Understanding Entrepreneurship — Part V — Cut the cliché

It is very tempting to be an obedient being and repeat the obvious ideas and solutions. The very reason that the obvious didn’t work is why you set out to do something on your own, isn’t it?

One of the most difficult lessons for entrepreneurs, more so for those like me, is to get the priorities right. Often I speak to product builders thinking about everything together — product research, brand building, team building, customer engagement… You know this list is endless. With a dear friend of mine, I interrupted in the middle of the discussion, “All’s cool but what’s the starting point?”

Most of the times, we entrepreneurs are so full of things in our heads. It is understandable because there is nobody else to do it for you. You have to do it if you can’t delegate (even if you manage to delegate you need to track, that’s a different story!). This is why prioritization — with resources, with customers and so on — needs to become your second nature. Otherwise, I’m known among my circles to say this a lot.

Scene 1:

Friend: Are you free for some time?

Me: Free as in freedom or free of cost?

Scene 2:

Friend: Are you free for some time?

Me: Free? Well… there’s always something or the other on the back of my mind. You tell me!

Scene 3:

Friend: Are you free for some time?

Me: Free? How do you spell that?

My approach to this (I’m sure each of you need to develop an approach towards this)…

Take conversations, for example.

Some stuff I’m attempting to do

• Mention the most important thing first.
• Pick the most impactful thing for me.
• The thing that people want to know about.
• The thing I am most afraid of speaking about. Get that bloody thing out of the way!

I have to admit I’m still working on it.

It all happened when I realized I was becoming a cliché-creator in my circles.

Let me give some of my favourites for your reference:

“Let’s see where this road goes” — I don’t know what I’m doing

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel” — I’m guessing there’s some hope a little ahead of this journey

“Do the impossible! Impossible itself says I’m possible” — I need to do some research and get back. It is very difficult.

Just don’t cliché. Period.

Saves effort. Saves time. Good for the environment.

PS: I have to confess playing your own devil’s advocate is not as easy as it sounds. I’m having to do that for every post.

Phew!

Not done yet. See you next time soon!