Don’t Be a Finisher, Be a Starter
Alec Baldwin May Have Gotten it Wrong with "Always Be Closing"
I studied film at college. One of the films that I’ll always remember is Glengarry Glen Ross, which is about an unscrupulous real estate speculation company. Towards the beginning of the movie, Alec Baldwin’s character delivers a speech to motivate the sales team in which he repeats a now-infamous slogan: “ABC - Always Be Closing.”
During his speech, one of the sales reps tries to refill his coffee and is told that “coffee is for closers.”
Our culture worships the concept of people who finish things. We’re exhorted to never quit and to always follow through. There are motivational posters, classes, and seminars focused on pushing through and finishing what you start at whatever the cost. Nike’s slogan is Just Do It and my favorite meme of the last decade is Shia Labouf’s Just Do It about finishing what you start.
But I think this culture of Always Be Closing overlooks the benefits of being really good at starting, not necessarily finishing, a particular task or project. Knowing which skill you excel at is extremely important for your career.
Organizations Need Starters
To be successful, every organizer must have a mix of people who excel at starting and people who excel at finishing tasks. If you don’t believe me, consider what it would be like to work with a group of people who never take a risk on a new project or initiative. The team might excel at finishing nearly-impossible projects, but they won’t have the risk tolerance or imagination to dream up new innovations.
Even more damning, a team that is too heavily focused on finishing things for the sake of finishing will systematically over-invest in projects that are failing. When the act of finishing becomes all-important, important signals will get overlooked and the organization will dump resources into something that shows every sign of being a failure for individuals and the broader group.
5 Signs You Might Be a Starter
Here are 5 signs that you might be a starter, not a finisher:
You find new opportunities exhilarating, even when pursuing them would require you to discontinue or wind-down in-flight commitments.
The risk of failure doesn’t fundamentally scare or intimidate you.
You can’t help but think of new products, services, or processes.
You thrive on constant change: predictability doesn’t engage you.
Peers and bosses have told you that you are charismatic and capable of leading others.
If these traits sound familiar, Alec Baldwin might not let you get coffee. You might be a starter, not a finisher.
That’s okay.
In fact, your skills may be exactly what your team or company needs. But you’ll only be able to leverage your skills if you recognize and lean into your strengths.
Finding Your Niche
If you are a finisher, you will probably excel in a mature organization in which goals and measures are well understood and outcomes are easy to measure. Larger companies are a great place for this skill set because they have de-risked much of the ambiguity that makes starters so successful. What’s needed in most larger organizations is the grit and consistency to implement tough ideas. When there are a lot of people in the mix, there can only be so many projects and leaders before chaos ensues.
By contrast, if you are a starter, you should seek out opportunities either in new business groups at large companies or in smaller orgs that haven’t reached product / market fit. These are environments with high risk / reward profiles that experience constant change. To be successful, someone must take the reigns and lead the way. Starters aren’t just welcome, but they are necessary.
What’s Next
If you haven’t guessed already, I’m very much a starter. I spent the first 10 years of my career wondering what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I just settle down, take it easy, and focus on shipping the 901st iteration of the product? It’s not trivial to do that work - just ask the Windows team at Microsoft.
Finishing is valuable, but don’t let mainstream narratives tell you that your starter skills aren’t equally important. Every business needs a visionary that thinks up new billion dollar ideas. Every friend group needs someone that’s comfortable organizing new activities. Every relationship needs someone willing to propose new date ideas.
Know your strengths and play to them.