The Entrepreneurial Mindset
With the entrepreneurial mindset so often proving to be the difference between products scaling multifold or otherwise, here’s how you effectively build that mindset...
Continuing where we left off previously, lets’ try to wrap our heads around what it would mean to possess an entrepreneurial mindset & this quote (could be termed wishful thinking at some places of the world) here seems a good start.
“Imagine if every team member across the org., starting out with the product team of course, but inclusive of the market-fronted ones like marketing, sales, support to the ones governing the build - design & development possessed an entrepreneurial mindset & then had an absolute autonomy over their share of outcomes, there could literally be nothing that could stop them from hitting the pinnacles of success, repeatedly, time & again”
Let’s break that down for there seems to be a lot happening there.
To start it off what does “absolute autonomy” even mean and what does it take to hand that to teams and also how different is that from autonomy?
Perhaps these charts would help visualize.
Absolute autonomy could mean very little intervention or control by the management and the teams obviously do enjoy a stronghold and almost 100% freedom over the decision making (represented by pink pentagon on the RHS) on even the goals, outcomes, culture when they otherwise are known to hold an autonomy largely over the outputs and the processes to a fair degree (represented by pink quadrilateral on the LHS pointing downwards).
“Micromanagement could hamper the tranquility of a team’s setup leading to unwarranted results but on the flip-side getting to a stage of absolute autonomy may be utopian for many teams across the world”
Take the instance of a startup, the hierarchy or structure may be a luxury, most certainly missing at many places as one person may don multiple hats trying to do justice to each role they play. In such a case, full-blown autonomy may be a possibility but that’s because there is no real choice. And if one is referring to big-ticket multinational corporates, the structure of teams is so prominent that there may be impeccable clarity & bifurcation on each of their roles, responsibilities with a lot of onus on management (both micro and macro level), with micromanagement being more probable a scenario there.
The Characteristics
Well, as much as seeing opportunities at all times, there’s also a need to be able to understand what to pursue and what to pass with complete immersive reasoning without relying too much on a flip of a coin, leaving nothing to chance.
So, what does it mean & take to possess an “entrepreneurial mindset”?
On a broad level there are 5 principles that are top of the line and ought to be checked off mandatorily to be imbibing the entrepreneurial mindset.
NOTE: It is imperative that each of these be considered mandatory putting them to regular use for one can’t perhaps perceive an entrepreneurial mindset sans these.
Now that we have a list of principles, it ought to be straightforward to focus on building or even helping build and carry that mindset all throughout.
Building the mindset
Building a mindset is never easy as it could demand a very strong shift in inclination which is never going to be easy for anyone whatever the level they seem to be operating at.
And yet, here are a few workflow changes to imbibe an inculcate as habits.
1) Always ask “why”
As a product person or any other equivalent role, one is required to sharply focus on value creation both for the orgs. & users. And beginning by asking “why” could be a sure way to determine whether the strategy / the route one is planning to take is going to lead to those goals and at least add the desired value if not beating it hands down or exceeding it.
2) Open to experimentation
Nobody in the world has knowledge of everything around them and that simply ought to translate to more people saying stuff like “No, I don’t know” or “Sorry, I’m not aware” more often, but that sadly doesn’t seem to happen enough as much as it should. The only way to proceed sometimes is to conduct relevant experiments in small windows as correlative of the bandwidth one has / is allowed for it. There’s absolutely no other way to keep a sharp focus on learning, progressing slowly taking baby steps towards the goal & doing it continuously.
3) Possessing acute product sense
Product sense is something that is mandatory and a no compromise for acquiring the mindset. To be able to understand exactly what product / features are an absolute need for a given market and how building that would change the landscape whilst striving to make the product great is more of a basic and non-negotiable need. Also, not to mention how that could also cut down the cycle time to reach the desired outcomes if one were to improve the relevance of experimentation to the goals in question.
4) Forward thinking
Being 2-steps ahead given a product or a business ecosystem is an absolute no-brainer. When product sense talks of understanding fitment the forward thinking lot try & pair it with innovation over product vide engineering, design, UX so as to differentiate oneself from the others. Thinking about building something targeting a scale of disruption however minor / major does any day supersede a direct solution for a problem that markets seem to be facing now.
5) Validation
Most products did bite the dust because they missed out on understanding one crucial thing, whether the solution fits in with the market and the user’s expectations sans which there could be room for even basic sales forget about them taking off like a rocket-ship or converting into windfall gains. And, there could be no better way to achieving that than to get something tangible in front of the user groups as soon as possible & thinking of alternatives, tweaks, improvements by measuring & factoring their perceptions.
6) Empathy
At the end of the day and as much as time stands testimony to it, there’s never ever been an instance of a super-successful product that was the result of a one-man-show. The human side is pretty evident and its importance can’t be discounted as there are no teams without people. Working in teams who believe that collaboration is the cornerstone of their success demands a brand of servant leadership. If you are a manager or a leader, whatever the level you are operating at, ensure that you make it all about the teams involving them in decisions or processes as relevant making them feel heard and belonged.
7) Empowering & motivating teams
There could be many instances where teams or members disconnect with the goals or business objectives (also a common sight in Agile teams) as teams are more concerned about their deliverables or outputs putting them at the helm, which is required no doubt given the element of their focus, but having the knowledge of the bigger picture wouldn’t hurt either. If the team members understand how their contribution at the nitty-gritty adds up and helps shape the product and converts to value over the user groups it could act as a great source of motivation lifting them and all of them around.