Today's advice comes from Wendy Lea, CEO of Get Satisfaction, via The New York Times:
"Success is not an exit. That’s Silicon Valley talk. Success is building and bringing value every day. The obsession on just the exit, the money, makes me sad. The second thing I’d say is, experiment. That’s different from innovation. Experiment with people, with where you sit in an office, with different kinds of customers. Stay in the beginner’s state of mind, then you’re more apt to experiment."
Lea says that in the startup world, building a company with strong values is more important than focusing on making profits. Making money your main priority will only end up putting a damper on your creativity and in the startup world creativity is a must. It will help you to come up with new approaches to solving the obstacles you are bound to face as an entrepreneur. Don't let the obsession with making money stop you from becoming more personable as well. In a small company, your employees need you more than ever. Tackling the problems you see in your team immediately will send out the message that you care about the general well being of the group.
"The third thing is call it out fast. If you think there’s a problem, there is. If your instincts say there’s something wrong, there is, and the longer you wait to tackle it, the worse it gets. I’m so tired of having to relearn that lesson. That’s true in all of life, but it’s especially true in a start-up where time is not your friend and resources are limited. If you think one of your employees is unhappy, you can be assured that he is. If you don’t go talk to him about it, it’s only going to get worse because he’s going to tell five other people outside the company or inside the company."
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