Linear progress? No way…

My previous post (about hiring 16 people in 1 month) received a lot of positive replies, thank you for that!?I like to share these highlights with you because these are the moments that make me proud.

Needless to say, these highlights are not the entire story. Our progress is a story of many ups and downs. The trend for our company is positive. However we had many challenging moments and I am sure many more are waiting for us.?

Building a company is not an easy ride, but it's definitely a ride I enjoy.?

So, how do we deal with challenging times? Stability and focus are the keywords.

1: We stay focussed on our core business, our original strategy and plans. When things are getting challenging, it’s easy to get distracted and excited about new ideas. I learned the hard way, this is really not a good idea. New ideas are easy. Getting it done is difficult.

To achieve this, you need the right people around you. For me it’s great to work with Jan Plas . When I do have a moment in which I am distracted, he is reminding me on our plans and to stay focussed on our long term plan; to become Europe’s and Asia’s leading smart city software house.

2: We saved money to survive challenging phases. This one seems simple, but it takes discipline. We need to continuously focus on making profit. We do so by focussing on underlying data. Getting the numbers right is crucial.

Money on the bank means we can survive challenging times. It brings stability and it allows us to stay focussed on our long term goals. But is also means we can take advantage of certain opportunities that might pop up.

3: We use the tools defined in Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't. The tools described in this book help us tremendously with taking a more scientific approach to scaling up our company. Every week Jan and I have 2 sessions of at least 2 hours in which we only talk about: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. We write down our conclusions and make sure we have actionable plans after each session.

If you're an entrepreneur and you did not yet read this book, get started now.