Startups are exciting. Exciting for the people working there, and exciting for the people running the show and a lot of fun for consultants like me:)
Fun because, of the contrast one observes between an established company and a startup.
Right from approvals to invoices, things move at a brisk speed in a startup. There are no layers to cross to carry the usual business. No hangups, and no ‘this-is-not-my-job’ attitude. Often, you see the CEO rolling down his sleeves and get down to fix a computer or hammer a nail on the wall. You order a tea, it does not come in and the manager almost runs to the pantry to check out why. It sure does remind you of our young cricket team members closing in the ball on the field.
Youth is the catchword in a startup. It shines either through age or the atitude. And if you ask a serial entrepreneur, he would say a youth-like attitude matters more. As if to make a point, in the recent past several seasoned professionals in their late 40s/early 50s have decided to go all the way, yet again.
Having made case for startups, what about the huge, elephantine companies, where it takes half an hour at the front desk and another half hour to reach your contact person.
Worse still, what if the entire organization has been running on the business-as-usual-and-that-too-in-a-very-slow mode.
Are they beyond redemption? Well, they could sure could take a cue from Jack Welch and his ‘boundarylessness’ and take a leaf out of his his best seller ‘The Winning’.
So, do you have a behemoth and lookng to create a startup within? Here’s what Jack Welch has to say.
- Spend plenty up front, and put the best, hungriest, and most passionate people in leadership roles.
- Make an exaggerate commotion about the potential and importance of the new venture.
- Err on the side of freedom, get off the new venture’s back
So, isn’t this a good time to start something new, within or outside?
