Originally published in Entrepreneur Magazine

By Clint Korver

It’s a sad reality, but many chief executives and company founders get fired. Even the great ones like Apple’s Steve Jobs and JetBlue’s David Neeleman get pushed out.

However, for any founder who wants to beat the odds and keep his or her position through the initial public offering and beyond, the best route to success is having a strong relationship with their board of directors.

It’s tough for any chief executive to enjoy an extended tenure leading a high-potential venture, according to Harvard Business School Professor Noam Wasserman. Indeed, he says, “People like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, who are able to lead their companies for quite a while, get all the attention because they are rare, not because they are typical.”

Most chief executives, especially those running startups, think that managing relations with their board is as simple as hitting their numbers, whether that’s growing the firm’s valuation, increasing profit, revenue or market share. However, even a gifted leader who is beating performance targets can still get fired if she isn’t in sync with the board on three things — trust, risk and alignment. That’s something I learned from Dave Strohm, who’s seen it all while sitting on boards as a Greylock Partners venture capitalist.

Read the full article at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/298526

Clint Korver is Managing Director at Ulu Ventures.