My Search for the Integrator

YokoVillage North

In my last write up I wrote about What I learned over the last 2 years of doing this. It seems that I have missed an important detail that thanks to awesome members of YokoVillage, I recently discovered. All they did was point me out to a book called “Rocket Fuel”. The book describes the problems YokoCompany has. This boils down to me, Liran, and the lack of an experienced INTEGRATOR.

I’ll start with me. I’m a founder. Creator. The visionary. People call me that. I always knew it. We are the 3% of the population that creates two-thirds of jobs in this current economy. We’re also messy as hell!

My life as a visionary

As an innovator, I am a big-picture person. I am good at closing big deals. I love closing big deals. I see things that others can’t. My vision is strong. I’m convinced the company can get there. I don’t know how to get there exactly, but that does not lessen my motivation to act on things.

I am extremely passionate about:

• Product
• Customers (Members, as we like to say in Yoko)
• Investors
• Sales
• Marketing and storytelling!

As a creative businessman who is somewhat of a learner, I enjoy discovering new ideas and figuring out how they can work for the company. Always with the ability to discover and figure out new ways to make things work. When I hit a roadblock, I try to study to find the answers. When that doesn’t work, I look around. I have a network of advisors and friends who are like me and help me.

I have lots of ideas. Some are brilliant, and others are dangerous. These ideas can bring the company as far as “the moon”. And with big ideas, I create big problems. Small things are of less interest to me. I think strategically about the big things. The big external relationships. Solve the big problems. As the big-picture guy, I have a pulse on the market. It’s like I feel it.

Typically, I see things that others can’t. And I like to help the team understand what’s necessary to stay ahead. I don’t like to be the one implementing. I don’t like doing the work.

I have a hunter mentality. People like me are always in hunting mode. That’s why we’re so good at “prospecting,” which always leads to new Relationships/Sales/Investments.

I hunt for opportunities, deals, and solutions to the big things.

I am: Inspirer, passion provider, discoverer, protector of the vision, and the guy who is always optimistic.

My DNA:

• Entrepreneurial spark plug
• Inspirer
• Passion provider
• Developer of new big ideas and breakthroughs
• Big problem solver
• Engager and maintainer of big external relationships
• Closer of big deals
• Company vision creator
• Idea growth
• Strategic thinker
• Big picture
• Develop new products
• Get involved with clients and team when vision and inspiration are needed
• Connect the dots
• Naturally insightful

With all that said, I’m no superman, and with special gifts come special challenges and downsides,

Some of these special downsides are:

• I get bored easily.
• I have no patience for details.
• I’m not good at managing people.
• I lack the patience to follow up the same SOP’s that I demand.
• I create chaos. It’s either All In or Out Entirely.
• The day-to-day redundancy. (It’s killing me)
• I don’t like being told what to do. I like telling others what to do. I don’t like to be held accountable, although I am for everything.
• When someone doesn’t get their point across quickly enough, it’s hard for me to focus. Repeating things often wears me out.
• I’m frustrated and sometimes get aggressive with my team, discouraging a healthy debate my team should address in order to grow.
• I get those 90–120 day spikes in performance and often temporarily burn myself out. “I love breaking the mold and pursuing the shiny stuff”. But that runs out quickly.

Vision: Creating the vision. Great. But there is a lack of ability to execute. Vision without execution is just a hallucination. When I speak of my vision, it is crystal clear. I hear music when I explain it. But others don’t get it.

I currently focus too much on sales (the small picture), because finances are challenging. I am required to bring YokoCompany to the next financial step. But I’m in no position to do things properly on many occasions. I’m overworked, overwhelmed, and no matter how much I do sports, yoga, meditation, and self-care — I’m still burning out.

The result:

I am feeling stuck. I’m out of control. Frustrated. I’m losing my health. It’s like what I wanted to create has now taken me over.

