The Bonfire Moment: Bring Your Team Together to Solve the Hardest Problems Startups Face

AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

Unique insights from pioneers of Google’s Startup Accelerator on why building teams is harder than building tech—and a proven way to develop a strong, resilient and effective team.

Most startups fail not because of a bad product, poor timing, or mismanaged cash, but because of people problems: conflicts over strategy, decision-making, and team culture. Even the smartest entrepreneurs have been derailed by these soft problems: How do you fire a loyal friend who’s not up to par? How do you motivate your team to give their all? What happens when egos and emotions overpower facts and reason? The soft stuff can be shockingly hard.

Martin Gonzalez and Josh Yellin outline the common traps startup teams fall into, and share their powerful one-day workshop that helps teams escape those traps. The unique process of The Bonfire Moment brings colleagues together for a full day of facing hard truths, noticing hidden dynamics, and gearing up for the intense challenges of startup life. When the constant hustle feels overwhelming, a team’s Bonfire Moment pulls them out of the day-to-day intensity to reflect and reboot.

The Bonfire Moment has proven effective with hundreds of teams of all sizes around the world—from the smallest startups to large organizations—significantly improving their cohesion, focus and effectiveness. Now this book will teach leaders the principles behind The Bonfire Moment and how to run the workshop on their own. It's ideal for anyone who needs to build an extraordinary team to achieve big goals.

This essential guide to leadership development reveals a road-tested process to:

• Startup Leadership: Learn why teams are harder than tech and master the skills that separate successful founders from the ones who flame out.
• Conflict Resolution: Move beyond people problems by learning to handle difficult conversations and navigate the tensions over strategy and decision-making.
• A Proven Team Building Framework: Get a step-by-step playbook for The Bonfire Moment, a powerful one-day workshop designed to face hard truths, improve cohesion, and reboot your team.
• Founder Advice from the Field: Discover the four predictable traps that derail startups—from the trap of speed to the maverick mindset—and get actionable strategies to avoid them.

Martin Gonzalez is the creator of Google’s Effective Founders Project, a global research program that decodes the factors that enable startup founders to succeed. He also works closely with Google’s engineering and research leaders on org design, leadership and culture challenges. Martin is a frequent lecturer at Stanford, Wharton and INSEAD, and has advised leaders across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. He studied organizational psychology and behavioral science at Columbia University and the London School of Economics.

Josh Yellin cofounded Google's first Startup Accelerator and spearheaded its growth, reaching founders in 70 countries. Along with Martin, he cofounded Google’s Effective Founders Project. Josh recently spent four years as the Chief of Staff at Google Brain, and is presently an organizational leader at Google DeepMind. Josh studied biology at the University of Illinois and business at the Wharton School.