blog364

One day, when my son was two years old I got a call from a friend of mine that needed to meet me right away. But there was a problem. At that time, my wife was out meeting a client, and our nanny had gone home early. So I had no choice but to bring the little one with me. The other problem was that he was still wearing his pajamas. For some reason I had this weird idea that taking him out in his PJs wasn’t acceptable. What ensued was a very long and draining battle to get him out of his PJs and into his day clothes. The battle lasted over half an hour and left both of use exhausted. About a week later, the same situation presented itself: I had my son with me (yes, wearing his PJs) and I had to leave the house in a hurry and bring him with me.

Now, my first instinct was to reach for an outfit and get ready for another “battle”. But before I could reach him, a thought came rushing into my mind: “I have two things that I’m trying to accomplish: 1) Get him out of his PJs and dressed and 2) Get out of the house with him ASAP. Now, which one of these two is the most important? In that instant, I finally understood the true meaning behind the saying: “Pick your battles.”

Budget	Schedule
Features	Quality

Now, you might be wondering how does this story relate to startups. Simple: In every startup there will always be multiple things that need to be done, and in our entrepreneurial OCD minds (lets face it, most entrepreneurs are!) they all seem equally urgent. Most of our first reactions will be similar too: how do I get them all done at the same time? Then we’ll proceed to flip out, stress and waste incredible amounts of time and energy trying to figure it out. This is ludicrous, because rarely, if ever are we in situations that will require us to complete all the tasks in parallel.

If you take an honest look, you will realized that the need to get it all done-right-now is more like a beautiful mirage than an actual helpful oasis. Look closer…closer… and you will see that there will most likely be one truly important task that needs to happen right at this very moment (in my case, it was leaving the house!). Usually a good way to find out which task is most important is by asking: Which of this task, if it doesn’t get done now, will keep me from completing the other ones?

In my current startup, most of our done-right-now tasks fall into one of these categories: 1) Budget 2) Schedule 3) Features or 4) Quality.

Like most all other startups out there, we want to hit high marks in all these categories. We wan to: Be well under budget (our investors will love us for this). Hit our release date (our investors AND users will love us for this). Have the most features (the only way to crush our competition…. NOT!). Have no bugs in the system (just like the other “startup” up in Redmond). And we want all this to happen by the time we release our Beta MVP.

But we are a small team (Mr. Smith and I) and know that this is far from realistic. So we had to make some decisions. For us, being self-funded, it was a no brainer. We had (and still do) to be within our budget. That was and still is our most important decision driving point. We know that if we run out of the little cash that we have for our venture that non of the other three points will matter. Sure, we still want to have our cake and eat it too, but that’s just not realistic. And nothing teaches you better the definition of reality than self-funding and bootstrapping your own startup.

So, being on budget became our do-it-now driver. Because, if we don’t pick this battle first, then we’ll never get to the other ones (i.e. delivering on schedule, features, quality). And, as any good General will tell you: winning a battle doesn’t win the war. You need to win all the battles (or at least the bigger, most important ones) to win the war. So start by winning the first battle. But choose which one to fight first you must, so do that carefully. Also, remember that it is the aggregate of multiple successful battles that bring the desired outcome. And, picking which battle to fight first doesn’t mean that the other ones don’t need to be fought. You will need to be able to extract multiple victories across multiple fronts in order to be ultimately triumphant!

Truly successful startups aren’t successful because they’ve launched a great product. Launching a great product is the end result, a visual manifestation of a company that has already become successful at mastering the art of “picking the right battles in the right order”.

Which battle will you pick next?

Imagine this…

You are in racecar, driving at 100 mph and you are in x place (but not in first).

All of the sudden, you start noticing some vibrations in the car.

At first you try to dismiss them as little bumps on the road. But then, the vibrations start to get stronger and stronger, making driving and staying in control almost impossible.

100 mph

What do you do?

You could speed up…. Hmmm… stronger vibrations and some parts of your car start flying off. If you keep going like this there’s a good chance that you won’t finish the race and might not even survive another lap.

What do you do?

You could slow down…. Hmmm…. if you do, then there’s not a chance to catch up to first place and win.

What do you do?

You stop. You pit out!

