Failure can be such taboo that even I had doubts writing about such a fundamental element of success. Yet it is imperative that we understand and embrace the concept of failure as a means to success and how well we must fail.
Therefore, let's not waste time chasing rainbows on unicorns of our past successes or, even worse, those of our pied piper role models. Rather, let's better understand failure and the true value of risk we sometimes avoid in the pursuit of success.
Have a vision, plan with diligence, assess the risks, jump! ... and if you fail, live long enough to know why and how you failed.
Failure and how well you recover from it is your true tested capacity and ability to succeed. Your strength resides within the knowledge, skills, and insights gained from experiencing failure, not success.
Failure inoculates and empowers you to leap forward rather than tip-toe your way with 'baby-steps' while clutching self-improvement manuals and repeating vacuous mantras by business guru's... most of whom are busy writing, yet, another recipe for success from their veranda in Fiji...
Nobel-Prize winner and my preferred guru on the subject, Daniel Kahneman, wrote on "Delusion of Success..." and the factors that lead to, sometimes, epic failures. As a thought-leader in Behavioural Economics, Kahneman warns entrepreneurs against 'optimism bias' leading to unrealistic expectations founded largely on previous successes rather than diligence in assessing current market conditions or own abilities and resources to repeat triumphs of yesteryears.
God forbid, you have a 'serial winner' in a leadership position forging forth with a cloak of invincibility taking even greater risks on-behalf of his employers and employees. The bigger their successes, the greater potential of bias clouding every decision they make and, worse, every decision others endorse and follow at board level and beyond. This was also identified by Psychologist Edward Thorndike as the 'Halo Effect' where military leaders were left unchallenged by subordinates who believed in the invincibility of their charismatic and 'could-do-no-wrong' heroes. History is full of examples which I shall leave to you to research.
Failure is not an option but an inevitable fact of life which. If approached correctly, failures are your best self-help book or seminar... it is our best source to listen to on everything we need to know about us and the way we operate with the elements...
In business, we need to instill a culture at ease with itself and diligent in analysing failure with intent to learn, innovate and grow with resilience, courage, and intelligence.
So..., if we fail... let's fail well.
This may sound like pop generalisation but one cannot ignore the science behind it and the debate since the 18th Century. We all liketo think that our buying and selling is mostly driven by careful rationalisation and well-carried out due diligence... but the facts show other hidden, and quite irrational, forces at work.
Mere mortals like us tend to rely heavily on 'rules of thumb', stereo type and perceived value of discounts or 2-4-1s to spend our money... before working on protecting our decision from buyer's remorse or, worse, criticism from those who we allow to judge us..
Nobel Laurette Daniel Kahneman imposes...
“The confidence people have in their beliefs is not a measure of the quality of evidence but of the coherence of the story the mind has managed to construct.”
This made me question what drives our choices as individuals and as institutions and ultimately as an economy?
In searching for the answer, I found myself in a world that combined psychological with economic sciences to deliver conclusions under the title of Behavioural Economics.
So imagine, if we choose to buy and sell under the often irrational influence of perceived benefit and value then imagine whole economies driven that way... what does that mean in terms of predicting the market if it rained tomorrow?
Always easier said then done and, sorry but, change is the only constant in business and in life...to burrow yet another cliché. Business needs to keep up or die in a fast-moving markets and in the case of retail, the change could not be more evident and significant. Just take a cursory look at our high streets and count the number of cafes and charity shops replacing national chains which not so long ago had replaced our beloved corner shops and other independents.
So what's new?Well, nothing really especially when it comes to the business of change management. SMEs and multinationals alike appear to be left behind as they fail to crack the code of change. No amount of developmental seminars, change consultants or armies of dew-eyed MBAs armed with manuals could prevent Kodak, Dunlop and 1000's of others lesser known but long-successful businesses go to the ground with a thump.
And?To survive is to accept the need for change yet we must equally figure out the answers to the what, when and how to demystify all that is involved in the process. As a business coach, it is my job to first work together with my clients to build the business case for change and help them adopt a clear, realistic and iterative approach that delivers change they want where impact is practical and significant. It is very attractive for business owners and coaches to rush to the other side of the hill where new technology, business processes and structures promise to deliver windfalls of customers or double-figure productivity gains. Seen it way too often and have been guilty of the same as a business owner and consultant... many lessons learned.
DIY Change?Change from within is tough. It is also unrealistic to expect the same team running the business with the same mindset to bring about real change as the title of this article suggests.
You just have to refer back to your last decision to change your diet or start working out every other day... how's that working out for you? It is possible but even if you're a model for discipline and commitment, you can't speak for the rest of your team.
A Business Coach not only offers you an independent and expert support to help with your analysis and decision-making but also the framework to maintain direction and pace towards the finishing line.
