Houston entrepreneur offers guide to startup success

Jay Steinfeld
By AARON HOWARD | JHV
There’s no shortage of books that offer advice on how to become a successful entrepreneur. From “Think and Grow Rich” and “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” both first published in the 1930s, to “The Harvard Business Review Entrepreneur’s Handbook: Everything You Need to Launch and Grow Your New Business,” dozens of guides exist to offer advice getting your business off the ground.

Why is Houstonian Jay Steinfeld’s “Lead from the Core” different from all other entrepreneurial guides?

It’s because of Steinfeld’s emphasis on generosity.

“Be generous with people because it is the greatest opportunity a person in power can have,” writes Steinfeld.

“Generosity means respect; listening, hearing, understanding what your associates want to get out of their careers. It’s understanding how you, as a leader, can get them there, inside or outside your firm,” Steinfeld told the JHV.

“Many people joined my company with the intent of staying for a year or two. But they found out, through generosity, a path to self-actualization. They were able to reach a version of themselves far more advanced than they first thought.

“When you’re being generous, you’re thinking about the greater good. You’re putting the greater good ahead of your own. When generosity becomes the norm in an organization, you’re giving people the opportunity to speak up and have a voice, to be true and authentic, not to wear a mask.

“When every team member in an organization becomes aware that generosity is a core value, it brings a return on investment in terms of retention, loyalty and productivity. But, it must be authentic: from showing appreciation to really listening and focusing on that other person when they are talking.”

Steinfeld founded and was the CEO of Global Custom Commerce, which he grew from his Bellaire garage into the world’s No. 1 online window-covering retailer. He was a member of the Home Depot Online Leadership team. He also teaches entrepreneurship at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.

Steinfeld dreamed of owning a company for as long as he can remember. Around the age of 10, he imagined owning a sporting goods store. He was more inspired by how cool it would feel to be around sporting goods than by the idea of being a boss.

In high school, Steinfeld remained oriented towards the business world. Accepted by The University of Texas at Austin, he interviewed successful business people to determine what he should study in college. Their advice: Study accounting. So, that’s what he majored in. It led to a job as a CPA with a Big Eight accounting firm upon graduation.

“But what really motivated me was the idea of controlling my own destiny,” Steinfeld said. “I wanted autonomy, which is still important to me.”

In 1993, the year before Amazon launched, Steinfeld began using the internet as a sales platform for blinds, draperies and window coverings. This was at a time when an online market for most things did not exist. The advantage of doing a startup at that time gave Steinfeld the opportunity to grow slowly with little investment and little knowledge. He tells the story in “Lead from the Core.”

From the beginning, Steinfeld built a corporate culture based on four core values that became what he calls “the Four Es”:

• Evolve continuously

• Experiment without fear of failure

• Express yourself

• Enjoy the ride

Without clearly articulated and communicated core values, there’s chaos, said Steinfeld.

“There are no norms as to what suitable behavior should be. Without guidelines for behavior, associates don’t know how to act in situations. There’s no alignment, and that causes friction and politics,” said Steinfeld.

Steve Jobs once said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” People are happier when they are enjoying themselves. But, does enjoying your work really lead to increased productivity and enhanced performance?

“I seek out enjoyment and fun and it’s worked for me in business,” said Steinfeld. “I believe it works for other people. When I speak with academic people, they back up things I’ve come upon.

“For example, we have SayJays, all-hands meetings where we introduce new employees to the team. We give new hires the opportunity to introduce themselves by either singing, telling a joke or dancing. Some performances are kind of embarrassing because they force a person to be vulnerable in front of hundreds of people.

“Many are crazy funny. It’s an opportunity to be a person, not an employee. We’re respecting you as a person. We want to know who you are. We’ve hired you because of your unique talent. We want you to know we’re prepared to listen to you. It just seems so obvious.”

What does it mean to Steinfeld to be a leader?

“It means clearly knowing where you’re going, knowing what you don’t have or what you’re not good at. It means attracting people who can fill those gaps and providing clarity of purpose and a compelling destination of where you want to go.

“If you’re a leader and you’re not bringing someone else along, you’re stagnant. Leadership is kinetic. You’re propelling a forward motion. If there’s no forward motion, you’re not going anywhere.

“I’d like people to understand you don’t have to know everything at the beginning of a new business. I studied and listened to everybody around me. By reading books and listening to people, it is possible to do more than you think. It takes trying and the willingness to make mistakes. It’s not that hard.”