Pit stop

That’s right, you STOP!

Ask any experienced race car driver and he/she will tell you that most races are won not just by going fast and having nerves of steel, but by knowing when to stop. Stopping at the correct times allows you to make adjustments and corrections before they become “life threatening” issues. It’s on the pit where your entire support team is at and where the best assessments as to the current situation and best course of action can be determined and implemented. Even though you are alone in the “car” you are not alone in the “race”. Your entire team is in it with you, and you need them as much as they need you in order to win. Yes, racing and building successful companies are team sports!

So, if it feels like you are starting to lose control and may not make it another lap around, consider stopping. It may not only save your life (if you are heading for a crash as your car/company starts to fall apart), but it may give you a new fighting chance. Some people call it “the pivot”, some call it “regrouping”. The fact is that something has to change. You cannot continue moving forward this fast and this out of control.

You’ve built a team around you to help you win. When those vibrations start to make the going get tough, the only way they can help you is if you stop and pit out. This gives the chance to the entire team to assess the situation, and how to best correct it and send you back out on the race with a winning chance.

Stopping is not a sign of weakness, lack of drive or commitment. In fact, it’s a sign of strength and focus. A mind that is present and focused on the task at hand, is better equipped to anticipate the need for the stop even before the first signs of trouble present themselves. Thus, saving you precious time, energy and resources, three things that are always in short supply in a racing situation (and a startup is exactly that: a race to execute before you run out of those three elements). Most of the time, the winning teams are the ones who best manage and balanced these resources.

If you stop, what’s the worst thing that can happen? You don’t win the race? I’m willing to bet you money, that if you continue driving, regardless of how hard or fast you drive you won’t win anyway and you may face terrible consequences. Something tells me that deep down, your gut is telling you the same. So listen to it.

Now, start to slow down. As you do, you’ll be able to regain some control. Good! You see, it’s not that hard.

Radio up your team and let them know that you are coming in. Once you get to the pit, stop and work with them to resolve the problems and set a new strategy.

Are all systems working? Are you, your team and car/company firing on all cylinders? Good. Step on the gas and go. You may not win the race but at least now you have one more fighting chance!
—

Note: Notice that when I set the scenario up, I said that you were in x place but NOT in first. Why?

Well, if you are in first place, chances are that you and your car/company are performing at 100% efficiency, and sans some unforeseen tragedy, are probably on your way to a win. But at some point in the race, even you had to pit out to refuel, regroup, and make some minor adjustments. And, it’s very likely that this very same action of stopping at just the right time, gave you the extra edge to finish first!

I’ll see you on the racecourse.

The other day I came across two quotes that left me completely bewildered. I was bewildered not because I didn’t understand them, but because they shown a lack of understanding, vision, imagination and questioning of what is and what should be. And the worst part is that I know many, many people who repeat these two quotes on a regular basis as if they were some magic spell or New Age way of managing a business. And they are not! All they do is mask more serious issues and questions that should be addressed in a direct manner at every step of building or creating a new product or service. They are empty words lacking actionable power and guidance. Accepting their ‘wisdom’ at face value and expecting that they will lead to a successful and long lusting business is the same as thinking that you can solve an algebra equation by chewing gum.

Without any further due…

Go Build It!

Build it and they will not come: Oh, really? Well, duh! Ok, fine. Yes, it’s true: just building or creating a product or service is no guarantee that anyone will want to buy it. But what’s the option? Not to build it? If you don’t then there’s NO business, period! So clearly, not building it is not an option (at least not a good one). Thus the quote as it is written is empty of actionable value and pointless. You have to build it, you have no choice. You didn’t go into business to “do nothing, build nothing”. Most likely you went into business because you either have a crazy idea that you can’t get out of your head until you build it or you’ve identified a problem with a large enough user-base and think that you have a solution for it. Either way… you are in business to build it! So go ahead, make “your day”! If you don’t, then the quote becomes a self fulfilling prophecy even before you get started. If you build it, what’s the worst that it can happen? That “they” don’t come? Hmmm… well if you don’t build it, for sure “they” won’t come.

Let’s turn this empty quote into an actionable statement/question:

• How do I build it so they come?

