That was the motivational message given to NASCAR driver Kurt Busch by his team owner for Saturday Night’s Shootout at the Daytona International Speedway.  For those of you who are Formula 1 followers and have observed the highly complex and computerized detachable steering wheels in those machines, please understand that if you bring only the very traditional NASCAR version of that part back to the garage after a race, the rest of the car is scrap.

That was a not too subtle way of saying that the owner expected Busch to push himself and his car to the limits and take whatever risks necessary to earn the checkered flag.  (He didn’t, by the way.)  In this week leading up the to the annual Daytona 500, I thought a racing theme would be a good way to focus on motivational issues for your startup employees and even your cofounders.

Job one is to make sure the founding team is all on the same page with respect to enthusiasm and work ethic.  I’ve seen quite a bit of reshuffling even in the student teams in the 1 Semester Startup class at U Texas Austin as they have learned who can pull his or her weight and who can’t.  Almost inevitably over time as the business comes into being and starts pivoting, founders will rise or fall in importance as new skills are required and old ones wane.  Personalities that match the startup stage also may not translate well to the more structured growth stages that you expect to achieve.  And, if you have a founder who is accustomed to a more highly structured setting, chances are you’ve recruited that person about 10 hires too early.  

The founder group motivation is akin to the combat theory that soldiers under fire are really fighting to protect each other and their unit and not to let their buddies down.  They aren’t focused on God and Country when in the midst of a firefight.  If your team has that esprit de corps and shares a similar work ethic, you’re going to get the immediate jobs done.  You may reorganize later, but for now if functioning well together and taking care of each other fairly, that’s all you can ask.

As to your first round of hires beyond the founding group, the issues become a bit different.  There are libraries full of books on the general topic of motivating employees, so I’m going to confine my thoughts to the peculiarities of a tech startup. 

The hiring decision obviously sets the tone for what will follow.  As you begin adding to your tight-knit founding team, it’s probably best to have potential hires evaluated by the entire group and see what bonding occurs.  You’re not looking for a new friend to hang with, but you are looking for somewhat who “gets it” when you describe the company and the tasks at hand, and who on first meeting can demonstrate some positive insights.  That individual is more likely to be the self-starter you need at the early stage.

What about the money issue?  Good employees do like to get paid, and you’ve got to show the capacity to meet your payrolls.  The better ones look for market salaries and also for some equity participation in the form of stock grants or options.  It is an old saw that money is more of a de-motivator than a motivator.  An employee who feels appropriately compensated is going to be more productive than one who feels short changed.  Excess pay rarely translates into excess motivation.

Far more important than money as the company progresses through product development and launch is recognizing those who perform and making them part of a team victory as each milestone is met.  I’ve been through that cycle many times, and it’s a sweet feeling when, as I mentioned last week, a company transitions from start-up to an actual business and customers actually start using and paying for what you have wrought.  You’ll never see a winning NASCAR driver interviewed without hearing him thank all of his crew members, not to mention all the sponsors, and occasionally even Jesus.  

And, it goes without saying that you need to lead by example.  Far more important at the early stage is leadership, as opposed to management.  If you show that you are willing to give the company your utmost and literally drive the wheels off to beat the competition, your employees will follow you.  All those textbook methods of performance reviews, pay incentives, etc. will come in handy when you get to the 50^th or 100^th employee, but right now you’ve got to be the one out front – with inexhaustible energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and a clearly articulated vision.  That’s better than any 5-hour energy drink, or even the more “stick-like” headline of this post.

<Daytona Action: AP image, Phelan M. Ebenhack, via KNOX>