Focus on Results

Everybody talks about focusing on results in business. But talk is cheap. The reality is that it’s easy to zero in on outcomes when times are good. The hard part is to avoid distractions when progress doesn’t come without a knock-down, drag-out fight.

What do executives do when good results become distant prospects? Many of them turn to process. They figure that if they aren’t pumping out new products, bringing in new customers, or increasing the top and bottom lines, then they must have a process issue. This leads them to shift the reward system to benefit those who do the “right” things. As a result, they also say bye-bye to performance.

It’s not that process isn’t important. It’s just that when people get too much attention for analyzing software development procedures or studying sales strategies, they may become disconnected with the objectives of the battle. Focusing on process is often the path of least resistance, because improving an internal process is almost always easier than getting a business result. So you can guess where your team will go when it’s under stress, especially when it’s rewarded for process-oriented behavior.

That fact is that you really don’t want to be in the tedious and counterproductive position of worrying about how people do their jobs and where they do them. That’s process. Before you go there, take a look at the people that you have in place. Figure out who will respond to the challenges of what (and when) work needs to get done. And inspire them with an impassioned answer to why they are doing it.

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Stop the Gyrations

Do you ever feel like your business is on a roller coaster? To some extent, external factors like the economy can create unavoidable ups and downs for your company. That’s the business cycle. That’s life. Don’t exacerbate the situation by taking actions that create even more volatility and make you feel like you just jumped on the Breakdance ride at Coney Island after gulping down a greasy corn dog. You don’t want to go there with your business.

But it happens all over. When things are really good or really bad, there is a tendency to act without stepping back and putting some common sense into the equation. Investors, governments, consumers, and CEOs often overreact, because they feel that there is a need to be dramatic. This only makes matters worse.

Drama is for actors and politicians, not business people. So before you make another “bold” decision of the week that gives your business a bad case of whiplash, try to put things into perspective. Wild gyrations on a carnival ride create excitement, but this probably isn't the kind of thrill you want to get out of your business. Jerking your company around creates unnecessary stress for everyone involved.

And the stakes are extremely high. You can easily derail any progress that you’ve made over the years by making hasty and emotional decisions just to “do something.” When you buy your ticket to ride on any course of action, make sure that you understand where it might take you.

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Act Like a Startup

There's nothing more resilient than a startup company. Maybe it’s something about the “change the world” mentality that repels negative thoughts. Just look at American presidential politics of late.

So why is it that entrepreneurs lose that “can do” feeling over time? When you have nothing, even small achievements will lift your spirits and provide additional momentum to your business. However, after you’ve been in business for a while, suffered a few setbacks, and put some mileage on your ego, you may find it harder to appreciate your accomplishments.

Whenever you get discouraged, first take stock of what you have. You may be surprised at how far you’ve come. Next, look at your company as though it were a startup venture. Chances are, any startup would kill to have your business relationships, your intellectual property, your customers, and your team.

You may sometimes feel like you’ve suffered too long and accomplished too little. But you probably just need to get your mojo back. Just sit back and think. What would you do if you had just started your company? You wouldn’t take a setback lying down. You’d ignore it and charge on to the next thing. You’d also cherish every asset you had -- and leverage it to the hilt. Moreover, you’d have the audacity to think that the next big break is just around the corner. And you’d probably be right.

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Prepare the Market

Smack! That’s the sound of your sales hitting a brick wall -- a market that just isn’t ready for your brand spanking new idea. You’ve spent loads of money on product development and market research. And your new sales team has enough mousse in their hair to grease the skids with any customer. The only problem is that markets take their sweet time embracing anything new.

If your idea is the least bit disruptive, you need to start warming up the market with some serious foreplay, long before product launch. This concept always gets entrepreneurs riled up. “How can we sell something that doesn’t exist yet? If we can just get this thing built, our investors will be happy and everyone will want it.”

Well, they may want it -- ultimately. But they may not be ready to buy it. In fact, potential customers may not even understand what it is you’re offering and how it fits into their world. Interestingly enough, entrepreneurs often solve legitimate problems well in advance of the market’s admitting that the problems exist. Being ahead of your time is mandatory for product innovation, but it can be a disaster for sales.

It’s not that you should neglect product development in favor of selling. However, while you’re in development mode you should also be out testing the market and preparing buyers for your revolutionary new offering. This will give you an opportunity to shore up your business plan, fine tune your product, develop important relationships, and build a more compelling story for investors.

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Dominate Your Niche

Entrepreneurs often start out with lofty goals. That’s just the nature of the beast. And let’s face it. No business would ever get off the ground if someone wasn’t willing to take significant risks. The problem is that many business plans require heroic efforts in order to produce results that are relatively unexciting. “We’re going to capture 1% of the huge market for…blah, blah, blah.”

That would never fly with Jim Phelps, the IMF (Impossible Missions Force) team leader on the classic TV series “Mission Impossible.” Imagine opening the show with this -- “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rescue 1% of the people in the world from the global nuclear holocaust that is going to be triggered by terrorists at noon tomorrow.” That sounds more like mission unfathomable. Phelps wouldn’t even wait for the recorder to self destruct. He’d torch it himself.

Take a cue from Jimbo. Focus on dominating a market niche with your company from the start. If you’re successful, you’ll have something of real value. It may be ok to have a small piece of a big pie at some point, but it’s hard to build a business and get other people to rally behind you with that as the battle cry. Don’t waste your time nibbling away at the market share of competitors. That’s b_o_r_i_n_g.

