I had the privilege of being a critical reader for Jim Collins' Book "Good to Great"  [Favorite Books By Jim Collins] and so I read it before it was published in 2001.  I decided to reread it and have found it inspiring all over again and even more relevant for the startup world of 2006. 

In chapter 3, First Who, Then What, Jim talks about the crucial concepts of "Getting the right people on the bus".  In chapter 6, a culture of discipline, he then discusses what happens if you don't have the right people on the bus.

On page 142, Jim talks about the requirement of getting self disciplined people who are taking disciplined action in the context of the Hedgehog concept.  He goes on to say that bureacracies are only needed to compensate for the WRONG PEOPLE.  If you have the right people on the bus, you won't end up with bureacracy and rules. 

Here's a great audio link on "getting the right people on the bus".  http://www.jimcollins.com/audio/firstWhoA1.mp3

 

On page 160, Jim also discusses that fact that the "right people" to get on the bus are internally motivated (he uses the phrase "inner compulsion") to achieve excellence.  However, those who pursue mediocrity are motivated by fear. 

Seth Godin in his recent book "Small is the new Big", reminds us that people respond more to fear of loss, than opportunity to gain.

In a startup, getting ONLY the right people on the bus is CRUCIAL.  There is no room for deadwood, no room for "cancers", no room for folks who want an easy ride, only for those who can share the passion of the startup and really want to be part of an extraordinary team.  People who live in Fear really can't ever be the right people to have on the bus!