1. Lack of control — I started this to have more control over my time, money, and my future. Now I feel like the business is controlling me
2. Lack of profit. Daily cash flow or monthly P&L and no matter how hard I work, the numbers don’t add up.
3. People, employees, partners/ vendors — not on the same page
4. Team members sometimes numbed to new initiatives
5. My force of will can’t solve these challenges anymore.

It’s time to seriously address the company structure, people, and processes. That’s why we’ve been changing/evolving etc.

More thoughts.

I started this. I’m bright and made it this far on my own capabilities, and OBVIOUSLY thanks to my team and the people around me who have helped. I have been expanding the company on my own brute strength, counting largely on my own capabilities. However, what got me here won’t get me to the next level.

In other words, my grinding won’t get me to the next step. I haven’t leveraged the capabilities of others enough. I don’t feel that the people in my team are professional enough and that’s all a result of my choices, decisions etc. Today, the company is my identity. Tomorrow, not anymore!

I am, as a result of this, announcing that I’m hiring a great second/first in command that will make the noise go away. An Integrator. To truly achieve the freedom I seek. I’m searching for him or her. This someone will help me execute, implement and create the necessary value.

I don’t want to use titles for this. As mentioned in the book Rocket Fuel, I’ll call this person:

The Integrator

Who is my Integrator partner? What skills does my integrator partner have?

A person with the unique ability to run the organization and manage the day-to-day.

She/he is the steady force for the organization, the one that makes people accountable and pull together in the same direction. “Like that person on the boat that shouts’ Row, Row, Row.” The one that harmoniously integrates major functions of the business. These functions are in this order:

1. Finance
2. Operations
3. Sales
4. Marketing

And Also:

• The person is obsessed with organizational focus and clarity
• Leader of the management team
• Growing knowledge base
• Fanatical about resolution and forcing conclusions
• Drive everyone to drive results according to the P&L and our ongoing business plan
• Masters of follow-through and follow up
• The one who will provide consistency for the team and keep stability
• The glue that keeps everyone in sync
• Lives and breath the core values
• The voice of reason for the team
• Filters my visionary ideas
• The one developing new ways of solving problems and communicating those to the team

Our integrator will create these results:

• Clarity
• Communication
• Resolution
• Accountability
• Well managed projects
• Tie breakers
• Execution
• Steady force
• Consistency
• Glue
• P&L results achieved
• Leadership team management integrated
• Visionary Prozac, harnesses the ideas
• Day to day tasks run smoothly

DNA of the Integrator

• Personally accountable
• Decisive
• Good planning and organizing
• Strong leader and manager
• Catalysts for team cohesion
• Conceptual thinker
• Coach
• Resilient & adaptable
• Able to understand and evaluate others
• Persuasive
• Prioritizing
• Adept in self-management
• Affective conflict manager
• Day to day tasks run smoothly
• Goal achiever
• Being considered negative by others (I’m the optimistic one.)

The challenges the integrator faces:

• No glory. Be ok with that. Like Fred Turner of McDonalds (Ray Kroc is who everyone knows) or Walt Disney’s partner (no one really knows his name).
• Being the pessimist (glass half empty)
• Being the bad guy
• Saying NO often
• Unrealistic expectations on self
• Making tough calls when the team has problems
• Convincing the visionary of his bad ideas
• Delivering bad news to employees, firing people and having last-straw conversations with team members before letting them go.
• Feeling unappreciated, not getting thank yous, no pats on the back. The better you are doing your job, the less you are noticed.
• Always dealing with friction
• Not making decisions with emotions
• Being accused of moving slowly by the visionary
• You see what needs to get done, you want to bring order to the chaos, and people are counting on you, which creates a lot of expectations, sometimes too many
• And when you can’t deliver it all, you beat yourself up

The integrator will one day maybe become a co-founder, but can also simply stay on a high payroll. All options are open. The journey to look for the missing piece has begun. If you know someone who speaks both English and Spanish and can identify with all of the above let me know.