I’ve previously shared my thoughts on founders feeling like they have to come up with an Amazon-caliber idea to start a company. That’s a path, but there are others. I often meet with entrepreneurs who aren’t idea people but still make it work. They find (or stumble upon) a problem they want to solve. They research who else is solving the problem and learn how effective their solutions are in the eyes of customers. If customers are only partially satisfied, they set out to close the gap. These entrepreneurs don’t dream up a completely new solution; they make a better iteration of what’s already out there. They know what customers like and don’t like about it, so it makes sense. There are countless examples of companies like Facebook, Zoom, and others who used a similar playbook, and for good reason . . . it works.

If you take this path, you need to acknowledge that’s what you’re doing. When you explain your solution and vision, your pitch will go over much better with investors and recruits if you acknowledge that you have competition and articulate precisely how they fall short of customers’ expectations. You’ll be demonstrating that you have a unique insight that the market has missed. Your unique insight differentiates you from your competitors and will become the flag that others rally behind in support of you.

Unless you’re creating a new market, you have competition. Find a way to understand what your customers think of your competitors’ product or service. Being able to articulate this insight clearly could change the trajectory of your entrepreneurial journey!

When people say they want to start a company, I’m not sure they realize what they’re signing up for. Crazy hours and limited resources, yes. Less obvious but more important, perhaps, is the responsibility to lead. Your team will believe in you and your vision. They’ll be the ones who execute and turn your vision into reality. Many will walk through walls to make that happen. They do it because they have faith in their leader. They trust their leader.

As CCAW grew, so did this responsibility. In the early days, my decisions affected me and maybe a contractor. Later, they affected an entire team and the families they provided for. At times it was stressful, to say the least. But this responsibility forced me to think beyond myself so I could do right by my team and lead them in the right direction.

I’m a huge proponent of people starting companies. Entrepreneurship is a big part of how we innovate as a society. But entrepreneurial success isn’t an exercise of individual contribution. It takes a team. Aspiring founders should know that they’re taking on the serious responsibility of leading others. They’ll have an outsize impact on the lives of their team and their team’s families. It’s a responsibility that should never be taken lightly.

I was recently asked how I got comfort that CCAW was moving in the right direction without being involved in everything.

A little context: Founders often build companies from scratch. They’re the glue that holds things together in the early days. Everything is in their head and they know how all the pieces work together. They’re intimately involved in most aspects of the business because they have to be. Resources are so limited that if they aren’t involved, it may not get done.

Growing businesses will reach a point where it’s no longer a good idea for the founders to be the glue. It hurts more than it helps. This often happens after a product–market fit is found.

CCAW had thousands of monthly customers and a high level of operational complexity. As we grew, it was impossible for me to be involved, but I needed to know if the business was thriving or dying. Over time we created three or four metrics, updated daily, for every functional area. For example, every morning our accounting system delivered to my inbox our net cash balance, month-to-date revenue, and month-to-date gross profit. The operations leader and I received daily reports on the number of unshipped orders, feedback from dissatisfied customers, and unresolved customer cases.

I wasn’t the only one with access to this data. The entire team got daily reports on these metrics. We further simplified each metric by using a green–yellow–red system to gauge our health. If key metrics were green, I knew all was well. If metrics were yellow or red for an extended period, I offered my support in resolving the issue to the functional leader and also communicated my expectation that we would get back to green. (A carrot and a stick, you might be thinking.)

We didn’t establish these metrics and reporting procedures overnight. It took time to figure out what mattered most in each function and how to measure it effectively. Once they were in place and visible, the team could focus on what mattered most. I didn’t need to be the glue. The team was empowered. I was always informed about the company’s direction and health. Win–win!

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Today I had a conversation with an entrepreneur about their 2020 plans, which they’d clearly spent a lot of time thinking about. One thing jumped out at me. They have six objectives in the first quarter alone. A similar number of objectives were listed for each of the other three quarters. The plan was extremely aggressive, especially considering the considerable uncertainty that characterizes the economy at the moment.

