William Wu Personal Blog

Most people know startup is all about having the discipline of knowing what not to do so resource and money are not wasted.  Survival is the game.  Inability to make decisions is one of the principal reasons executives fail. Deficiency in decision-making ranks much higher than lack of specific knowledge or technical know-how as an indicator of leadership failure.

Too often, leaders fall into traps causing them to make faulty decisions. They are blind to flaws in their methodology or gaps in their thinking. Here are specific pitfalls that can sabotage your efforts to express yourself wisely and decisively:

Procrastinating

• Absence of urgency. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
• Uncertainty. “It could go either way. Since I’m not sure, I’ll reflect on it for a while.”
• Emotional difficulty. “It’s a lose-lose proposition, and someone will be hurt regardless of the decision. Why not postpone the damage as long as possible?”

Surrendering - Exceptionally hard decisions can deplete your energy to the point at which you finally cave in.

Hiding Behind Information - Many managers with exacting standards tend to crave unending stacks of data before rendering a decision

The success of making good decision also requires daily discipline. As Dr. John Maxwell pointed out:

“Look at our society. Everyone wants to be thin, but nobody wants to diet. Everyone wants to live long, but few will exercise. Everybody wants money, yet seldom will anyone budget or control their spending.

Most people want to avoid pain, and discipline is usually painful. What we fail to understand is that there are two kinds of pain: the pain of self-discipline and the pain of regret. We avoid the pain of self-discipline because we confront it every day. Meanwhile, the pain of regret goes unnoticed for days, months, and years, but when it comes, it marks us with the profoundest disappointment.

Successful people conquer their feelings of instant gratification and form habits of daily discipline. They realize that the pain of self-discipline is momentary, while its payoff yields long-lasting rewards.” 

Dr. Maxwell summarized his point elegently: 

‘Good Decisions’ - ‘Daily Discipline’ = ‘A Plan without a Payoff’
‘Daily Discipline’ - ‘Good Decisions’ = ‘Regimentation without Reward’
‘Good Decisions’ + ‘Daily Discipline’ = ‘A Masterpiece of Potential’”

When my partner and I decided to co-found DS-IQ,  we agree to build a company culture that demands ourselves and every employee to “do the right thing” for whatever we do.  This guiding principle has really helped us through many difficult decisions and tough trade-offs.  Making good decision is really about doing the right thing for everyone.  To this end, I hope you agree with the following timeless quote from Mr. Ghadi.

7 Blunders of The World - M. Ghandi

• Wealth without work
• Pleasure without conscience
• Knowledge without character
• Commerce without morality
• Science without humanity
• Worship without sacrifice
• Politics without principle
  

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There are several  ways to categorize the best and the worst entrepreneurs.

1. On Goals and Fit between Plan/Entrepreneur

• BEST - Getting what you want, but wanting what you get
• WORST - Surprises

2. Upside/Downside Attitudes of Entrepreneur

• BEST - Attainable success/limited risks
• WORST - Linear; on same continuum

3. On Opportunity costs for Entrepreneur

• BEST -   Acceptable cuts in salary, etc
• WORST -  Comfortable with Status Quo

4. On Desirability of plan to Entrepreneur

• BEST -  Fits with Lifestyle
• WORST -   Simply pursuing big money

5. On Risk/Reward Tolerance of Entrepreneur

• BEST -  Calculated risk; low risk/return ratio
• WORST -  Risk averse or gambler

6. On Stress Tolerance of Entrepreneur

• BEST -  Thrives under pressure
• WORST -  Cracks under pressure

According to Dr. Donovan Moxey, there is a huge difference between myths and reality.

Common Myths

• “I’ll do what interests me“
• “They’ll love the new technology“
• “Be in control“
• “Get Rich“

Reality

• Do what market will buy
• Share control to reach goals
• Passion for the vision

In summary, great entrepreneurs must:

• Responding to situations positively and learn from mistakes
• Taking personal initiative
• Possess great perseverance

As William Jennings Bryanl said it well, “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.”

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I have heard from enough people that have worked on some failed startups saying that their founders have gotten into disagreements due to their indvidual egos.  Ego and pride are ultimately connected.  Recently I have read a good article from John Maxwell on “Pride - A Leader’s Greatest Problem“.  Here is a summary of that article:

There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. “Good pride” represents our dignity and self-respect. “Bad pride” is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.

When you look at the word pride, notice the middle letter is ‘I’. When you are full of pride on the inside, it makes you stiff, stubborn, and creates strife with others.

The Problems of Pride

• Pride Stops Us from Building a Team.
• Pride Renders Us Unteachable.
• Pride Closes Our Mind to Feedback.
• Pride Prevents Us from Admitting Mistakes.
• Pride Keeps Us from Making Changes.
• Pride Encourages Poor Character Choices
• Pride Hinders Us from Reaching Our Potential.
• Pride Destroys Relationships.
• Pride Distorts Your Perspective on Reality

How to Correct the Pride Problem

• Recognize Your Pride- “If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, you are very conceited indeed.~ C. S. Lewis“ 
• Admit Your Pride-”There is perhaps not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility. ~ Benjamin Franklin“
• Express Your Gratitude-”A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. ~ Henry Ward Beecher“
• Say Your Prayers-”Lord, when I am wrong, make me willing to change, and when I am right, make me easy to live with. ~ Anonymous“
• Practice Serving Others-”The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule. ~ Albert Einstein“
• Learn to Laugh at Yourself-”Blessed are they that laugh at themselves, they shall never cease to be entertained. ~ Chinese Beatitude“

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If a startup’s luck is created from taking a lot actions per my prior blog entry, how do we deal with the failure when most of the approach may not work out?  Here is a quotation from an ancient Chinese Tang Dyansty General, Li Su, that seems to shed some light:

“One who looks into the distance overlooks what is nearby; one who considers great things neglects the details.  If we feel proud of a small victory and regert over a small defeat, we will encumber ouselves and lose the opportunity to achieve merits.”

Getting ideas, setting goals, thinking positive, thinking big, all make good sense but without action they mean nothing. It is like having a Rolls-Royce without the keys.  The biggest obstacle on our way to success is our hestiation to make a start and live with the failure along the way.  Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up” Remeber the famous saying, “You haven’t failed till you quit trying!”

Fundamentally, you can’t start walking till you stand up and take the first step; you can’t write till you pick up a pen and put it to paper; your fan won’t work until you switch it on… Nothing will get done until you take the initiatve to do it.  Life is a continuous process and so are opportunities and difficulties.  We can never wait for the right time; we have to create it for ourselves.  We have to look for opportunities and start working on them.  Difficulties can be solved when they arrive but opportunities once missed may be lost forever.

Act. Get Going. If you do not tell your feet to run, they won’t!

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