William Sahlman, professor at Harvard Business School, asserts that although individuals are important, teams are the central unit of entrepreneurial success. Indeed, Sahlman argues that the reason why many companies succeed is because of the team, not any particular individual, and so entrepreneurs should think carefully about breaking up teams as well as the effect that replacing an individual has on a team.

Transcript



But I guess what I was really trying to get people to think about is, the individual is a terrific unit. And we hire individuals, and we think of our organization as individuals. But the reason why Endeavor works, the reason why companies work is not because of single individuals. It's because teams make things work. And so it's just an appreciation, as you think about changing people's responsibilities, that you worry a lot about the team that you're breaking up. And you try to replace the person with the team in mind. Not so much about the individual characteristics. We care a lot too much about individuals.

1. The Best Money Comes from Customers
2. Choose Venture Investors Carefully
3. Opportunity Recognition and Leveraging One's Experience
4. Four Key Elements of an Entrepreneurial Venture
5. Changing the Game
6. Three Factors to Improve Entrepreneurial Success
7. Characteristics of Entrepreneurs
8. Opportunity Driven Entrepreneurship
9. New Ventures Must Adapt
10. Managing the Risk / Reward Tradeoff
11. Four Qualities to Look for When Hiring
12. Challenges of Hiring Good People
13. Three Most Critical Elements of Venture Success: People, Customers and Sales
14. Teams Are More Important than Individuals

William A. Sahlman lectures on Entrepreneurship for Stanford University students, May 1, 2007. William A. Sahlman is the Dimitri V. d'Arbeloff - Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His research focuses on the investment and financing decisions made in entrepreneurial ventures at all stages in their development. In this Stanford lecture, he talks about how the best money comes from customers, four key elements of an entrepreneurial venture and how teams are more important than individuals.



Course Details:

- Endeavor's Entrepreneurs' Summit

- Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner (ecorner)



Original Course Name: Endeavor's Entrepreneurs' Summit.