Principles of Running your Start-Up Like a Project

  1. Being organized increases your chance of success significantly. (and saves significant cash) Most start-ups start in fire fighting mode, it’s panicked and it’s fast. You’re trying to do everything fast so it’s an understandable default mode. It doesn’t help though. Being organized up front makes a huge difference. Huge companies are NEVER organized. You have a significant advantage here – most big companies are bloated and slow – a well organized, well executed plan is much more likely to be successful.
    Agreeing realistic objectives up front including the “How” these will be delivered really helps move away from the panic allowing you to find the most efficient way of delivering.
  2. Once you’ve agreed the plan, stick to it. I’m sorry to say that I’ve been caught out on this more than once. When you’re working on a start-up, you’re constantly worried. You tend to move from one idea to another. This won’t work, when you’ve got your plan keep at it until it works, tweak it for sure but don’t change it until you’re sure it’s not going to work (it always takes longer than you think).
  3. Take advice at the start but then minimize input. While it’s important to give the tyres of the project a good kicking at the start once your up and running, don’t continue to look for faults – spoiler: there are lots of faults in every single project. Keep focused on the objectives and the milestones – step by step. Everyone is always keen to give advice, stay away from this in the middle of the project.
  4. Working hard doesn’t mean working 16 hour days. This is a tricky one – the latest trend from the gurus is that you have to “work your ass off”. Delivering a start up requires commitment – I’ve delivered lots of projects, I’ve seen hundreds. One thing I have seen is that projects where everyone is working 14 hour days are in big big trouble. It’s not possible to sustain this level of intensity. The quality of the work is never great. The reality is everybody working on a Start-Up never fully switches off – you’re always thinking of new ideas. Plan out your day but don’t plan 14 hour days. There will always be occasions where long days are required or you’re in the zone but these days shouldn’t form part of your plan.
  5. Commit to Hitting Every Milestone. 90% of projects don’t deliver the objectives within the planned timeline. It’s usually a surprise at the end of the project when this happens. Once you’ve identified all your key milestones and you’re happy that they’re realistic and achievable, make sure to hit them. Every single one, no matter what it takes. If you do this, you’ll deliver what you set out to achieve.

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