Readiness for ChangeChange is not for everyone. History is full of battle cries towards progress but with few or no followers who preferred the comfort of doing nothing. Establishing your team's readiness for change and removing resistance along the way is detrimental and can be done relatively smoothly with a number of proven approaches.
Many change programs get planned in conference rooms without consultation before being announced to the 'shop-floor' via a memo or at best with balloons and a few cupcakes! Change must allow demonstrable benefits to all participants with a good level of measurability to help everyone measure their relative position along the way.
Cost/Benefit
This is down to a simple question. What's it worth to you?
How much would you be willing to invest into a new market for your products or services which can deliver a potential 25% to your current revenue? What would you pay to save 30% on your current inventory levels? Did you know that your team is only 60% utilised? what is it worth to you if some are selected and trained to improve operational productivity throughout the company?
To end.. a couple of case-studies...
(names and locations changed)
> Ray, our friendly local grocer would love to start delivering fresh produce to local millennials who embraced a vegan lifestyle but prefer to place their order online on the train back from work. Ray is happy to pay for an online shop and engage professional management and online marketing...
I asked Ray;
Who is going to fulfil the orders? deal with complaints?
What numbers support your assumption that online orders will pay for the website and maintenance?
Have you looked at other markets or offering that the website could deliver to drive sales? such as exclusively local organic produce? a loyalty scheme?
>Marco, a progressive CMO just came back from SXSW(South by SouthWest) conference and festival feeling excited and determined to offer an Augmented Reality App to promote his Ski Travel business. According to Marco, the app would offer users a more entertaining way to explore the resorts and the deals on offer. It also offers the business a far more intelligent method of engaging with the market.
Marco did his homework, presented a fantastic plan to the board and yet his proposal got vetoed by the board on the basis of cost and doubt over the adoption of the app by customers.
I asked Marco;
How many on the board have used an Apps before? were they with you at the festival?
What is demographic of your customer-base? Have you market tested a similar app with a similar demographic?
How did the idea come to you? were you inspired by another product? how similar is it to your business?
Can you market test with a similar app to demonstrate benefit to the board?
Please feel to contact me (hayder@fekaiki.com) with your thoughts or questions
My 27 year old son, Ally, and I have long relished in crossing swords over ideas or that 'stoke of genius' that one of us so forcefully wanted the other to rate more than the discovery of gravity or far more useful than electricity.
We do this at least once a month... and I'm always the one with more to say... because I'm dad.
So far... those ideas have been 'archived' for that day when one of us would say... 'I thought of that first...'as my best friend always says once he's done ordering with Deliveroo or whenever I board a flight equipped with Bring Your Own Device (BOYD) entertainment system.
I bet there is an entrepreneurial gene in us (and please quote me when some clever spark gets the Nobel Prize for the discovery) but a few weeks ago, Ally decided to go beyond the "dad! got an idea"and properly test his concept for employee benefits platform, Juno, and make sure he's got a viable investable business and not just "a great idea that 'everyone' would love to buy into...". He was kind enough to use my Startup Assessment Tool as a quick litmus test and seek out any red-flags before leaping forward with Juno. The tool is a 10 minute quiz I have carefully designed for my clients to test their startups or new enterprises for suitability of their team, bias in their decision-making, understanding of their market, financialand legalreadiness.
However, the project needed deeper expert input which at this stage of the project would mean pitching to investors after you've exhausted the patience and interest of your family, friends and, perhaps a few fools along the way.
This is 'grownup' time when you must truly own and defend your idea, your baby, your passion and, sadly sometimes, your obsession against the diligence of those who's job is not to waste other people's money on another SearchMe.com ($43m up in smoke) or Boo.com ($135m up in smoke)
Professional investors are only interested in one thing, and don't believe any other spin... A successful veteran investor has seen it all before and would only be looking for a healthy and sustainable return on his/her clients' money; as any bank would. Yes, expert investors would be looking for other spin-offs and synergies but only after they've established that your idea is an opportunity they can put in front of the board of other hardened veterans.
Stop wasting your time on 'features and benefits' or how much you 'love' your idea, or worse, how 'everyone' loves it but then 'everyone' turns out to be mostly your family and friends... as an investor, I would worry that you're the only one who knows how to debug the code if the software crashes... or that you've forgotten to include the extra cost of hosting video content for your new media platform that you say will grow by 200% in Q3.
Yes, investors are very interested in you, your passion and your idea but more interested in what else you've done before, your successes and, importantly, how you recovered from failures. They want to see a well-constructed argument for the risk you are proposing.
Whether you've come up with a fun idea for a beach towel or a cure for the common-cold, you will still need to satisfy yourself (before anyone else) on;
Your decision is not inherently biased; i.e. why are you doing it? ask yourself at least 3 times as if you're a 5 year old in the back of the car asking your mum about the point of wearing seat belts... You need to be clear as to why you're starting up on your own and why your idea will be such a hit.
