We all go through this at some point, however when you are in a leadership role at a start-up, this is more the norm rather than an exception. First, it is normal and okay to feel this way.
The nature of a start-up is such that it needs your attention in many different verticals and horizontals of the business simultaneously. A start-up demands continuous iteration and reiteration. It can be compared to the baby stage in the life cycle of a business. The child like exuberance and excitement the founders feel is responsible for the creativity and innovation of the start-up, yet at the same time like a child chasing anything that catches its fancy, can lead to chasing after too many opportunities. This may lead to fatigue on different fronts like physical, emotional, monetary and other resources.
The key to avoiding this trap is FOCUS.
It is just so important for a start-up to stay focussed to be successful, and yet so easy to lose focus. You do need to always stay on the lookout for that right move/product/market/niche/customers which will play a pivotal role towards your success. It is so easy to get swayed by one interesting conversation or a new research or a shift in the marketplace and redefine your entire strategy.
How do you keep the FOCUS ?
- Remind yourself of your start-up’s mission and values regularly.
- Prioritize – Every day is a new day which will bring constantly changing priorities. Self reflection and self awareness as a leader will give you clarity and focus as a leader to help prioritize what is best for the company.
- Be organized – This is a universal fact and goes without saying. Actively solicit support of tools and resources that will help you stay organized.
- Have a timeline – As a start-up you do not have too much time. Be quick to evaluate when to cut your losses with leads and opportunities that looked promising a few days ago.
- Be data driven – The more data you can collect and collate on your moves or strategies the better you will stay informed on what works and what doesn’t. Question everything and record the answers.
Maintaining focus in a start-up is a see-saw between enthusiasm, innovation, passion on one side and prioritizing, organizing, being analytical and time bound on the other. The fun, exciting things on one side and the boring, tedious ones on the other. Drifting one way or the other leads to losing focus.