Value Transparency in All You Do

A few weeks ago, my buddy Matt Studdert recommended the book Lost and Founder to me.

In the book, Rand (the founder and former CEO of Moz) describes his experience, which is raw, unfiltered and more vulnerable than I have ever seen any other founder write.

I’m going to do a complete summary of the book soon (and maybe even a podcast episode on it) because the content is golden and not the usual hustle porn usually found in the startup book space.

One value of Rand’s that I loved was the idea of transparency in business.

As I am shaping my own business, I know this is one of Rand’s values that I align entirely with and carry with me.

Sometimes, founders are tempted to hide the truth in an attempt to protect their team and customers, but that’s often a risky call.

A lack of openness doesn’t just put your relationships in jeopardy, and it can also undermine your company’s growth and revenue.

If a team member isn’t performing well, try to find a solution like additional mentoring rather than turning a blind eye.

Being open, especially about your weaknesses, is vital to motivating your team and ensuring that they perform at the highest level.

Creating an atmosphere in which openly shared failures makes it much easier for the entire business to improve and learn together rather than people feeling like they are in the dark.

When times are tough, you should be up-front about the company’s financial situation, including potential layoffs. Your team members will work harder to hit their targets if they know the lay of the land. Leaving them in the dark about the financial state of your organization, on the other hand, will likely breed resentment – precisely what you don’t need when things are tough!

On the theme of transparency, did you know your transaction data is sold?

Did you know you could get paid for your data too?

I didn’t until I stumbled across an interesting startup called Unbanx.

Even better, I got the gift of learning all about it from one of the founders, Alan McDonald.

He talks about his business and the many hurdles of working in such a cutting edge space on my latest podcast episode.

Alan likes to explain things simply, and you’ll see that in one of his tweets below.

Links to all the different podcast platforms are here.

I have no laughs from the internet to share this week.

My feeds are filled with the news from Ukraine that is causing so much dread and devastation.

I find myself checking news feeds every hour to see how it unfolds.

I can’t even begin to imagine how it must feel to be there right now.

That’s all for this week, stay awesome, and I’ll chat to you next week, my beautiful friends! 👋