Seen.
Fall in
Most entrepreneurial writing says that founders have to be fanatical about goals. This week a founder shared a story that made us think about that.
To maintain fitness during lock-down they committed to the challenge of running 10k every day in May. A big goal. And they achieved it.
Once the goal was achieved though, they went from high levels of activity to almost none.
The goal failed to deliver. The outcome they wanted was a change in behaviour, not just to run 10k a day in May.
Achieving goals doesn't always deliver what we expect.
So this founder is exploring a different way of looking at goals. What if they were signposts rather than fixed points?
Is it better to fall in love with process of progress, rather than the "could-be" world we hope for once the goal is achieved?
Read.
Fall out
Being a goal fanatic isn't the only thing that founders are told they need to be.
This week an article in The Times interviewing Willie Walsh prompted us to reflect.
Doubtless the journalist is also responsible, but we thought it was unfortunate to talk about having Champagne on ice to celebrate Liverpool's victory just as his business is making 12,000 people redundant and requiring 30,000 to re-apply for their jobs.
There is a mythology that to be successful in business you have to be unfeeling. It comes from the pretend viciousness on Dragon's Den and how successful men (usually men) are presented in articles like this one. We wonder how this fuels founders' self expectation and what the fall out might be for them and their teams.
Our experience has been that founders who run their business with kindness often achieve more. Certainly, founders sometimes have to make tough decisions, but we've seen lots who do so gracefully.
Learned.
Permission to be mad, sir
Being a founder is a strange thing to do. It's almost a kind of madness.
Perhaps because of this founders tend to think unconventionally.
This week we found out someone we work with was holding back for fear of sounding crazy. However, they found the courage and the right relationship to enable them to share unfiltered, and achieved a breakthrough.
Letting go of this fear did two things. It gave them the opportunity to listen to their own words, and it provided access to more brains than theirs alone. Both led to insight and progress.
If this sounds familiar, what would it be like if you gave yourself permission to sometimes sound completely barking mad? What relationships do you need to nurture, in order to give yourself this opportunity?
Moreover, founders need these outlets. We're all familiar with the strain being a founder can have on mental health. Our experience is that the right support can make a big difference.
And finally.
This week someone told us our last email arrived as they were thinking about giving up on their new business. They let us know that reading #founderhacks helped them decide to give it one more go. We were really touched.
We'd love to hear more stories like this. If you know a founder that might enjoy or get some value from #founderhacks, please do pass it along.
Don’t forget to check out the accompanying podcast version of #founderhacks for a tantalising live experience of team atomex!
