Celebrate!

Building a startup can be a long slog. Look for the moments to celebrate. For your and everyone else’s sake.

Something good just happened. Pause. Take a breath. Reflect. Take a moment to celebrate. And share your celebration.

Sometimes, as startup leaders, we are so driven and focused on taking the next hill that we forget to celebrate when something good happens.  And, if we miss it, we miss the opportunity to internalize the feeling of success – and to share the energizing momentum that accompanies it.

Celebration is very reinforcing to our human psyches, so be actively looking for those moments of progress, the mountains successfully scaled as well as the puddles leaped.  You want to create a culture that celebrates accomplishments at every level, whenever possible. It reinforces commitment and encourages everyone to put forth their best and most creative effort.

Here are some reflections on celebrating that I have learned over my decades of startup leadership about celebrating along the journey:

• When you recognize that something has happened, stop for a moment and dwell on it. One of my colleagues and I often pause in the middle of a crunch to look around and at each other in amazement – and one of us will remark with wonder on how amazing it is that we are even faced with this new mountain because it reflects how far we have come. We take a moment to pause and just register that the next new challenge builds on the shoulders of where we have come from. Even a conversation with a partner can be a shared celebration of accomplishment.
  
  
• Reflect on what it took to get there – and appreciate all of those who pushed hard to make it happen. It can be a cheer in Slack, a call to praise and celebrate someone’s impactful effort, a call-out in a team meeting, an email, a party, a gift. Be inclusive, generous, and effusive whenever possible. It is almost always a team effort on some level, with some who stand out as leaders in a aparticular effort.
  
  
• Note what you learned along the way to an accomplishment. So often in startups, accomplishing something is a first of some sort – and required growth and learning to accomplish.  How have you increased your personal and the team’s capability to do it again?
  
  
• Be honored when someone chooses to share their accomplishment with you. I have found that getting excited about and appreciating the accomplishments of my technical team members, even when I barely understand exactly what the accomplishment consists of, is deeply appreciated by those who are often on the quieter and more reserved end of the spectrum and whose hard work can go unseen.  Once you establish that you want to hear about the good stuff they are doing, I have often found that I get a steady stream of opportunities to come see and admire the problem that was solved.  And I learn a great deal along the way while making sure that those quieter folks are seen and appreciated. This goes for people on your team as well as people in your orbit. Just this week another startup CEO called me to share about an exciting new Board member he had recruited. It was fun to celebrate with him – and I know that sometimes it can be hard to find those who understand the significance of some of the good things that happen within startups.
  
  
• Finally, be sure to share the joy with those in your cheering section as well as those whose excitement about what you are doing might get reignited by hearing about your progress.  When something big happens, I will pick up the phone and start calling those who have been journeying alongside us to share our joy. There is nothing like the emotional punch a timely and excited phone call can embody. It can be a particular angel investor, a Board member, an informal advisor, or any number of other people who provide you with a regular helping hand. Let them in on the fun! Doing it quickly reinforces the underlying message that they are important to you and that you appreciate them enough to let them know when something goes well.

Regardless, make sure that you DO CELEBRATE, even when your brain is racing on to realizing the next thing to be completed on the critical path. Skipping the celebration squanders so much opportunity for refueling your tank.