Based on my experience, it’s hard to get a team to focus on more than two or three objectives in a short time (e.g., three months). When I spread myself or my team thin with too many priorities, it usually didn’t turn out well. Either nothing was completed or a fraction of our goals were reached, which still felt like a failure. Over time I learned to distill things down to the two or three most important things and focus on those areas. The trick for me was figuring out what the two or three things were that would move the needle.

If you’re starting 2021 with a long list of priorities (or none!), consider taking time to craft a list of the two or three things that will have the biggest impact.

Today is the last day of my holiday vacation. This is the first time since I became an adult that I haven’t traveled for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Compelled to stay home by the pandemic, I spent time recharging. I’m not happy about not seeing my family, but this quiet holiday was a much-needed break after a hectic 2020. The year was full of so many extreme changes that I think I was mentally worn out. The unusual holiday gave me a chance to recover from 2020.

Change is good and I embrace it, but 2020 has taught me to be aware of the magnitude and number of changes and the time frames they occur in. I’m sure 2021 will be another year of change, but I’m hopeful that it will be more moderate.

I had a good conversation with a buddy about 2020 and 2021. He said that 2021 will be a year of experimentation for him. He plans to try several different things, knowing that many will not work out. His goal is to learn and have a few successful experiments that pay dividends.

My friend isn’t an entrepreneur, but I love his perspective. Though we’re living in uncertain times, he understands that doing nothing isn’t an option. He has to take action toward reaching the goals he’s set for himself and his family. His action will be risk adjusted. He’s not going to bet the farm on his experiments . . . but he will make some bets. Worst-case scenario, all his experiments fail and he learns a lot. To him that knowledge will be valuable even if the monetary value of his bets shrinks to zero.

Perspective is important, and I think the beginning of the year is a great time to think about it.

What will 2021 be about for you?

I hope the new year is off to a great start for everyone!

Today I spent time reflecting on 2020. I read old writings, emails, and text messages. I looked at pictures and news articles. I wanted to digest everything that’s happened this year personally and at a macro level. There was so much to absorb that it was bit overwhelming. I had lots of plans that I scrapped. I wasn’t too thrilled about that but didn’t have much choice. On the flip side, some great things happened that were complete surprises. After all this, I had one big takeaway: Life is iterative and plans go awry. Adjust as necessary.

This was a challenging year, but I feel like it was a year of growth for me. I’m happy to close out 2020 and looking forward to 2021!

Tomorrow’s the last day of 2020, and what a year it’s been. I can’t celebrate New Year’s Eve like I normally do, so I’m thinking about how I want to spend the day. This will likely end up being one of the most eventful years of my life, so I think I’m going to spend time tomorrow reflecting on it. So much has happened that I want to go through and digest it all before I close the chapter. I’ve had a lot of highs and lows this year, so I’m curious how the exercise will turn out.

How do you plan on closing out 2020?

I had a conversation the other day with an entrepreneur (let’s call him “Ed”) who was frustrated with his business partner (“Phil”). Ed is extroverted and focused on the big ideas. Phil is introverted and detail oriented. Ed’s frustration is rooted in feeling like Phil hasn’t been supportive of some of his ideas.

I came to the conclusion that these two are the perfect match. They balance each other’s weaknesses and together are a well-rounded team. The difficulty is Ed’s perspective on the situation. He can’t forget times when Phil has disagreed with ideas he felt strongly about.

Ed and I went through some of their most successful initiatives of 2020 and the role each person played. I pointed out how each of them contributed and how unlikely each success would have been without both of them. Sure, some ideas didn’t pan out, but the ones that did were successful because of the partnership.

In my opinion, in this partnership, Ed has more to be happy about than unhappy about. He just needs to adjust his thinking. Does he want to play team ball or beef up his own stat line? Partnerships are difficult. Sometimes you get your way and sometimes you don’t. In the end, it doesn’t matter as long as you end up wearing the championship ring.