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As the captain of your startup are you keeping your ship pointed in the right direction?

Ship wheel steer your startup

It’s funny how things tend to take a shape over time. Like this blog, I can see that it is becoming a kind-of anecdotal story of where we are going with our business and some of the lessons I have learned. That’s not what I had intended with it, but at the same time I don’t mind the direction it is going. I find that the direction of a company tends to take a shape overtime too. But you need to be careful, because if you aren’t the one defining the shape as the company grows, it may take a shape very different from what you would like it to take.

It’s like putting a bus into gear. Everyone is onboard and excited about the adventure. But someone needs to be steering it, or the bus might end up somewhere entirely unintended. I’m alright with allowing this blog to take a shape of its own. That’s partly why I created it, just to let it be free to be.

In the weight of responsibilities of running a business, getting sales and chasing every lead, it’s easy to get distracted. Especially if it’s stormy and you are more focused on keeping the boat afloat than pointed in a direction. But that is when it is needed most. At our company we’ve learned to break our goals into quarters. 90 day periods. This is short enough to ensure that it is attainable and long enough to keep us in check. Are you leading your startup?

By Jonathan Whiting

I enjoy sharing what I am learning and hopefully it's of interest and help to you. I live in Canada with my wife. Follow me on Twitter.

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