Walk like an Entrepreneur
For those of you old enough to remember The Bangles were a 1980s all-girl group which had a hit, in 1986, with a nonsensical song called “Walk Like an Egyptian”. Just as popular as the song was the music video which depicted people walking with their one arm in an awkward upward 90° contortion and the other arm behind them in an even more awkward 90° downward contortion. The walk is reminiscent of the way in which entrepreneurs make their way through life; a little awkward, two steps forward and one step backward (if you are lucky) and always receiving instruction from others on how to walk properly.
I would like you to add two props to the above picture of the walking Egyptian. Add to his front hand a white cane (of the blind aid variety) and add a cordless iron to his uncomfortably positioned back-facing arm. Now we can call this pose “Walk like an entrepreneur”.
Entrepreneurs live their life in ambiguity: from not knowing where the next customer is coming from to not knowing how the upcoming rent money will manifest itself. Being able to live under such precarious circumstances is the hallmark of a successful entrepreneur. The white cane is the tool you use to cautiously navigate your way forward through the unknown. Like a blind person, the entrepreneur will use the cane to receive rudimentary feedback on the path ahead and make decisions based upon the knocking and the perceived sounds up front. As entrepreneurs we really do have to be making it up as we go along. The ability to walk without really being able to see what’s up ahead is a well-honed entrepreneurial trait.
If you are an entrepreneur who sticks to it, who continues on the entrepreneurial journey, the ambiguity that lies before you slowly becomes clarity. And despite the fact that there are always elements of ambiguity, it is crucial, as you move forward, to use the iron (in your backward-facing hand) to literally ‘iron out’ the ambiguity into systems and processes. Systems and processes are the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Without them you will never be able to hire new employees, train them in the ways of the business and free yourself up to bring in new business. Ultimately, you cannot commercialise your business without putting in place the systems and processes that growing a successful business requires.
Walking like an entrepreneur is a combination of using your cane to read feedback and your iron to smooth out the omnipresent ambiguity into the all-important order and clarity. Successful entrepreneurs instinctively know to create process around new knowledge thus ensuring that those who follow can walk on a smooth surface as you navigate the rocky, fog-laden territory ahead.
Many entrepreneurs baulk at the idea of process and systems. They have convinced themselves that the reason they left the corporate world was indeed to be free of these processes and systems that seemed to control them. I put it to these entrepreneurs that no great business has ever been created without process and systems. I urge these entrepreneurs to rather take the view that there needs to be a balance in their life between the excitement of taming the ambiguity and the discipline of creating the process. Without the process, there is no business; without the ambiguity there is no going forward. Pick up your white cane and your cordless iron and Walk like an Entrepreneur!
This Week’s Challenge
Walk like an Entrepreneur |