Consider this. If the missions really were impossible, why did Phelps always succeed? It wasn’t just for the reruns. There was no choice. It was all or nothing. If you feel that way about your business, you’ll probably see your employees, investors, and customers follow suit. Now all you need is some cool music playing behind you.


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Give Change Time

A business and the human body share an important trait. Over time, they both can become very specialized in their abilities. A chronically complacent couch potato might be on the 12,000 calories a day Michael Phelps diet, but he isn’t about to compete in the 200 m freestyle and live to tell about it. Even the hardest working power lifter may not be able twist himself into the most basic of yoga positions without busting a gut. Likewise, your business may require more endurance, strength, or flexibility in order to change course. But after years of neglect or long periods of intensely focused endeavors, any change will meet with resistance. The good news is that you can take steps to ensure that change doesn’t harm you or your business.

If your company has had a good run, hang onto the core that works and use it as your platform for change. There’s a lot at stake, including all those things that you’ve tried to ratchet up over the years -- capabilities, reputation, relationships, position, and money. For that reason, change as little as possible in order to achieve your goals. The connections between people, ideas, and systems get stronger over time. If you try to change everything at once, you may end up with a tangled web of issues, bound together by the Super Glue of entrenched staff who will resist your sense of urgency at every level.

If you’ve got multiple, interrelated problems, it may take as long to sort them out as it did to create them (and the links between them). Go for the gold, but take time to get -- and keep -- your company in great shape. Otherwise, you could end up sitting out the most important part of the game on injured reserve.



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Practice Your Art

Business may be the only human endeavor (other than, say, ax murdering) in which you will be encouraged to stop doing something as soon as you get good at it. So what’s your claim to fame? Whether it’s selling, engineering, or finance, you probably discovered that you had “it” somewhere along the line. And, if you’re like many entrepreneurs, at some point you’ve felt pressure to delegate the work that is near and dear to your heart. There’s nothing wrong with that.

For some reason, however, entrepreneurs frequently operate at the extremes on the management scale (i.e. micromanagement or abdication of responsibility). That’s because it’s hard to find the path that allows you to lead by example and avoid meddling in everyone’s business to the extent that you end up undermining the people who can help you the most. Don't give up. If you work at it, you can still be the best-of-the-best and help your team grow even more.

Whatever you do, avoid the dreaded “handoff” – turning over everything to someone and washing your hands of it. Let’s kindly call this approach the kiss of death. If you go cold turkey on something that is clearly your passion, chances are that no one else will want to touch it with a 10-foot pole. So take pride in practicing your art. It’s bound to be good for you, good for the people around you, and good for your business.

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Plan under Fire

Having a business plan is good. Clinging to an unrealistic business plan is bad. A plan isn’t meant to be a cover. Sometimes it’s a sales tool, sometimes it’s a navigation tool, and sometimes it’s even an inspiration tool. But it should never make you feel like you can ignore what’s going on in the real world.

Business plans are usually written in a partial vacuum. Sure, they take into account a lot of research, knowledge, and experience. For startup ventures, however, plans rarely come to grips with the realities of the marketplace. The only way to get past speculation in a plan is to try to sell, manufacture, and manage a product while under fire from competition and real market forces.

Don’t freeze and settle for a short-term solution. As painful and irrelevant as planning may seem at the time, you have just the right mindset for it when you are pinned down in the trenches. Is this how you want your business to run? If you make it out alive, where do you really want to take your company?

The most important lessons are burned into your mind during extreme periods of success and failure. You can only take advantage of what you learn -- and share those experiences with others -- if you put everything in the context of your overall strategy. So seize the opportunity to change the course of events, and leverage the battle to drive a plan that really works for you and your company.

Avoid the Bunker

When the talking gets tough, the tough get talking. You read it right. But this isn’t about burning incense and sharing intimate feelings while accompanied by a pan flute -- not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s about talking frankly with your employees, your customers, your board members, and your shareholders when things really suck.

Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs clam up when they feel the heat, and then run for cover. It’s natural for people to over-communicate when times are good. If you’re in the money and the future looks promising, you’re more apt to be the life of the party. But when the tide turns, you may want to shut everyone out until you fix the problem or have something positive to report. Welcome to “bunker mode.”

You may not even realize you’re there, but everyone else will when they see you dodging conversations about the business. Of course, there’s really no way to hide. Everyone will be suspicious when the emails and calls stop, and figure out that that there’s a nasty surprise on its way. Postponing the agony will only increase its intensity.

When you need a life preserver, don’t cut the rope that can pull you to safety. It’s unlikely that anyone involved will want you to fail. In fact, they’re most likely hoping that you’ll hit a home run. So reach out -- before it’s too late.

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Use What You Know

Business is all about finding opportunities and solutions to problems in the presence of constraints and imperfect information. If you’re a scientist or engineer, that should be pretty familiar ground. The question is, Can you can leverage your skills and abilities to build a company? The early-stage venture landscape is littered with inspired technical people who have failed to succeed in business. You don’t have to join the heap.

Being a passive student of business isn’t enough to grow a company. Passion and an intense desire to succeed are required ingredients. But you still have to add the intelligence and the tenacity that has served you well in research and development projects. Immerse yourself in your business “lab.” Plan, research, experiment, analyze, collaborate, act -- and reset when you find yourself going down the wrong path.

The trick is to understand that the context is very different. In business, there’s always a person on the other end of a strategy or experiment. And relationships form the platform for success in any business venture. While building a company is much more of a science than most people think, it’s not a science project. In business, you have different stakeholders in the process, different metrics for your success, less real control over the results, and very little that remains constant. However, if you use what you know, and adapt to the environment, your business will be less likely to end up as an experiment in futility.

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