The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture

by Scott Belsky

As you craft your team’s culture, lower the bar for how you define a “win.” Celebrate anything you can, from gaining a new customer to solving a particularly vexing problem. The problem with traditional rewards like money, which can be counted and accumulated, is that they require the least imagination. Make the most of the period in your journey when you must create your own rewards out of necessity. By doing so, you are engaging your team more dynamically than a raise or bonus ever will. Milestones that are directly correlated with progress are more effective motivators than anything else.

it is vitally important to make consistent time and space where people can focus on what isn’t working. Perhaps it is a regularly scheduled monthly meeting, or a period during an off-site meeting when the team is encouraged to share their doubts. Some teams do anonymous surveys of the team’s gravest concerns and then share the

And when you find something worth celebrating, only applaud the progress and actions you want your team to repeat. It’s dangerous to celebrate accolades or circumstances that are not linked