A lot of people dream of starting their own business but don’t. They do their homework, study successful enterprises, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and devour the latest self-help books. All in the hope of finding the secret sauce and the courage to jump. The expectation is that the method, money, and moment will appear as an open door, and all they’ll have to do is jump in. No doubt that does happen . . . sometimes. But mostly, it doesn’t.

Most successful businesses have a dubious start.

A deep failure. A personal loss. Often, in our tech world of innovation, a flawed or misunderstood vision is driven by an insanely obsessed person, much like the deranged medieval soothsayer spouting visions from the future. We dismiss them until we don’t. Then, years later, we read about their sudden success. Sudden to us. A lifetime of pain for them.

You see this most often with musicians and actors. No one realizes the pain and disappointment that came well before they emerged. Maybe we’re not supposed to because it would reinforce the truth every successful business professional knows: “If I had known, I probably wouldn’t have done it.”

Here’s the truth.

There is a right way to start a business and a wrong way. The right way requires a business plan, a SWOT analysis, and some well-thought-out financial planning. All good stuff. But funny enough, the wrong way often works even better.

That’s the question we should ask. Why do we read so many stories about people with no money, expertise, and little time launching and building a successful business? Is it because it’s so dramatic that it stands out? Or is it because, as the elder philosophers have always said, “Necessity is the mother of invention”? I’m going with that.

Before we get into this blog’s “wrong way” list, you knew it was coming, let’s define necessity when starting a business. 

3 necessities when starting a business

• First, assess your capabilities for pressure, stress, risk, and failure. I was in denial, thinking I could handle them all before starting our company. 
• Second, find your ‘why.’ Mine was, I couldn’t work for someone else. I did into my early thirties, gaining skills and knowledge. But my future required freedom. I’m thankful this one won out through the tough moments. 
• Third, the ability to learn and grow, along with a commitment to service, is necessary. Maybe that’s just me.

So with that, here’s my list for doing it the wrong way:

10 steps for doing it the “wrong” way

1. Just do it.

There is no perfect time. I lost my job in 1989. The economy was in distress. We had two babies in the house, had no money, and needed to replace my income within 30 days. I didn’t have time to write a business plan. I needed an idea that would allow me to “sell” something that could be provided immediately. I decided to do video and audio production. I had some experience, but not much.

2. Find a customer

Instead of worrying about your company name, stationary, business cards, and brand, find a customer. This meant getting meetings with business people. My search began with businesses I read about that were moving fast in expanding markets. My logic, they had to move fast, like me.

3. Ask the essential question: What do they need?

Funny enough, when you focus on their problems and needs, they don’t tend to ask about your experience. They need solvers. Be that person.

4. Stand out.

Talk radio was prominent in the 80s/90s. So, I approached the weakest radio station in San Francisco and convinced them to put me on the air. I did this to get interviews with prospects by creating a daily business show that profiled local business leaders. I became a journalist. I had an excuse for reaching out that satisfied their need for exposure.

5. Energy begets energy.

I adopted my wife and co-founder’s idea that more is better. I over-scheduled every day to meet potential customers. It wasn’t about carefully scoping them or doing research. It was about creating noise, the feeling of action. I discovered the art of “eliminate no’s to find the yes.”

6. Leverage technology.

In 1989, we only had pagers, answering services, and the expensive Motorola “brick” mobile phone. Those were my only investments. I made sure I could reach people, and they could reach me.

7. Get the pricing right.

I learned an important lesson from our first corporate customer. She was the head of sales enablement for a booming technology company called ASK Computers.She asked me to price a project I’d committed to. Sitting there with my statement of work, she slides a blank piece of paper across her desk and says, “Now write a price down that will make me your most important customer forever.” I doubled it. Very soon after, it became clear that my original price would have destroyed me. I got it wrong. An important lesson learned. Your customer is your most significant source of wisdom. Tap into it often.

8. Prepare yourself for the tough times.

You will have dry months—many of them. You will lose an important deal. You or your team will seriously mess up a project, costing you more than you’re billing. Resilience is the key. I remember waking up one morning in the early years of our business in serious short-term debt with no clear path forward. Once I got through the initial panic, I realized no one was going to kill me. I just needed to keep going. “Work the problem,” as we learned from the movies Apollo 13 and The Martian. It’s true in business, too.

9. Reflect.

In your spare time . . . yes, you will have it and it will scare you. Focus on what’s working, what’s not, your brand, vision, and the narrative. Who are you, what do you do, and why does it matter? Answering these questions is the foundation of your business. Don’t rush it. Let it form naturally around real customers doing meaningful work.

