ReStart like a Startup
Much of the world has started to emerge from COVID-19 lockdowns and businesses are trying to restart. One recent article put it this way: “every organization is now a startup.” Perhaps we should refer to our once stable organizations as ReStartups — having to go through again the painful (but critical) process of finding a value creating role for all stakeholders.
How do you do that? It’s a scary thought for most leaders. For many, it’s been years or decades since they or their organization have been in that place. The normal rhythms and practices of the organization aren’t designed for starting from scratch and denying all existing assumptions.
Established organizations may not have those rhythms and practices, but startups do. The good news is that ReStartups aren’t really starting from scratch. They have much to build from. But, there is still much to learn from entrepreneurs about how to turn an envisioned opportunity into a reality.
This week, I’d like to introduce you to four practices that startups use in pursuing lasting businesses that create sustaining value, even amidst great uncertainty:
(The above bullets are linked to articles on each.)
The first lesson that ReStartups need to learn, however, is the importance of hypothesis.
We think we deeply understand our business.
We have immense amounts of data. Our customer research tells us what our customers value and what they want. Our operational data tells us how well our internal processes are functioning. Our competitive data tells us what our rivals are doing and how well those tactics are working.
As one of my bosses once put it, we also have “good guts”. Based on our experience running this business and competing in this industry, we have a strong sense for what works and what doesn’t. We have a “spidey sense” that tells us when something is wrong. Sure, we look at the data, but we often make decisions based on “gut instinct.”
The problem right now is that both our data and our instincts are almost worthless.
Our customers are scared, hurt, and changed by the lockdown. Even if we asked them, their responses couldn’t be trusted to tell us how they will act in the near future. Our internal operations have also been changed by social distancing rules, work from home options, and the extended shuttering of key facilities. We don’t really know how well any of it will perform in the coming weeks and months. And we can only guess at what competitors will do, some of whom are probably wounded and feeling cornered by financial pressures.
None of us have been in this situation before. We have low confidence that we know how well any idea will work. Our internal alarms are probably going off 24x7, and have been for a couple of months while so many aspects of our business have shut down. Sometimes we struggle to figure out which fire to try to put out first and we don’t feel we have the luxury of sitting back and contemplating what should come next.
Although for different reasons, I’ve just described the reality of a startup. There’s no way to predict what customers will value, how well internal operations will work, and how competitors will respond. Everything is so new that entrepreneurs have little directly relevant experience to draw upon to make “gut decisions.” And yet every year some startups survive and emerge as new leaders in their industries. How do they do it?
Perhaps the biggest tool in the entrepreneur’s toolbox is that of the hypothesis. Entrepreneurs know that all of their beliefs about the business are hypotheses and none of them are yet proven truths.
Right now, in your ReStartup business, you may be hoping that everything will return to normal. That, my friend, is a hypothesis. It’s probably the biggest and most important hypothesis impacting your future. If you assume it’s true and confidently move forward based on that assumption, you may be making a “do or die” decision. Are you prepared for that, or do you want to pause for a moment and learn a lesson or two from the startup community?
In the Bible, the apostle James tells us: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Let God guide you in learning through these trials. Leverage the gifts He has given you — experience, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and maybe even lessons from entrepreneurs.
View this ReStart period as a big experiment to build a stronger and more resilient business!
I can’t leave this topic without acknowledging that there is some good news. In our businesses, everything may be a hypothesis, but in the world, there are some truths that we can trust. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Our “spidey sense” may be unreliable, but those who trust God have a still small voice that does speak truth. The Bible may not give us operational statistics and processes, but it can strengthen us, and can guide our steps.
