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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