After reading “Atomic Habits" by @JamesClear, I realized that the real job of a leader is to create and enforce good habits through measurements and feedback. You can't improve on what you can't measure. This was my biggest blunder in almost three decades of entrepreneurship.
I learned a lot more from working with Google than two postgraduate programs in business and management. Unfortunately, we had learned so many bad habits that it was a struggle implementing OKRs. Unlearning is harder than learning. As a manager you unlearn faster than others.
You really never rise to your goals but fall to your systems and processes. The most productive time we had and when growth happened most was when everyone submitted weekly reports. It gave me a snapshot of everything in the organization. What we didn't do well was measure.
Measurements are very hard when there is a lot of uncertainty. How can you predict that a client won't pay you for two years ?? This was a regular occurrence. The same client was also telling us that we weren't growing and scaling. That was the day I made up my mind to leave them
Leaving them was harder than we thought. We went outside and met even worse. No processes, pure gangsterism. With the old client there were no bribes, only pure inefficiency compounded by regulatory fiascos. I then realized that the headache was inconsistent regulation and govt.
This is why I don't invest in startups building enterprise products in Africa. Unless their market are corporates from outside Africa. The inconsistencies in policy are typically worsened by internal bureaucracy. Even B2B business is hard! Others manage it with flexibility.
Regarding measurements and feedback, consistent bad performance of your business in a market should make you find out if the problems are external or internal. If it is both, you are dead. We died twice like that. Both external and internal. We weren't prepared for upheavals.
Google and Facebook scaling down now on spite of all their cash is because they look at everything objectively and measure potential impact. Being listed publicly also forces you into a position of more accountability which makes you more proactive. Accountants didn't help us.
If you aren't externally accountable to a board or some form of independent governance mechanism, the chance that you will underperform is higher.
@nelsonchudi always made the point to me on governance. It makes you proactive and not reactive. Being reactive kills you.
@nelsonchudi always made the point to me on governance. It makes you proactive and not reactive. Being reactive kills you.
Financial Accounting is reactive. Management Accounting is proactive. This is why I ALWAYS encourage startups to get a CFO and not just an accountant. Even if you can measure the past, projecting into the future and managing requirements is much more vital. I lived on Excel.
Excel wasn't enough. Proper performance measurements were missing as well as aggressive financial planning and modeling. My models were not realistic. I tried outsourcing this but there aren't many people out there who can do it. Still a problem for many till today.
I was trying to do the job of a CFO as a CEO. I see this blunder with many startup founders today. They think they are Superman. The market is kryptonite when there is a lot of uncertainty and no professional planning. Excel won't save you.
Get professional help early for planning and measurements. An outsider's perspective is very important to prevent you from Kool Aid addiction.
Constant measurement and feedback should be a regular habit and not an annual event.
I listened to the @Ashesi 10-year plan being presented by their president with a lot of jealousy and admiration. They came out of the trenches and can now blow out. He now has an experienced team helping him do it. They are a learning organization after all. Unlearning is easier.
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