Recruiting — Startup Blog

Graphic featuring the thinker-doer term with imagery representing thinking and doing — Image created using DALL-E by OpenAI.

By way of introduction - I'm a hands-on, seasoned fractional COO (Feldspar, FreshAhead, Synervoz), sales coach (Microsoft), and mentor (Alumni Ventures, High Alpha). Over 20+ years, I have applied my growth and operations skills to help dozens of startups (IAN, Axiom, Spartan). I'm excited to share my ideas and thoughts here. I hope you find them useful on your startup path.

Introduction

Fellow IBMer Fred Brooks, a leader in software engineering and computer science, once said, "Thinkers are rare; doers are rarer; and thinker-doers are rarest." This idea isn't just relevant to building leading tech—it's useful for anyone trying to build an agile, proactive, fast-moving team, especially startup founders.

Key Takeaways

Thinker-doers balance strategy and execution.
Thinkers and doers have value, but over-reliance on either will create issues, especially at startups.
Hire thinker-doers by seeking real-world examples of execution.
Lead thinker-doers with clear goals and consistent feedback by providing them with plenty of autonomy.

Why Thinker-Doers Are Essential in Startups

Brooks introduced the concept of thinker-doers—individuals who can strategize and execute their strategies—in The Mythical Man-Month. Thinker-doers thrive in environments where they can analyze and assess information, design solutions and implement their ideas. This makes them not just valuable, but essential to the success of startups.

In startup world, resources are limited, and frequent decision-making and follow-up are required. Thinker-doers can develop ideas and bring them to life without relying on someone else to execute them. This self-sufficiency avoids failed handoffs and speeds up activity while tightly aligning vision with execution.

Startups that lean too heavily on either thinkers or doers face inevitable roadblocks. Thinkers can get lost in analysis or ideation, slowing progress without clear action steps. On the other hand, doers may focus solely on completing tasks, sometimes missing the bigger picture or long-term goals. Balancing these tendencies is where thinker-doers shine; they combine both mindsets to keep a startup moving forward with the practical application of a vision.

Overweighting the team with thinker-doers is particularly critical for post-Seed to Series A startups and bootstrapped firms looking to tap into the same growth curve as those startups. Too many thinkers will stall execution, while too many doers may result in committing too many resources to the wrong paths forward. Getting this right requires careful people recruitment and management.

The Role of Pure Thinkers or Doers

While thinker-doers are the ideal startup profile, thinkers and doers can still play roles in specific situations. Thinkers often excel in advisory roles, offering strategic input without taking responsibility for execution. They can be especially valuable as external advisors or mentors, for example. However, you need to test whether thinkers have past experience executing their ideas. Be wary of contributions from thinkers who share theories or pass on recommendations based on others' lived experiences or lacking any history at all. Evaluate all of their suggestions carefully and cautiously. Many people are happy to offer opinions, so I'd be concerned about having too many "idea" people kicking around, offering too many perhaps conflicting recommendations.

Doers' potential contributions are more limited at startups. Even for a simple or repetitive task, mindful execution matters. There aren’t going to be many, if any, workstreams or processes that work perfectly at a startup. If they operate smoothly, they will still be subject to change as the business evolves. For even the most routine work, I'd prefer doers who consider how their work contributes to the company's customer-driven purposes. So, they are doers who bring a reflective and thoughtful approach to their work.

Be on the lookout for this one doer, gotcha, from the person who comes up with a single option to a problem or opportunity and acts on it immediately without surfacing alternatives. Maybe they get lucky, but more often, we’ll find out it wasn't a great idea at all. Lack of reflection and option-building by doers can waste a lot of time, which is always in short supply for startups.

If you find that you've employed or engaged a thinker or a doer, determine as quickly as possible if this is an ingrained trait or a behavior subject to quick change. All human beings are capable of personal development and growth. But for some people, this can happen at a glacial rate. You don't have that kind of time. Suppose a challenging teammate can't adapt quickly. In that case, move that person toward the exit sooner rather than later. That's the most respectful way to handle the situation for all parties.

