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Welcome to Winformation Weekly. My 13 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m, and the life that goes with it. All wrapped up, in one winning weekly email.

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Business

Is Your Start-Up Stuck? 5 Ways to Climb Out of the Valley of Despair

So, you've started a business and by now (like I did) you have probably quite quickly realised it’s not all IPOs and unicorns. Most startups follow a very similar journey, as depicted by the Dunning-Kruger Effect (below). If you are still dreaming of one-day launching a business of your own, then this is your heads up.

You’ll kick things off with a burst of excitement, standing proudly on the "Peak of Enthusiasm" (or as some call it, the summit of Mount Stupid). Then, reality hits, and down you slide into the "Valley of Despair." But fear not—success is on the other side! Here are 5 ways to climb out of that valley and into the light.

1. Keep moving forward. This isn’t about blind faith, it’s about taking the opportunity to get feedback from your team and customers to help the business improve. Do so by providing them with specific questions that can offer targeted feedback.

2. Never stop learning. Some may believe they don’t need training. But there are development programmes that can help you and your team foster a growth mindset, while recognising any knowledge gaps.

3. Find a mentor. Just because you are the CEO or founder doesn’t mean you have completed the game of business. Find a mentor who has been there and done it and remain open to their advice and guidance.

4. Resist external investment. This might sound counterintuitive, but it’s important to prove your business model first, or else you are tethered to what investors want as opposed to the goal that drove you to start a business.

5. Adapt and evolve. Leading a business is a continual process of adaptation. Recognise that and be continually open to new ways to achieve your goals.

Life

How to Make Better Decisions, More Quickly

Ever wondered why Steve Jobs wore the same outfit every day? He consciously removed one big decision a day from his mind. It is estimated that on average adults make around 35,000 sub-conscious decisions every single day. Although we only have around 100 big conscious daily decisions in us. Any more than that, decision fatigue kicks in. Here are eight steps to help you make quicker and better-informed decisions in both business and in life.

1. Collect different viewpoints. A good decision isn’t about gaining everyone’s approval, but that doesn’t mean you don’t require everyone’s opinion to make one. Broaden your perspective on the problem at hand to get everyone’s view on the situation.

2. Find the root cause. Ideally a decision finds a solution to a problem’s root cause, not just its symptoms. Typically, these are organisational - where a process needs altering, or human - where a person made a mistake. In such situations, determine what happened and why and reduce the likelihood of a repeat.

3. Get in the thick of it. A director who is overseeing a wide scope of work probably won’t have as good a grasp on issues than other members of the team who are doing certain tasks day in and day out. So don’t consult only senior team members, get guidance from those closest to what you are deciding on and thank them for their valuable input.

4. Take total ownership. While you need feedback from many to make an informed decision, that decision itself must be your responsibility. When accountability is shared it risks weakening your choice and its effectiveness.

5. Balancing short with long-term aims. It is important to consider the long-term cost and benefit of your decision. Honing in on only the short term can hinder your business in the long run.

6. Think risks and impacts. Simply list the what if situations that could occur as a result of your decisions. If you have a new and large customer order, factor in how that impacts budget, resource allocations, timeframe, quality, and other customer satisfaction.

7. Communicate well. Decisions that affect your business shouldn’t be kept secret. You want people aligned on the outcomes you are working towards. Again, this isn’t to gain consensus, it is to enable them to gain understanding.

8. Timing. Being liked shouldn’t motivate what course of action you decide upon. You don’t need everyone to agree, just the views of those who can add value, then allow the points above to guide you to assess any risk.

…Plus More!

The Fastest Way to Succeed

The fastest way to succeed is to stop looking for short cuts. Constantly looking for hacks and expecting the process of becoming successful to be at the end of a 90-day course, is ironically, in itself the very mindset that will lengthen the time to succeed.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!