Lacy Leadership Association - School of Hard Knocks

Lessons from “A Serial Entrepreneur’s School of Hard Knocks”
By Scott Jones
Chairman and CEO, Cha Cha

Leadership is a state of mind. A strong leader can move mountains by skillfully rallying his or her team behind a common, well-articulated mission. I have found that this is most directly accomplished by cementing in the minds of the team a mission worthy of achievement. For leaders, investing one’s leadership skills is equally challenging whether the goals are big or small; hence, I encourage you to embrace BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) with a “Change the World” vision.

Always ask yourself, “How do I play in a bigger game?” Having said that, it is important to “walk before you run,” but don’t be scared away from giant ideas that you are genuinely committed to see through to reality.

In order to succeed, it is the job of a leader to successfully recruit the best and most talented people that can be attracted to the cause. The real work comes when the leader must unite those capable people to work together harmoniously in ways that deliver amazing results that dwarf what could be accomplished by the sum of just those individuals. Leaders create “new math” where 1+1+1 can equal 8. Leaders must look for those opportunities.

Be Bold

Shooting only for incremental change doesn't create a disruptive, high-value organization (or service or product).
Few thought ChaCha could overcome challenges such as scaling a human army that helps answer questions. From the beginning, we loved hearing “that’s just not possible.” We took a counter-intuitive approach of bringing people back into challenges that are typically solved today with algorithms. We set out to use traditional search engines to get information on mobile phones, cost-effectively, at a price that people will afford (In this case, free).
Moral: If you have a solid idea, don’t let the masses and common opinion steer you away from it. AND, simultaneously, you will personally need to objectively challenge your own vision to determine if you’re on the right track. Surround yourself with advisors, consultants, and friends who help you think objectively.

Fail fast (and tune up)

"Fail Fast" is our culture at ChaCha. When things aren’t working, can you figure out what parts aren’t working and shed them quickly? The trick is learning how to notice and retain the parts that can work.
If we didn't try different approaches at ChaCha, we would never have found a path to revenue today. Our original business model started online as a search engine where our guides would chat with people. That didn’t resonate with users, but when we shifted to offering the service on mobile phones, the service took off like a rocket! Then we put the mobile Q&A content back online, where it has become the most extensively-curated Q&A database available.

Lead by example

The leader must set the pace, the “whatever it takes” culture, and the "can do" attitude.
A few years ago, my robot team was competing in the “DARPA Grand Challenge” 150-mile autonomous robot race through the Mojave desert. Leading up to the race, we realized we weren’t hitting our goals so we moved the team to the Mojave desert for the month preceding the race. By changing the venue, we transitioned into a round-the-clock, whatever-it-takes laser-focused team which produced results at 10x our normal pace. Be willing to step outside accepted norms when the situation demands it. Again, "fail fast" and move on.
At appropriate critical phases of the company, remember that hard pushes are absolutely required, and it’s YOUR job as the leader to rally the team. In those times, I personally believe in the concept, “whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”
Choose to lead when you are genuinely passionate about something: As your barometer, do YOU and your team LEAP out of bed each morning to tackle the mission, strategy, and tactics? You and team won’t be able to “Do whatever it takes” unless you are passionate.

Aggressively fill skill gaps

Surround yourself with the best possible talent, always. And that may change over time.
Objectively look for, and inspect your skill gaps. Your constant test is asking yourself: Is there anyone who could do this task better? If so, how would I recruit that person? Or, how can I measure our current team (or individual) against the gold standard?
Complement your experience and skillset. Ask for help wherever you can find it. If you are a true leader, pride and useless emotions cannot stand between you and the primary mission. Watch for this dynamic from other leaders on your team also.
Build a walk-on-water internal team, and surround yourself with the best external advisors you can attract.

Safe Debate

Create a culture that invites intellectual debate in a "safe" environment. This applies internally and with your board or advisory groups.
As a leader, it’s essential to be a "good listener”, BUT THEN be able to rally the team around the best solutions.
Give back.
Find ways to give back to your community, to schools, to charities.

As a leader yourself, I invite you to help create the leaders of our future through a program I’ve recently helped bring to Indiana. Please join me in making a difference in the lives of over 5000 future Hoosier entrepreneurs. Consider the impact of helping children understand early in life that they can move an idea from drawing board to reality themselves. With a little bit of hard work and ingenuity, those children learn that they can shape their own destiny. Lemonade Day provides powerful life lessons. I hope you’ll help me bring this very impactful (and fun) program to Indiana. There are about 20 more days for you to help . Learn more at: indianapolis.lemonadeday.org.

As a LEADER: Think BIG!! Change the World! And, above all, have FUN!!!

Scott Jones is ChaCha’s Chairman and CEO. A proven innovator, entrepreneur, strategist, venture capitalist, pioneer, and inventor, Mr. Jones has founded and guided numerous companies to successful outcomes. At age 25, he co-founded and helped lead Boston Technology as its Chairman and Chief Scientist. As founding CEO at Gracenote, Mr. Jones assembled the team and key technologies that have dominated the world of music identification and discovery.

Mr. Jones and/or his companies have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, USA Today, NBC Nightly News, Fast Company, Wired, The Ellen Show, Good Morning America, MTV Cribs, and People magazine.

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