The 3rd Component of Entrepreneurial Manifestation: Action

In the first article on this site, I wrote "Energy can be defined as four things in this case (and in most cases): time, capital, action, and commitment.... A successful entrepreneurial enterprise needs high levels of all four components. With these investments- and a decent idea- any business can be Manifested."

In start-up, turnaround, and growth phases of business, consistent and progressive action is critical to success. It is about momentum, or the flywheel effect. A little bit of action feeds momentum, which creates more action, which creates more momentum, and so on. Similarly, if action pauses or ceases, the wheel slows and can rapidly come to a stop.

Everyone understands this. There is no need to type a slew of words to describe it over and over. Why then do we let action die? The answer is simple: excuses. Excuses are the enemy of action. Excuses are the antagonist of entrepreneurial ventures. Excuses have the ability to kill a business before it starts.

Excuses can kill action very subtly and quietly. For example, we have to wait on X before we can proceed with Y. Seems pretty straight forward. Things happen in progression, right? No. Milestones may happen in progression. But tasks leading to milestones may often happen concurrently. Let's take an example.

Bob is ready to open his bakery, but the outside needs painting. The painters are delayed by two weeks (aren't they always?). Bob doesn't want to open the store before the storefront is ready. He can list 6 reasons why he shouldn't. 5 are very good reasons, but they are all excuses. Bob can open the shop today. Sure, people might be leery of entering a store with peeling paint. Sure, Bob will have to set up a protective covering to shield customers as they enter. Sure, he will have to set up extra ventilation in the front of the store so that customers can smell the bread. But he will be moving forward. And when the painters finally finish, his sparkling new store front will already be open, will have a few customers, and will be ready for a Grand Opening fiesta.

This is an exceedingly simple example with many holes. But more complex examples involving agents and lawyers are the same. The question is, "What CAN I DO to keep momentum rolling?" Look for housekeeping tasks: strategic plans, business plans, accounting systems. Operational planning has dozens of tasks that can be revisited at any time. Marketing research can be done at anytime (and should be). Strategic relationships can be fostered.

At the end of every day, ask yourself, "What did I do today to grow my business? How did I feed the flywheel today?" Because if you didn't feed it, it is slowing to a stop. And no excuse is good enough to let that happen.

Leaping is fun with a parachute!

A leap faith is often noted as a blind jump into the unknown. I take issue with this. When the topic comes up, I respond that, "Leaping is fun with a parachute!" I currently and frequently have taken huge leaps of faith. I have, as often as not, plunged to the ground. As time passes however, I find myself soaring more often. I have learned two important lessons that help me create a parachute.

First, your single biggest responsibility is absolute commitment, with no doubts. It is critical to hold the vision. Never look back from the leap. The minute you let the vision go, your commitment falters, and with it your performance, creativity, and motivation. You become part of the problem. You then MUST accept full responsibility for any failures that follow, even those not directly related to you. Because doubt is contagious.

Second, because leaps require such commitment, it is essential to remove risks as early and quickly as possible. You should never leap into thin air. Learn critical assumption planning. Identify where assumptions are being made by yourself and other principals. Remove those assumptions by testing. Do so very early, before taking the leap, if at all possible.

It took some hard falls to learn these lessons, and they are reinforced daily. But those lessons create growing success and I have learned to relish the results.