What do you do when it’s only you (the CEO), and your
venture’s information systems managers are left to tackle your growing number of businesses
challenges?
Simple, you both become firefighters!
As your start-up embarks on its potential for growth, business
challenges (fires) grow as well. Sometimes these fires occur at very rapid
rates across different business areas. As an entrepreneur you know better than
anyone else, that your daily-to-do lists are often determined by three types of
fires; 1) newest, 2) the fastest growing, 3) or the one(s) you cannot put out.
You may encounter one, a combination, or all three of these
types of fires, at any given time. Instead of becoming frustrated at the
challenges that these fires may create, remember, “every challenge you face is
another way to learn. ”[i] The ways in which you decide to put out these
fires can have long-term impacts on you, your team, and venture. I know what
you’re thinking, easier said than done, and you are absolutely correct. It’s
not always easy to not become frustrated at your challenges especially with so
much on the line. But there are ways to minimize frustrations related to
business challenges. One of the most
useful ways is by asking yourself and your team, what is the actual problem we
are trying to solve? Asking this question helps to focus your attention on key
target areas.
It is also typical for startups to be moving so quickly that
they end up making changes to simply make changes. Therefore, asking what is the actual problem
we are trying to solve is a great way to stop and identify the major challenges
and their root causes, in order to resolve the issues and develop a sustainable
solution to prevent reoccurrences. Thus, minimizing the amount of changes that
are made.
Once that is completed, devise a solution that allows you to
interface with all the business areas involved with the challenge. This will
help to enhance your ability to develop sustainable solutions. Not only are you
able to be a good firefighter by using this approach, you are also a better
strategist. You are also now able to better determine what your growth
opportunities strategies are. Largely, due to using the aforementioned question,
as a frame for asking, what real opportunities are ahead for your startup? Focused questioning helps you peel back the
layers, and look beneath the surface, to make your great, greater.
Chime in; share in the comments section your experiences
with putting out fires.
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