How to avoid mistakes while running a business?
Entrepreneurs commit two types of mistkaes; of commission and ommission. The first one takes place when entrepreneurs take a wrong…
Entrepreneurs commit two types of mistkaes; of commission and ommission. The first one takes place when entrepreneurs take a wrong decision. The second one takes place, when they don’t take any decision. Both can harm the business. Ignoring the mistakes often leads to wrong consequences.
Anand Sanwal is the founder of CB Insights. It is a successful data analytics and research firm in New York, with more than 250 strong team. He listed down fifty four mistakes while he was growing CB Insights. Ten mistakes, which matter for Indian businesses are:
Hiring under pressure.
Firing too slow.
Not celebrating small wins.
Hiring annoying assholes.
Pricing cheap.
Not focussing on sales.
Not meeting customers in real life.
Taking rejection personally.
Caring about competitors too much.
Wasting time networking.
Anand writes , “ As you’ll see, my screw-ups span all facets of building a company — everything from HR to culture to product to sales to operations to admin. I am what you might call “multi-talented.”
If one does not correct the mistakes, businesses suffer in various ways. For example without a culture code in place, employees do not know what to expect in specific circumstances. When entrepreneurs do not interact with employees often, they do not get to know about their shortcomings. Without sharing feedback teams do not improve. If entrepreneurs do not share the vision of the firms or the direction, employees feel lost. Each mistake above is an opportunity to improve the processes and the way to run the businesses.
Anand’s advice matters as he had also run an Indian business. After the death of his businessman father, he managed the company till he found the right buyers.