10. Get started.

Stop talking about it. Stop thinking about it. Imagine yourself at 70 years old. Ask that old you, “Should I create a business now?” Then really listen. Quantum mechanics is real. The answer will come.

It’s not for everyone.

I’ll stop there and end with this. Everyone can’t work for themselves or start a business. Imagine if everyone did. Who would be left to support visionary founders and build successful businesses? As a co-founder, I am indebted to the people working in our business. And I’ve come to deeply respect those who do the essential rhythmic work of corporate scaling. We need both.

But if you have a constant voice that keeps you up at night, scares you, and challenges you to take the leap, listen to it. Then, accept failure as a probable outcome. As the philosophers often say, “Better to fail than not to have tried at all.” Get to it.

Still curious about starting a business and being a founder? Check out SNP’s podcast, Think Like A Founder, hosted by SNP’s own CEO and co-founder, Maureen Taylor.

The post The Myth of the Leap appeared first on SNP Communications.

This generation has had its challenges with fear.

Some real. Some not so much. I won’t jump to the judgments – left versus right – but you know the list; ISIS/Al Qaeda attacks, Russian/Chinese cyber disruptions of elections and power grids, global warming, pandemics, urban crime, and all the political investments in “not letting a good crisis go to waste.” And, of course, we have the media to thank for incessantly broadcasting all of this fear into our living rooms and social media for the never-ending hyper stream into our purses and pockets.

And now, here comes AI.

Add it to our list of something to fear as if we needed more. But AI is different, they say. Great minds of our time warn us that this could end mankind. “No, seriously, this time, we mean it,” they say in high-pitched hyperbole.

The facts are scary. They warn of machines that can process the world’s knowledge faster than humans. Then teach themselves to process that knowledge into discoveries in science, math, computing power, and so much more. Machines that could teach themselves how to manage mankind. And ultimately decide mankind is no longer needed or wanted. Then all human support systems, banking, internet connectivity, power, heat/air, food production, travel, and everything we depend on are turned off. The end.

I remember in March 2020, as I frantically packed up my London flat to catch one of the last flights from London back to New York City, this thought came to mind, to be repeated often during the Covid emergency; There are some things worse than death. I was careful not to say it too loudly and not in rooms that would immediately thrust me into the right versus left debate accusing me of being one of those people. 

Should we be mindful of the downside of AI?

Of course. We should ask questions. Push back. Educate ourselves and others. But fear? Maybe not. It only distorts our ability to make good decisions and negatively impacts how AI eventually lands on mankind. Yep, we have work to do.

AI came up during a walk and talk in Central Park this morning with a young female founder. She’s in the music business. She asked, “Should I fight it or jump fully in?” Before I answered, we talked about Napster’s disruption of the music industry and the Apple Computer story of 1000 songs in our pocket. I then asked whether fighting AI or embracing it would best impact the result for herself and her clients. She thought momentarily, then said wisely, “I guess I need to jump fully in.” I nodded, “Yep.”

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself

President Roosevelt’s challenge at the beginning of WW2 comes to mind, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” I’m not saying that AI doesn’t have its risks. But fearing it doesn’t help. Best to jump in and help guide it to its promise of a better world. Our generation’s promise to ourselves and . . . “Wait, what am I saying?” My rational, fear-ridden brain yells as I finish typing this little blog. “We’ve screwed everything else up. Why should this be any different?” On second thought, maybe a little fear might help after all. Just a little. Back to work.

–end

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I always found that one questionable. But the older I get, the more I reflect on it as the ultimate metaphor for leadership. My father’s point is that leaders must inspire action. They can’t just build plans and organizations and expect people to follow. As every leader learns at some point, every problem can’t be foreseen, nor can it be planned for. The old military axiom comes to mind. “All the planning ends when the first shot is fired.” The point is that leaders need followers who think, solve problems, and make decisions on their own.

This brings me to my personal view on leadership.

“Leaders must be able to manage. But managers don’t need to lead.” I could go further and say that managers probably shouldn’t lead in many cases. Managers have very different roles from leaders. In simple terms, leaders break things while managers build them back. Leaders and managers need each other. Leaders must look around corners, preemptively address coming problems, make difficult decisions, and know when to change course.

Managers generally don’t have that burden. Managers scale things or operate systems for rhythmic consistency of behavior over time. The true magic of business. The ghost in the machine. Great managers understand this. They know that much of what they do is not understood or even known. Due to its nature, it’s rarely the shiny thing in the room. But without it, nothing happens.