How to Spot a Thinker-Doer When Hiring

Identifying thinker-doers during the hiring process can be hard, but there are practical ways to spot them. Start by asking candidates to share specific examples of when they took an idea from conception through execution. Look for clear instances of both creative thinking and follow-through.

During interviews, present scenarios where a candidate must balance strategy and action. For example, ask them how they would handle a sudden pivot in company direction or how they'd prioritize competing goals in a resource-constrained environment. Do they gravitate toward doing a ton of analysis and hours of desk research? Or do they emphasize learning by doing? Look for a bias to action in their replies.

I'm not advocating for “firing” without “aiming,” by the way. I am promoting people developing informed hypotheses and testing them out in real-life experiments to get answers quickly that aren't mere guesswork.

Finally, ask for stories demonstrating real-world problem-solving and follow-up. In the case studies they share and prior work experience they describe, consider whether they naturally cover both angles. A candidate leaning heavily toward thinking or doing may struggle with speaking to the other aspect convincingly. A candidate's past success in managing uncertainty by identifying options and taking action steps to discover the best path will contribute mightily in a startup environment.

How to Lead and Support Thinker-Doers

Once you've hired thinker-doers, be sure to support them. Regarding people's performance, I keep in mind an acronym from Dan Pink: AMP-R. I added the "R."

"M" stands for mastery.
"P" stands for purpose.
"R" stands for relationship.
"A" stands for autonomy.

Thinker-doers thrive when given autonomy, and they'll reach peak performance when this is combined with the other acronym qualities, all in alignment with company goals. They will flourish if you allow these teammates to be creative and proactive when you have set clear expectations for outcomes. Do not micromanage a thinker-doer. That is certain to backfire.

Thinker-doers appreciate ownership of their work and will benefit from timely feedback that helps them improve. You might also establish a regular check-in, emphasizing your teammate’s personal development and broader career goals. Coach and help them to reach high levels of performance. Don’t take autonomy to an extreme. Accountability is critical; thinker-doers perform best when trusted and held responsible for the outcomes they drive.

Spartan vs Tough Mudder

It is interesting to see how organizational cultures end up reflecting the styles of their team members. During my time at sports indusry innovator Spartan, the CEO, Joe DeSena, was known for his fast-paced, action-oriented style. He leaned heavily on a "fire-aim-ready" mentality, leading to rapid iteration and learning. In contrast, arch-rival Tough Mudder had a slow, deliberate approach—focusing on analysis and planning over doing.

While Tough Mudder’s impressive cohort of business school graduates and former management consultants developed top-notch PowerPoint decks, they were slow to test ideas in the real world, limiting their pace of learning. They didn't develop conviction around a path forward. They lacked a competitive strategy supporting a clear customer-driven purpose. In the end, Spartan acquired Tough Mudder, achieving Spartan’s objective of becoming the Iron Man of obstacle racing.

Conclusion

The “first product" of a startup must be the team. If a team implodes (which definitely happens), it's game over. Creating a startup team of thinker-doers will improve your odds of startup success. While thinker-doers are ideal for most situations, thinkers may bring value when used strategically and sparingly. Over-indexing on pure thinkers or doers or relying on smooth handoffs between the two types of people will be a costly approach.

Building a successful early-stage startup is about turning unknowns into knowns by taking action—mindfully and methodically testing ideas and learning from those actions. Thinker-doers are your best bet for developing great ideas and putting them into action.

By hiring and nurturing thinker-doers, founders can shorten the time it takes to find product-market fit and then scale up. Fostering an environment that encourages creativity, action, and accountability will help every one of these team members reach their fullest potential. Your smartly staffed, well-coached team will keep your startup in action, focused on its long-term vision, while staying agile to handle daily challenges.

I love to connect with other like-minded startup leaders. Read more about me here, and please reach out.

I wrote this blog post with the help of a personalized GPT from OpenAI that I customize and train.

Why Startup Founders Need Thinker-Doers for Their Teams