Business is a team game

David Tatchell reveals what he wished he'd known when starting up his business.

I must confess to feeling a little uncomfortable with this assignment - partly because I dislike preaching (almost as much as I dislike being preached to) - but mainly because I can see a danger of setting out self-evident platitudes as if they were the keys to business success.

I hope that what I have to say is not entirely self-evident. However, as I'm sure has been said on many occasions, business (like many other things) is little more than applied common sense. So don't expect revolutionary ideas or rocket science!

What I present here is largely what I have learned over almost 20 years of trying (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) to pilot a small technology business through a series of successes and crises. All I can claim is the benefit of 20:20 hindsight - which I hope will be of some help to anyone now setting out on a similar journey.

Keep your vision

When we started out almost 20 years ago, we (me and my fellow founders) were often asked "Why do you want to do this?" As the question was most often asked by someone who we were asking for money, we felt that we might be expected to emphasise financial success as the primary driver. However, we had a "vision" which was not specifically about financial success (I won't say what it was - you will have your own) so, in answer to "the question", this was what we talked about.

I learned later that this was "the right answer". The vast majority of successful founders of businesses are not in it primarily for financial success - they want to "change the world" in some way, and the getting rich (if it happens!) is a by-product of success in achieving their vision.

"Keep hold of your visions and dreams for your business, and don't be ashamed if they are somewhat idealistic."

So, my first piece of advice is to keep hold of your visions and dreams for your business, and don't be ashamed if they are somewhat idealistic and (at first glance) un-business like. They are what will give your business its distinct character, energise you and keep you focused through good and not-so-good times.

"Whatever your product offering is, it doesn't just need to be attractive to customers, it needs to be compelling."

See the world through your prospective customers' eyes

Whatever your product offering is, it doesn't just need to be attractive to customers, it needs to be compelling.

What I mean by this is that, in order to generate cash flow and satisfy investor growth expectations (remember that Business Plan?!), you will need to generate sales quickly. But you will be a small company that the prospect has never heard of. So why should the prospect take you seriously and why should they buy from you?

You need to have a pretty compelling answer, or the danger is that the prospect will ignore you, or equally bad, put off any purchasing decision. You need the prospect to make the decision to buy, and to buy now. If you can't put your hand on your heart and say "If I was the customer it would be a no-brainer", then you need to change or improve your product/service, or reconsider your target customer (are you targeting the best market for your product?).

"Business is a team game - and you will need a team with the right range of skills, experiences, temperaments, and personalities."

Pick the right team

Business is a team game - and you will need a team with the right range of skills, experiences, temperaments, and personalities.

Presumably you bring strong technical skills to the team - and possibly others too. You will need to add other technical people to manage technical aspects of the business and also to cover for you, as you focus increasingly on the "business leadership" role. You will probably have good technical contacts from your "previous life". However, the first choices may not always be the best ones. Don't simply choose friends or people you have worked closely with in the past - you will need people with the right personalities, management skills, people skills, and "toughness", as well as the right technical knowledge.

Plus, you will need to add people with "new skills" - sales, marketing, finance, possibly HR, legal, etc. To my mind the right word here is "balance". You will need high-level skills and experience in all these essential areas of the business to complement your technical team's high-level technical skills - and you will need to treat them as of equal importance to the business as your technical team. In fact one could argue that some roles - sales and finance for example - are more important. They need to be respected as such.

Be prepared for setbacks

Perhaps I should really say expect success (this leads to confidence, positive attitudes, the right kind of "buzz" in the business), but be prepared for the inevitable setbacks.

One danger of setbacks is the reaction of your team, for example, the feeling that this is the first sign of things getting much worse. You may feel this way. Whether or not you do, it is likely that some of your colleagues will, and they may spread this negativity to the rest of the team. The reaction to the setback can then become a bigger problem than the setback itself. Your challenge as leader will be to counteract this.

It starts with your reaction. You may be the kind of person who can bounce back very easily from setbacks. If (like me) you're not, then you will benefit from help from others to give you perspective and regain a balanced view of the situation. Identify people within or outside the business who can support you in circumstances like this.

Then influence the rest of your organisation. First, by open communication; giving an honest, balanced, view of the situation - and making it clear what is being done to resolve the situation, and how individuals can contribute. Second, by example - by reflecting a positive outlook in your interactions and your demeanour.

In other words (as I have often told myself during tough times), it is not the setback that is the issue, it is how we react to it.

It's all about other people

It has become a cliché to talk about a "people business", but it is nonetheless true that everything in business (and ultimately the survival of a business) is all about other people, inside and outside the business. How these people feel about your business and react to it will govern its success or failure.

I have come to approach this by trying to see the situation from the other person's perspective, and to try to behave accordingly. For example, if I were a staff member, how would I like to be managed and treated by my colleagues? If a customer, how would I like to be sold to? If I were a user of our software, how would I like to be supported? It seems to me that if everyone in a company tries to live up to ideals of this kind, then they are building exactly the kind of personal and business relationships that will ensure their company's long-term future and success.