New Year, Same Advice: Six Basic Things
You Need to Do
Yes, it's a time that we're
future-focused and optimistic. But don't lose sight of the less dreamy details.
CEO, 1871@tullman
Every January, I try
to remind my team about a few basics-- half a dozen simple rules of
the road that have served me well over the last 50 years. I do this not so much
because they need instruction--we all definitely "know" what we're
supposed to be doing. I do it because each and every one of us needs
regular reminders since it's just too easy in the heat of battle and the stress
of the day-to-day to forget, skip over, or just plain ignore some of the
business fundamentals that will ultimately separate the winners from the
also-rans. So, here's my short list.
1.
Pay Attention and Write It Down
Focused attention facilitates learning and retention. Take good,
detailed notes in every meeting. The dullest pencil beats the sharpest memory.
Don't sit there pretending that you can simply take it all in. You can't.
There's absolutely no substitute in life for paying attention and making it a
habit to capture the essential information during each meeting is the best way
to keep your head in the game and your eye on the ball. If you're gonna be
present, make sure that you're all there.
And, as an aside, lawyers who advise you to keep only brief
minutes of critical meetings are morons who are just trying to make their jobs
or lives easier. The goal is always the same: try to be at least a little
smarter by the end of the meeting. If you can't honestly convince yourself of
that, then maybe going to the meeting was a
waste of time.
2.
Use A Calendar and Start Your
Planning Yesterday
Start right now and
scope out the whole year to the extent that you can and keep doing this all
year long, at least monthly. There's a lot going on all the time and it's hard
to keep up. If you do this right, it's a lot like having your own crystal ball.
There's no magic and there's no mystery-- this is all about good
preparation and research. In fact, it's like owning a slo-mo machine in our
sped-up world. You get an edge on the competition because you've already been
there.
This simple process enables
far better planning and preparation; avoids embarrassing conflicts
that might bury you; assures fewer surprises and last-minute emergencies;
and makes for many less missed opportunities. Doing your homework ahead of time
avoids headaches and heartaches all year long.
And, especially for a
startup, it's a great way to save time and marketing dollars. Parades are very
expensive-- go find an event or someone else's parade (who's headed in the
right direction for your purposes) and run right alongside of them or even race
to the head of their conga line. A lot of the big guys have plenty of money to
stage great parties, but they're slow as molasses. Trying to lay your own track
or even trying to bust through the noise and clutter that's out there is
crazy when you can just hitch a ride on someone's else railroad and ride for
free on their dime. Hop on board before the other guys even know what's
happening. But understand that you can't do it if you don't make it your
business to know what's going on and what the world around you is doing.
3.
Do More Reading and Less
Tweeting
Let your fingers do the walking, but not the talking. Give your
phone and your peeps a break and shut up for a while on social. The smartest
people I know read something relevant to their business every day-- as
often as not (even these days) it's in print. I'm not talking about the shit on
social, but real substantive material. Some of it may be internal business
reporting; some of it may be competitive intelligence; some may be customer
inquiries and feedback, and some may be blue-sky, but it all adds value and
improves outcomes when coupled with intelligent action. You can't win a race with your
mouth or your social media meanderings.
And keep in mind that
you're not being paid to waste your time and your company's money churning for
hours though irrelevant newsfeeds and random tweets. Here's a flash: if you
aren't being paid to post, you're not the producer or the driver of the
engagement or even in control of the show; you're the product whose eyeballs
and alleged mindshare are being sold to the highest bidder-- just like the
patsy in the poker game. If you don't know who the sucker is, you're the
sucker.
4. Ask Questions Until You
Understand the Answers
Someone once said:
"better to remain quiet and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove
all doubt." They were dead wrong. Virtually all innovation these days
comes from asking the right questions and that's absolutely an iterative
process. If you're afraid to be embarrassed or to admit that you don't know it
all, join the club and then get over yourself. We're all just bumbling through
this stuff and no one has the secret formula or has figured everything out. As
long as you've done your homework, there really aren't
any dumb questions and anyone who's ever run a tech startup will
tell you that: (a) the most important thing is to know all the questions rather
than to have all the answers because (b) no one ever knows either all the
questions or all the answers, but that shouldn't stop us from asking. And
the most critical question to ask is the one that you need to ask yourself
every day: How badly do I want it?
5. Remember to Regularly Review
Your Reverse Roadmap
I'm frankly depressed to see how many young entrepreneurs
are basically working for next to nothing and just don't know it yet. Of
course, if you don't care where you end up, then any road will take you there.
But if you do, and especially if you're also looking out for the members
of your team who are also working their butts off, then it makes sense to take
the time to figure out where you
actually stand and where you're likely to end up in terms of
dollars and cents.
I realize that it's
supposed to be all about the journey and the joy of building something, but
that doesn't mean you can't be a little mindful of the math that
ultimately matters. This stuff isn't easy, but understanding it is essential.
Take the time to get smart about it or be smart enough to ask someone who knows
to give you a helping hand.
6. Raises Aren't Revenues
Too many folks are focused today on the fundraising process rather
than on building sustainable businesses. The media celebrates every new round
because keeping score is easier than digging into the merits and the
mechanics of the actual businesses. But, all the cash any business raises don't
mean squat without satisfied customers and serious sales. Paid invoices are a
much more reliable indicator of whether your business is going to work than
additional investments.
And then there's that
little thing called profits, which turns out to be the most important thing of
all. Spending money is easy; making money is hard. Just because you killed a
cow doesn't mean you're gonna eat steak for dinner.