out by their board just as their business starts to generate real value.

Derek Lidow is on a mission to improve these odds and change these outcomes. Throughout his long career—as CEO, innovator, and entrepreneur—he has tested virtually every aspect of launching a business. Lidow now argues that success is far less dependent upon a firm’s idea or any grand strategy than it is upon something more personal: leadership. Emerging companies have specific leadership requirements, stage by fast-moving stage. Few founders have been able to leverage the tremendous power of this underrecognized reality—until now.

Startup Leadership demonstrates how founders can adopt the skills that are required at each stage of their journey. Whether you are at the idea stage or managing a more mature enterprise, you can start to recognize the fundamental conflict: how to balance your selfish drives with the more selfless leadership required by the organization at any given time. The book shows you how to achieve this balance by:

• Assessing your unique motivations, traits, and skills
• Creating a personal leadership strategy that leverages your strengths and mitigates your weaknesses
• Mastering how to lead teams, including boards
• Understanding the five prerequisites for driving change
• Taking control of your inevitable crises, thereby strengthening your team and your leadership

With Lidow’s help, you will learn how to become the startup leader your business needs, and you’ll move forward with your plans with greater confidence and success.

Chapter One Success Requires More Than Entrepreneurship

Part One Prerequisites: Mastering the Skills of Entrepreneurial Leadership

Chapter Two Are You Selfish Enough to Be Selfless?

Chapter Three Enterprises Are Needy

Chapter Four Building Relationships

Chapter Five Motivating Others

Chapter Six Leading Change

Chapter Seven Creating a Personal Leadership Strategy

Part Two Application of Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills

Chapter Eight Strategizing Fragile Growth

Chapter Nine Organizing to Succeed

Chapter Ten Hiring and Firing

Chapter Eleven Leading Teams

Chapter Twelve Leading Through Crises

Chapter Thirteen The Selfish Rewards of Selfless Entrepreneurial Acts

Appendix A Motivations, Traits, and Skills

Appendix B The Five Essential Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills

Appendix C Characteristics of Projects, Processes, and Culture

Appendix D Characteristics of Stage One Enterprises and Their Leaders

Appendix E Characteristics of Stage Two Enterprises and Their Leaders

Appendix F Characteristics of Stage Three Enterprises and Their Leaders

Appendix G Characteristics of Stage Four Enterprises and Their Leaders