I don’t know what it is about human psychology, but humans are hardwired to ignore uncomfortable truths.
I see this all the time with entrepreneurs and the transitioning veterans we mentor -
Entrepreneurs know what they should be doing - sales, hiring, fundraising. All of them are uncomfortable, but typically the rate-limiting step to growth.
Transitioning vets are afraid to ask for help, to reach out to people who can help them land a role. They fear rejection or being ‘discovered’ as a fraud…
This week’s post is about identifying our biggest problems and looking them straight in the face.
What I’m Ignoring
I’ll start by fessing up to something that has me stressed.
Business is good - we’re growing, making money, and serving our clients well.
And yet, I am stressed.
Why?
It’s because I know that to grow in 2024, I’ll need to do things I’ve never done before
Hiring recruiters
Managing cash flow
Managing a team
Building processes
Sure, I’ve done some of these things before, but the startup idiom - “what got you here, won’t get you there” is in full effect.
If I’m honest, we’ve been over-capacity for most of the year - we have a certain amount of bandwidth, and we’ve plugged the gap through contractors and old-fashioned elbow grease (aka I’m running a sweat shop in my apt and am one of two victims).
Now it’s time to think about scaling and it’s honestly terrifying…
The Truth About Growth
All growth - in business and life - requires us to endure a period of discomfort.
I’m writing this post to help you identify any hangups that are precluding you from growing and propose a strategy to deal with it.
Identifying Opportunities for Growth
The first step in recognizing a growth opportunity is identifying root causes that are holding us back.
How do we notice what’s holding us back?
My method is to look at my to-do list.
If an item is on the list for more than a few days, there’s a reason why I can’t seem to get to it.
It’s either -
Not that important and should, therefore be dropped from the list
So important that I’m afraid to mess it up and, therefore should be prioritized
In my case - I’ve had “new hire planning” on the list for a couple of weeks.
I’ve started this process a few times already, so I’m not starting from scratch, but I’ve been slow to take action because -
It requires me to understand our cashflow & plan future cashflow in detail
It requires me to define a role that’s amorphous at the moment
It requires me to set a compensation range and commit to parting with that cash next year
I will have to come up with an onboarding plan, and turnovers are painful
Problem Identified, How Do I Fix It?
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