Do You Know When It Is Time To Fire Yourself?

You have to know when you are no longer the best person to run your business. Knowing when to fire yourself is the ultimate act of a Thoughtfully Ruthless leader. After I spoke about this at an executive event last year, one CEO came up to me and said “You are right, I have to fire myself, I am holding my business back and I am not enjoying myself” We created a plan that would release her to do what she loved and install a successor who provided the business with what it needed for it's next stage of growth. 

Are you really the best person for your own job? If not, how can you fire yourself and find your next role doing what you love with people you love?

The alternatives are far from desirable.  

Val

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Why You Should Never Quit Your Corporate Career

Are you dreaming of a new year as your own boss? Some executives I work with in Fortune 500 companies view life as an entrepreneur as the perfect path to escape their big company frustrations. Watching episodes of Shark Tank, or with Inc Magazine on their desks as inspiration as they imagine the possibilities of being their own boss.

Before you quit, here are six reasons it may be the worst decision you ever make:

1. You are a cautious risk taker

Writing checks from your own check book rather than the company's is very different. Entrepreneurs don't just have to take bold risks, they have to do it with their own money. Being cautious isn't an option.

2. You enjoy the camaraderie of your peers

The number one complaint I hear from executives when they move companies is they miss the connections and camaraderie with their peers. This is exacerbated when you become your own boss, you need to find ways to make new connections with other entrepreneurs with organizations like Entrepreneurs' Organization.

3. You secretly love the promotions and pay rises

Imagine a world where no one gives you a score, a promotion, a pay rise or a bonus. You have to award that to yourself. I often hear entrepreneurs secretly whisper to me they didn't realize how important that board review or feedback from their manager was to reinforce that they were successful. Instead, you now need the utmost personal confidence of your remarkable ability and impact. 

4. You are not brilliant at demonstrating your brilliance

As an entrepreneur you cannot be humble about your past achievements, you need to appropriately shine a spotlight on your results and your business. I know many entrepreneurs and consultants who are absolutely brilliant, but they are not brilliant about talking about their results, neither are they good at telling stories of how they have helped their clients. If you don't tell those stories who will?

5. You can't immediately name your inner-circle

Imagine your new entrepreneurial life, who would be your advisors? If you can't immediately name five people who have expertise where you need it, then it isn't yet time to quit. Find people who are at least a year ahead of where you are and ask them to be part of your inner circle of advisors.

6. You have less than 12months cash reserves

You are used to paychecks, bonuses and stock awards like clockwork. Make sure you have at least a year of cash reserves to tide you over so you can launch your business and invest in the right support for growing your new venture.

I quit my corporate life from Amazon and Microsoft five years ago to become a leadership and innovation expert, now I am an advisor to global executives with clients including Starbucks, Gartner, and DreamWorks Animation, and I speak at conferences and events. If you are considering making the move from corporate life to your own business, contact me to explore how I can help you. You can also subscribe to my new Thoughtfully Ruthless® Consultant publication full of tips and tools for rapidly growing your own business. 
 

Now is the entrepreneurial life really for you?

Val

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How To Create Symbiotic Relationships That Matter Between Technical, Creative And Business Minds

"They just don't understand Val!" Is one of the most common observations I get whether I am working with a marketing, engineering, finance, creative or technical minded executives. They are talking about their colleagues, board members, peers and bosses.

If only the technical team would understand how we need to build a business model that will disrupt our industry. If only the creative team would realize their ideas are technically impossible. If only the business team would realize there will be no sustainable profit unless we have a creative experience that our customers love. 

The most common trait of companies that can break the mold with new ideas is that they create a symbiotic relationship between creative, technical, and business minds. This is what I call the Innovation Trifecta® which occurs when there is a mutually beneficial connection between very different parts of your business so that you can create innovative products and services that your customers will love.

Here are three ways to tell if you are unleashing the power of innovation within your company:

1. Complement your CEO’s expertise

Just like the sun, the expertise of your CEO is the pivotal power of your organization, and the rest of your leadership team need complimentary talents that orbit the CEO like planets in a solar system. Jeff Bezos has a precision sharp business brain, and he knows to surround himself with genius technical talent. Amazon is swarming with the best technical brains on the planet. Does your CEO have mini-me’s around them or a complementary set of minds?

2. Where is your weakest link?

As part of transforming the Amazon Fashion experience, we knew that we had to strengthen our creative expertise. Disruptive creative marketing was unheard of five years ago at Amazon because their focus was mainly on books and basics, so we had to break the mould and go and hire the best industry talent that would bring a creative expertise to drive the changes we needed to capture a significant share of the $500B fashion industry. Where do you have strength, and where is your weakest link, with your creative, technical, or business expertise?

3. Replicate the Shrimp and Goby Effect

A pistol shrimp is nearly blind. It cannot see when it’s predators are nearby and wouldn’t last long if he didn’t create a symbiotic relationship with the watchman goby. When we had a marine aquarium these were our favourite two inhabitants because you see two very unlikely creatures working together for mutual benefit. The pistol shrimp uses his large claws to dig caves for the watchman goby and the goby keeps the shrimp safe from predators. Companies need to build similar symbiotic relationships between creative, technical, and business minds. Too often it’s like you have landed in Japan and you are trying to speak French, what is getting lost in translation in your company?

Companies that are too focused and heavy on technical expertise will lose creativity. Companies that are too creative may not have a profitable solution. Companies that weight decisions purely on business metrics won't delight customers and create exponential growth through innovation. 

How are you creating a symbiotic relationships today?

My next book explores The Innovation Trifecta: How to Catapult Innovation by Creating a Symbiotic Relationship between Creative, Business, and Technical Teams. Let me know if you would like to receive a free sample chapter.

Val

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this week's VAL-uable Insights, sign up here to get them in your inbox each Monday morning: http://valwrightconsulting.com/newsletter-sign-up/