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We were blessed (cursed?) with the mother of all startup drama this week when Sam Altman was ousted from the top of multi-billion-dollar startup OpenAI. How do we know there was dramaaaa?<\/em> Even Vanity Fair piled in<\/a>.<\/p>\n Look, I haven\u2019t been in any of the OpenAI board meetings, so God knows what went on in there. One detail that kept itching at my brain stem, however, was the quote that Altman was \u201cnot consistently candid in his communications with the board.\u201d That stuck out to me, because if there\u2019s anything I\u2019ve learned from building companies, it\u2019s that you\u2019ve got to be straight and honest with your board.<\/p>\n Bad news, in particular, needs to travel fast to the board for a whole bunch of reasons. Some of them sound downright tedious (fiduciary duties, anyone?), but they\u2019re deadly serious. I have no inside knowledge of OpenAI or Sam Altman and I\u2019m not accusing anyone of lying, but there is quite a good lesson founders can learn from this whole palaver.<\/p>\n Startups have a reputation for moving fast and breaking things, but that reputation usually doesn\u2019t extend to the board room. The relationship between leaders and their board is a critical component of a company\u2019s success story. The golden rule of this relationship? Honesty.<\/p>\n No, you can\u2019t lie to your board. It\u2019s not just unethical, but it also has far-reaching implications for your business, your team, and ultimately, your own credibility.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n