You Want to Believe

We are under pressure. We have limited time and resources. We want customers. We want money. We want people. We want investors. Nope. We need customers. We need money. We need people. We need investors. We want to believe that the customer, employee, vendor or investor sitting in front of us wants to do business with us or is right for our business.

The Right Perspective

Entrepreneurs have to develop the right perspective and ones that can be very productive. They:

  • Understand the influence of the pressure, passion, pleasure and pain and how it can affect their judgment
  • Are honest with themselves about the deficiencies of the employee, customer, vendor or investor
  • Acknowledge that they may have to accept these deficiencies
  • Establish a variety of communication strategies and tools to address or improve on these deficiencies.

This perspective enables the entrepreneur to acknowledge that the solution in front of them may not be ideal. They ask themselves, “We can’t afford the level of employee that we need. This person has some great qualities but some large gaps. Is it worth our time to help them develop?” They understand that there are gaps that must be managed. Instead of leading to frustration, this can lead to a concerted and productive team effort to get the resource to perform.

“We WILL be there with you every step of the way.” 

  • Employees. When you understand the gaps of a new employee, you can make a concerted effort to train them or build process to expose them to the skills that they need.
  • Vendors. If you are concerned about a vendor’s quality or ability to perform, create a regular process such as a weekly check-in meeting to hold them accountable. Set the tone from the beginning that you expect a weekly written report on progress.
  • Customers. You may have to take on customers that are not ideal—they don’t pay you enough or are not in your target market. However, they provide revenue that you desperately need. Ask these customers if you can use them as a reference. Ask them if they will participate in your product development effort. Ask your customers if they have anyone they would be willing to refer you to.
  • Investors. When you desperately need capital, it’s easy to choose investors who will give you what you most need—money. Without a clear perspective, however, you may be choosing partners who are deeply misaligned with other goals and long-term needs. Establish regular, transparent communication with this investor. Have candid discussions about their goals, your own goals, and design a plan that serves both of your needs.

For entrepreneurs, the early stages of building a business are particularly challenging, simply because you lack resources, established customers, relationships, capital and employees. But in the end, your perspective is everything: you can choose to ignore harmful deficits and continue to “want to believe.”

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