Step 5: Execution Excellence (Looking Outward at Customers)

Entrepreneurs by their very nature thrive in unrestrictive environments in which change is constant and can be made instantaneously. “Bureaucracy” is detested and anything resembling impediments to motion is not tolerated. The creative process cannot be encumbered or slowed by any hint of restrictive obstacles.

The “don’t let anything get in the way” mentality is critical during the “start” phase of a business. Any challenges along the way need to be band aided in the pursuit of the launch. This is the environment in which entrepreneurs thrive.

During the “grow” phase, however, systemization must occur so that opportunities can be scaled and delivered evenly to customers. Suddenly there is a need for formal processes, manuals and structure that by their very nature are abhorrent to most entrepreneurs. Yet they are critical foundations to creating a culture of execution which is an imperative for delivering the product on a large scale. This is the entrepreneur’s paradox and only entrepreneurial leaders can maintain the innovative unencumbered spirit while providing sufficient structure to be efficient and maintain consistency for the customer. Most importantly, the entrepreneurial leader understands that unintended consequences of unstructured change are exponentially greater in the “growth” phase of the company as compared to the “start” phase.

In this stage the entrepreneur and his team create the core processes necessary for growth of the core business while at the same time maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit upon which the company was founded. Many entrepreneurs see this as an impediment that slows speedy growth and use the term “bureaucracy” to disparage such efforts. Entrepreneurial leaders, on the other hand, view this process as a critical check and balance of the growth process as well as a building block for superb execution. The trick is finding an appropriate balance so that ingenuity and creativity are not inhibited by the structure but rather empowered by it within agreed upon (and wide) parameters.