It’s like I often say to my wife, who misdirects praise for my creative skills, “Ideas are a dime a dozen. Getting them done is the real work.”

So can managers lead?

Sure. But should they? It depends. The mistake we often see in our work with leaders and their teams is that leaders and managers confuse their roles. The world is in awe of leaders. They are the ones who get recognition and praise. But experienced leaders know the price for this spotlight. The heat of it. The exposure. The risk. And they know their leadership is often questionable without great managers around them.

And great managers know their role in supporting leaders. They get the benefit of not being in the spotlight. Not owning the risk. But they carry the responsibility of achieving the goals. Often without recognition. It takes a special type of person to manage well. Selfless dedication to the mission. Confidence in their self-worth. And ultimately, an uncanny ability to regulate their ego, self-interest, and ambition.

Because in the end, leaders must inspire us to accomplish things we don’t think we can do. That means they often disrupt our comfort by purposely causing pain on behalf of the mission. While managers have to coach us through the pain of change to get it done. It’s the yin and yang of business. Each with an understanding of their roles and responsibilities and their mutual dependence.

This brings us back to the main question, should managers lead?

My military father would say yes, saying that the U.S. military is respected because it is a force of generals. All soldiers are taught to lead. So maybe that’s where we land. Leaders and managers have their roles. But great organizations don’t settle there. They ensure that everyone is taught to lead.

But let’s be clear, my father was a terrible manager. He was inconsistent and incapable of functioning during times of peace. But he was the guy to turn to when there was a challenge, an urgent moment for action, or a need for change. Leaders are like that. We need them when we need them. But managers are needed all the time. Now, if only we could get them to manage their ego, self-interest, and ambition. That’s another topic.

Want to read more from Renn? Check out his last blog on the key to returning to in-person work as a leader.

The post Should Managers Lead? appeared first on SNP Communications.

Our SNP team has now facilitated a number of offsites, team meetings, and taught classes. In theory, we’re back to normal. Or are we? It feels weird right? Tentative. Anxious. It’s like showing up in your family home after years of being away. Everything is where it was but something’s different.

Consider this. You’re different.

This moment of global reflection has changed you. The world, though, really hasn’t. Larger global changes are generally gradual, moving in slow motion. But you’ve been forced to change quickly which introduced different priorities. Different concerns. Different expectations of yourself and others. Those months which turned into years have given you time to consider your life’s choices. And you, and most everyone you know, have done just that.

So now what? Of course, there’s always the great resignation. While many people have made that choice, most of us haven’t. We’ve decided to stay the course. Go back to what we know. Love even. After all, our previous life choices weren’t all wrong.

Some years ago, our son asked to work for our company. He’s a musician. Committed to his art. His mom and I were surprised but agreed. Up until this request, we had kept our children distant from our passion for communication and leadership. Our son was assigned to one of our most seasoned leaders to learn the basics. Message development, presentation skills, active listening, and the many nuances of human engagement.

After a few weeks of challenging moments, we were surprised when at dinner one night he asked, or more accurately, chastened us, “Why didn’t you teach me these skills when I was a teenager? I wouldn’t have the level of anxiety I have.”

He went on to explain how the skills, particularly active listening, allowed him to focus on others instead of his own distorted perceptions and self-absorption instincts voiced with words like “what about me, my feelings, my opinions, my concerns.” Instead, he asked questions. Considered the audience. Their concerns and opinions. To his surprise, it relieved his anxiety but did a lot of good for the people he listened to.

This comes to mind because our son’s experience might be useful for all of us right now.

We’re all anxious.

As we step back into our offices and see our Zoom relationships in person, know that everyone is feeling some level of anxiousness. They may not know why. But know they feel what you feel. And you, like our son, can serve them best by focusing on them.

Ask questions. Listen actively. Repeat back what they say without editing or judgment. Be curious. Interested. Learn something. Or as the mystic philosopher, Simone Weil reminds us in her book, Gravity & Grace, pay them full attention. It’s the greatest gift we can give to others.

This moment in our collective history screams for it. As we return to our new normal, let’s look at our co-workers, friends, family, and environment with our new eyes. And show them the respect they deserve, our full attention. Then maybe we’ll discover something new about ourselves as well as serve our collective social need.

As I’m reminded from the 1990s movie Angels in the Outfield, “it could happen.” You didn’t think I would end without a random movie reference, did you? Some things don’t change.

–end

Read more from our Co-Founder, Renn Vara, on his last blog Reflection Doesn’t Have To Wait about how leaders can reflect with their teams.

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