How do investors choose the right business leaders?
Short answer: Serg Bell says leaders suited to high change can differ from those suited to low change. That makes the conditions ahead part of an executive search, alongside the candidate's prior work context.
At a Billionaires.com interview, Richard C. Wilson asks Serg, a tech entrepreneur and investor, about costly mistakes founders and investors can avoid.
Serg on role context
Serg says choosing the wrong person is among the costliest mistakes for investors and entrepreneurs. He says the choice depends on the context in which the person needs to work. (at 11:11)
Serg on diligence
Serg says people choices go wrong when decision makers don't do enough diligence on the context where a person worked before. He recommends diligence on people, documents and partners. (at 11:41)
Serg on changing conditions
Serg says leaders aren't universal. Some suit periods of high change, while others suit periods of low change, because those conditions call for different skills. (at 11:41)
"most costly mistakes are always about choosing the wrong person."
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Binod K. Chaudhary: Build expert teams for each business. His major turning point came from ending multitasking. Each company got its own management team, led by experts in that industry.
- Michael Lee-Chin: Find the person who is responsible. When a problem comes up, he asks who the agent was. He wants a specific person to call, not a department.
- Larry Connor: Learn from every mistake. Larry's team owns its failures and makes no excuses. They learn, change quickly, and keep getting better.
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Frequently asked questions
How do investors choose the right business leaders?
Serg Bell says leaders suited to high change can differ from those suited to low change. That makes the conditions ahead part of an executive search, alongside the candidate's prior work context.
Did Serg name one turning point behind business growth?
No. He said business involves many decisions over time, and opportunities often come from changes in the outside world, including in technology and science.
Which roles did Serg say investors and entrepreneurs choose people for?
He mentioned business partners, investors, board members and executives, including chief executives.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.