The Brutal Truth
What I am about to tell you is as unfair as it gets. You put in the money, strain your personal life (if you have one), deplete your finances (if you still have any), strain your relationships (if you have any), cry, drink, don’t sleep, don’t date and spend every waking moment on the business. Is anyone else willing to make the sacrifices you make every day? So if your company is struggling, or not progressing as quickly as you would like, whose fault is it? Yours. Yep, even when you work the hardest. You care the most. You put in the most hours. You are the most dedicated. You are the most passionate. It is your fault. No one said being an entrepreneur was fair. You have to accept this brutal truth that the success of your business starts with you, and only you can bring your vision to life—and to see it grow successfully.
Starting a business can feel like driving in NYC without traffic lights, lane lines, speed limits and traffic signs with swerving taxi drivers, constant sirens of police and fire trucks, jaywalking pedestrians, skateboarders and bicyclists in one word – Chaos! Early stage companies need to accomplish a lot with limited resources, and this can lead to organizational chaos. This chaos is characterized by common problems:
- Too much to do
- Lack of financial resources
- Lack of human resources
- Lack of established priorities
- Lack of clarity with internal and external constituents
- Emotional and reactive decision-making
- Frustration with existing resources
- Reactive day-to-day management
The definition of chaos is:
- “Complete confusion and disorder: a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything.”
- “The state of the universe before there was any order.”
Accept The Brutal Truth
Bottom line—it is your job to fix these issues. You are the leader, and must manage the chaos, whether it is the pressure, passion, pleasure or pain, a lack of experience or a lack of perspective doesn’t matter. It is your job to fix it. But while you’re doing hard work, remember that you are the greatest tool you have to transform chaos into order and to bring your vision to life—and to see it grow successfully.
