You've got a brilliant idea for the next big thing in tech and have gathered the smartest engineers and designers to build it (plus the cash to pay them). Will it end up being a success? You've got the best team to deliver it, so why wouldn't it be? Well…

Gemma, Ross and Martin Gonzalez, Google's Effective Founders Project founder and author, discuss this situation on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast.

We explore:

· how and why it's people issues that often lead to (startup) business failure

· the balances that need to be struck by those creating and working in teams

· the uncomfortable "bullsh*t circle" exercise, as a step towards fixing people issues.

During the episode, Martin talks about how the "hiding hand principle" is critical for some projects to get going: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiding_hand_principle

In 'What I Learned This Week', Martin references Gary P. Pisano's Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation

Find out more about Martin and Josh's book The Bonfire Moment by visiting bonfiremoment.com

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

· Ross Garner

· Gemma Towersey

· Martin Gonzalez