企业家内幕网络是美国的一个在线社区，美国创业界最睿智和最有影响力的一些大咖会在这里及时回答与创业和职业有关的问题。今天为大家分享的是Ultimate Software公司创始人、CEO斯科特•谢尔在“萌芽期的创业者应该知道关于创业的哪些事？”这一问题下的回答。

我所知道的关于创业的一切，都是从我父亲那里学来的。作为一个在纽约长大的孩子，我亲眼看着他白手起家，创办了一家成功的企业。我父亲的经商之道非常简单直白，却也很有道理：既然员工来照顾我们的公司了，公司就要反过来照顾好他们。

许多年轻的创业人把心思主要花在了商业计划、利润空间和融资话术上。这些当然都很重要，但永远不要忘了最基本的问题：你想经营一家什么样的公司？你想让谁来帮你建立一家这样的公司？

我从创办Ultimate软件公司的第一天起，就时刻牢记着父亲的建议：每一天都要照顾好每一个人，他们会多次报答你的这份人情的。对我来说，成功的“秘诀”并非一份写得尽善尽美的市场计划，而是有正确的团队来执行它。

要想促进业务增长，做一个成功的创业者，就必须要对你的员工给予足够帮助。对于这一点，我有如下建议：

舍得为员工投资

在我们创业早期，我就制定了一个“死规定”：公司必须为员工和他们的家属全额缴纳医保和养老金。这一点即便在今天的创业公司里也不多见（在美国的100人以下的企业里，只有14%的公司这样做了）。在27年前，这种做法简直闻所未闻。

你不妨想想，对员工能够做出哪些承诺，并且能够做到言出必践，使员工知道你真的舍得为他们投资。工作餐和团队聚餐都有助于培养企业文化，但你要认识到究竟是什么培养了公司的核心价值——有可能是灵活的工作时间，也有可能是慷慨的带薪休假政策，至少这些都使员工达到了工作与生活的平衡。经营一家企业难免会遇到高潮和低谷，但只要你始终坚持把员工放在第一位，他们就会不离不弃地陪伴着你，一起经历美好和惨淡的时光。

像球队一样思考

我本身是运动员出身，对体育也保持着终身的喜爱，我认为体育和商业是有很多联系的。一些最优秀的球队之所以能保持常胜，并不仅仅是因为他们有最好的球员。冠军团队不仅拥有最好的球员，更重要的是拥有最好的教练。他们不仅全身心地投入到球队之中，而且知道如何让这些同样专注的球员发挥自身的最大潜力。当然，并非你招聘来的每一名员工都得有明星运动员或明星教练的觉悟，但保持这种团队的心态总归是件好事。

在企业里，每一个人都很重要，所有人都要朝着同一个目标努力。不管你从事的是哪个行业，只要你能找到并留住最出色和最专注的人才，并对他们加以训导，你就能年年打进季后赛，并且捧到“奖杯”。

内部晋升

企业为了发展，往往会到市场上去找顶尖的人才。然而很多时候，最好的人才其实已经在你的团队里了。所以你要着重中团队内部提拔领导职务，而不是把从外面“空降”当成第一选项。“空降”来的人才虽然有适合的技能，却不一定能契合你的公司文化。而你的现有员工对公司的了解更深，与公司的核心价值也有更紧密的联系，他们为了公司的长远发展也投入了很多（尤其是在你显示了你舍得向他们投资之后）。如果你能将现有员工提升到更高职位上，你的员工知道自己在公司内部也能实现职业发展，就会与企业建立起更紧密的联系，进而促进业务增长。Ultimate公司的一些高管以及最成功的一些干部，都是我们的第一批员工。

俗话说，大道至简。最有效的商业战略往往看起来很简单，但它们恰恰是最强大的。就像我从父亲那里学到的一样：给你信心的人是你的员工，能让你的企业继续发展的也是你的员工。作为一名创业者，要想持续成功，就要始终关注对于企业来说最重要的东西。永远要将投资你的员工放在首位。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

The Entrepreneur Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question, “What should budding entrepreneurs know about building a business?” is written by Scott Scherr, founder and CEO of Ultimate Software.

Everything I know about building a business, I learned from my father. As a kid in the Bronx, I watched him build a successful company from the ground up. His straightforward approach to business just made sense: The people were there to take care of the business, and the business was there to take care of the people.

Many young entrepreneurs focus mainly on the business plan, profit margins, and mastering the investor pitch. While all of that matters, it’s important to remember the fundamental questions: What kind of company do you want to run? And who do you want to help you build that business?

Remembering my father’s advice helped guide Ultimate from day one: Take care of everyone, every day, and they’ll return the favor many times over. To me, the “secret sauce” isn’t in the best-laid marketing plans—it’s in having the right team to execute on them.

Here are a few ways you can foster business growth and success by focusing on your people:

Make a big investment in your people

In our early days, one of my “non-negotiables” was 100% paid-for health care benefits for employees and their families, and 401(k) matching for every employee. That’s uncommon for startups today (only 14% of companies with 100 or fewer employees offer a 401(k) plan) and it was virtually unheard of 27 years ago.

Think of the ways you can walk the talk so your employees know you’re truly invested in them. Catered lunches and group celebrations help preserve your culture, but remember what cultivates your core values. Maybe it’s flexible hours or generous PTO to support employees’ work-life balance. Running a successful business has many highs and lows. But when you’re relentless in putting your people first, they’ll continue on the journey with you, weathering the good times and bad.

Think like a (sports) team

As a former athlete and lifelong fan, I see many connections between sports and business. The best teams that consistently win are not simply teams with good players. Championship teams have the best players and are coached by leaders who are fully committed and know how to get the most out of their players who are equally focused. Not every person you hire has to be a star athlete or accomplished coach, but it helps to have that team mentality.

Every person counts and must be working toward the same goal. No matter what business you’re in, if you find and keep the best, most committed talent, and coach them, you’ll make it to the playoffs every year—and bring home championships.

Promote from within

When businesses are looking to grow, they’ll usually look to the competitive market to find top talent. However, many times, the best people are already on your team. Focus on building leadership from within, rather than hiring the first outsider with the right skill set, but who may not be a cultural fit. Your existing employees have a greater knowledge of the company, a deeper connection to its values, and a more personal investment in its long-term success (especially when you’ve shown you’re invested in theirs). Developing your current people also helps foster stronger relationships and business growth as your employees build their careers with your company. Some of Ultimate’s highest-ranking—and most successful—people were our very first employees.、

The business strategies that work best often seem simple, but they’re also the most powerful. Like I learned from my father: Your people keep you inspired, and keep your business moving forward. To achieve continued success as an entrepreneur, keep your eye on what matters most. Always remember to invest in your people first.