But lets not stop there. Why? Because we don’t only want users to come… we want them to buy too. So let’s add:

• And buy it?

Now you have a product that solves someone’s problem in an efficient manner that’s worth paying for. But this only will get you so far, so many customer and so much money. It’s in the last part where the magic happens…

• And they tell all their friends about it?

Ok, so may be this is not much of a quote, but it’s one heck of actionable question/statement to help you build a solid product or service:

“How do I build it so they come and buy it and they tell all their friends about it?”

We can distill this statement into three actionable steps:

1. Concentrate on the core problem that you are trying to address/resolve/fix for your target users/market. Everything else is noise!
2. Implement a solution that in the words of Arthur C. Clarke is “indistinguishable from magic.”
3. To borrow/steal from Seth Godin: Make it a Purple Cow. Why? Because when you see one, the first thing you want to do is tell all your friends!

In the words of William Shakespeare: “To build or not to build? That is the question.” And the answer is simple: YES! Build it. You can’t afford not to!

Am I doing what’s good or what I’m good at: This quote really scares me, because the understanding is that you should be doing “what’s good” for the company. But what’s the value in doing “what’s good” if you are not “good” at it? If the most important thing is to do what’s best for the company but you are not the best at it, then by simply attempting to do “what’s good” you are in effect doing “what’s worst” for the company. What’s best for the company is adding value to it and you can only add value to it if you are doing for it what you do best. Attempting to do “what’s good” when you don’t have the right skills can end up in a worst situation than if left alone. Instead you should be focusing on what you are “good at” and then finding a way to use your particular set of skills to add value to your company, its products or services. If you want proof that doing “what you are good at” is indeed the best thing you can do for your company, then you don’t have to look any further than a professional sports team. Why? Because in a top performing team, each player (i.e. employee) as a specific position to cover and task to accomplish. And they are put in these positions because that’s what they are best at, not necessarily what’s best for the team. You wouldn’t expect a three-point shooter to be a great rebounder or a filed-goal kicker to be a great defender, would you? They have special and specific skills that they bring to the team and they add value by doing what they do best. It’s the collective actions of each team member doing what they do best that results in doing what’s best for the company.

Another good reason to do “what you are good at” instead of “what’s good” is that you’ll never stand out doing “what’s good” if you are mediocre doing it. You might get a pat in the back and a ‘good job’ here and there, but your contribution will be soon forgotten. Your only chance to stand out, to be what author Seth Godin calls a ‘linchpin‘ is to do what you do best!

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about all that I’ve learned in the last few years working for various software and technology companies. What have been the good lessons and which ones have been the bad ones that I could learn from and improve on. As I continue my journey into entrepreneurship and starting my first startup, I thought it would be a good idea to start writing some of the philosophies that will shape my startup’s approach, not only to software development but also to the most important development that any company can do: team and culture development. This way, when things get crazy and I don’t remember any of the points below, my partners and employees will be able to call me on them! This is by no means a full list or in any particular order. I’ll continue on adding and refining some of the points as I move forward on my journey. Please feel free to drop me your comments and startup’s philosophy below!

Entering Startup

Here we go:

1. Check your attitude and ego at the door. You won’t need them and they won’t be tolerated
2. Do bring your intellect, curiosity and inquisitive mind
3. Question everything, but have a good reason for doing so
4. Agree to disagree but always respect the other person’s point of view and/or ideas
5. At the end of the day we always do what’s best:
   • First for our customers
   • Second for the company
6. We don’t let work arguments and disagreements get in the way of relationships
7. We all succeed or we all sink together. No “Titanic” effect
8. Building a great product is NOT the Product Manager’s responsibility. It’s every one’s
9. Lead, inspire and mentor those below you. Manage up
10. Fail quick, learn… move on
11. It’s ok to be wrong… just own up to it
12. It’s ok to make mistakes… learn from them
13. It’s ok not to know something… go learn it
14. If you are going to criticize, follow it up with a compliment (1:2 minimum ratio please!)
15. If you have a great idea, present it with passion and be ready to fight for it regardless of the outcome. If you are not, then don’t present it
16. Treat people below you better than you treat people above you or be gone!
17. Working hard is unavoidable… having fun is mandatory!