Explorers vs Exploiters

This is in continuation to my previous article where Mr. Ram Shivakumar of #chicagobooth shares great insights on molding an organization as part of scaling the business and my views on the same. Great insights & #lotstolearn

The key to climbing up the ladder is

• to identify competency gaps
• define structure across all levels by defining authority, accountability, responsibility & the required freedom to take individual decisions
• have a proper execution plan
• above all define a great CULTURE. (Well!! I credit #CrayonData for showing this aspect to me).

It would look like 4 simple steps without a context, but it is really a multidimensional chess game when a context is added. I have not been in such great situations but have faced difficult situations, driving discipline from head to toe, with a team of 30+ people. That is where the need for the right tool arises. Lack of proper tools is a s(l/h)ow stopper for any organization (Excel doesn't help after a certain level)

Startups enjoy flexible structure, employees wear multiple hats, operate without playbooks, SOPs & not so well defined management practices. With my limited experience in my last 3 startups, I have realized both the advantages and disadvantages of these factors. Personally, there has been a lot of learning wearing multiple hats, one can understand the end-to-end spectrum of a business, high probability to become a Jack of All Trades.

The author puts forth 2 interesting sets of characters required to scale an organization

Explorer

• The one who discovers new things
• The one who has a desire or a thought to become an entrepreneur
• The one who focuses on innovation and growth

Exploiter

• The one who is good at mundane tasks (a specialist)
• The one who does his day-to-day work efficiently with the least amount of time, resources, and money.

[ I would be happy to know, On a scale of 10, how much of an explorer & an exploiter, I am? , Please DM me :-) ]

The other interesting insight is where Google struggled to prioritized decisions in its early years but figured out a way to overcome it, that is when the OKR model was introduced by Mr. John Doerr.

Finally, emphasizing company culture to be a key driver for the business to scale. There is this interesting quote from Herb Kelleher (CEO of SouthWest Airlines), which I completely agree to.

Intangibles are the hardest thing to imitate

One of the open questions that I have is, what are the signs that a business should look to pivot from a startup mode to the next level? Is it a factor of revenue, profitability? demand? or time period of sustainability, product maturity, competition, or something else?

Source:

Some of the books referred to in the article:

Thanks & Regards

Mk

#lotstolearn