Your market has been diligently researched for competition according to sciencenot late night chats with friends; keep in mind that most startups fail, not always because they're bad ideas but because they're not good enough compared to the competition. It's fierce out there and no matter what idea you may have, there's always the risk of someone else doing the same but in a bigger market or started a few weeks before you with funding from their father-in-law...
Your skills, are you/your team up for it? do you really have the skills for the job? are you all fully committed or are there other projects that could critically sideswipe you or your team?
Your numbers; have you done your homework? what happens when you run out of money in 6 months time? is your monthly cash burn rate accurate and realistic? have you included cost of your contractors, staff and other overheads?...and at every stage of development? Business plans and financials won't ever predict the future but are essential for anyone risking their time and money, starting with YOU!
Your home; if you're truly committed to an idea, you will be spending your time and money for months before seeing pay-back and, sometimes, never. Do you have a decision point when you switch to Plan B? can you get a job if you run aground? what about your loved ones or family? What support network do you have for and from them?
Do yourself a favour, park your passion for a moment and stop reading Mother's-Kitchen-to-My-Yacht biographies or spending your savings on a jolly to Burning Manor SXSW, none of it will get you far if you haven't invested in getting you and your idea ready for business!
If you feel like a chat or have questions, please email and we can arrange free consultation by online or phone.
Software as a Service (SaaS) is an innovation and an economy that has been nothing less than a seismic shift in the way we work and do business. Many will find reasons to debate the features and benefits of specific platforms but the basic fact remains that SaaS has found itself a permanent and ubiquitous presence in our lives.
My argument, however, relates to the all-too-often neglected role of market expert management and the need for continuous analysis to make the best out of SaaS and to distill information in terms of intelligence, insights, and ultimately, growth.
There's a tendency, especially amongst SMEs, to adopt the most basic of out-of-the-box features provided and, unfortunately, businesses also tend to use SaaS platforms as dumping grounds for their data assets without gaining from valuable insights and relevant Business Intelligence (BI) that lay within their hoard of information.
Leading Content Management System (CMS) such as Box.com or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system Salesforce.com or the specialist sponsorship evaluation and management system PerforMind offer endless capabilities that, if utilised, could offer users a significant advantage for innovation, productivity, agility with real sustainable growth. This is enabled through a consultative collaboration between managers and their market experts or analysts to line up technology with their own management structures, management control systems and, crucially, organisational strategies and goals. The Best of Breed CRM platform is only 'best' it is in line with your company's culture and vision.
“Organizations that do not have a high-level cloud strategy driven by their business strategy will significantly increase their risk of failure and wasted investment.”- David Cearley, Vice President and Gartner Fellow, Gartner Research
Whether we're referring to the 'Cloud' or be more nuanced and mean SaaS, to the user and manager, it is about getting things done, shared, reported and targets met with efficiency and reward. Technology adoption is a real challenge for managers, their CIOs, CTOs and BI experts to prove tangible value to each and every stakeholder group within their organisation. This is not a one-shot exercise but a continuous cycle of innovation and development. It is a core business function as important as marketing or sales.
Over the last 25 years or so, I have led and delivered many IT and software projects including SaaS roll-outs, development or both.
In each and every case, my clients required additional consultancy at every stage from analysis, planning, development, roll-out, and maintenance. But of course, some decided that all they really wanted was a 'turn-key' project and for us to 'park it and leave' but only to be called back to 'drive' it as well or, sadly, a couple opted to write-off their investment and go back to the old way they knew how.
Managers should answer for their failure to consult, internally or externally, for better-informed decisions and to secure the best outcome from investing in SaaS or other IT improvement.
Likewise, consultants should answer for dishing out textbook how-to guides and manuals to 'make it happen' rather than adopting a discovery approach and maintain the best interests of their clients at heart; regardless of the outcome or the tenure of their engagement.
So, before your next SaaS project, make sure you have a clear idea about;
A. What problems do you need to solve and why?
B. What is the true value of solving (A) against the cost of new technology and its adoption?
C. How you will sustain the benefits gained in (B)?
The above may seem obviously elementary to most but often-not understood nor applied in terms of the diligence required in answering each question. To consult is to ensure that you have an unbiased, thorough and practical answers to the questions and hence a far lower risk of failure.
Regardless if those you consult are internal or external resources, they are potentially the catalyst to the success of your SaaS project. They are the guardians whom you entrust to realise the full potential of your investment.
Managers should take a good look at their past projects and re-evaluate them against the above criteria. I'm sure that would be revealing, yet transformative, exercise.
For comments or questions, please contact me via LinkedIn or hayder@fekaiki.com
