April 23, 2019 at 09:27Startup Psychology: Transformations That Not Everyone Will Live
The average biography of a successful entrepreneur will start like this: one or a couple of friends with an idea gathered in a cafe, garage, at home, in a small office and decided to create a new product, open a new business. What follows is a tragic story of overcoming, hardships and tribulations; insanely exciting first customer search history. There will certainly be an episode of almost complete collapse and disappointment. All these horrors did not demotivate the team, but on the contrary allowed mobilizing all internal resources, collecting some meager balances of financial resources, taking risks, and now, when there was almost no hope left - lo and behold, a client appeared! It was possible to close a major deal, a dense work began, which, of course, was very successful and productive, otherwise we would have learned about this next success story. Subsequently, the company successfully attracted investors,
According to the laws of drama, several scenarios are possible. The simplest option is a plot with one goal, where the main character fights with various antiheroes and overcomes obstacles with the development of the plot: “all life is a struggle”, the main aspiration and goal, “efforts and labor will grind everything”. A classic example of such a plot can be found in the cartoon "Finding Nemo", or in many episodes of the Bondiad. As a rule, the stories of successful startups do not fit into this dramatic framework. Most often, the fathers of the masterminds started with one idea, but in the course of the work it turned out that the original goal was erroneous; and the original concept that a group of initiating heroes together overcome all dangers, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, being a support for each other, can crack. At some point, it becomes difficult to understand which of the founders is a hero, and who is the villain; whose efforts promote the company, and someone else’s, perhaps unconscious actions, harm the company and prevent it from developing.
A standard startup develops along a complex storyline. The original goals are likely to be false, or at least be seriously revised. Not all new faces will turn out to be good heroes, and some of the main characters may suddenly turn out to be antiheroes. The plot twists, the intrigue grows, but then a turning point occurs, everything begins to become clear, a new picture of the world is being drawn, a new goal becomes obvious and the hero goes to a new peak. A classic example is the Rocky film, where the main character, played by Sylvester Stallone, is desperately training, but just can't get into the ring until the case helps him. The rival of the famous boxer Appolo breaks his arm and cannot enter the ring. Appolo invites Rocky to the fight, hoping for a beautiful and exciting duel. There is a turning point the protagonist changes his original goal, in this case from a duel to the show, and agrees. Then the main character, Rocky, is actively practicing, but it did not work out to win, but he managed to have a great fight and motivate the teenagers. In the same way, innovators have to change their initial goal at some point, quickly transform and continue to strive for a new goal with even greater efforts. It is enough for the scriptwriter to lead the heroes through one crisis and rethinking, after which they will reach a new goal with heroic efforts, but in real life everything is a little more complicated. In the same way, innovators have to change their initial goal at some point, quickly transform and continue to strive for a new goal with even greater efforts. It is enough for the scriptwriter to lead the heroes through one crisis and rethinking, after which they will reach a new goal with heroic efforts, but in real life everything is a little more complicated. In the same way, innovators have to change their initial goal at some point, quickly transform and continue to strive for a new goal with even greater efforts. It is enough for the scriptwriter to lead the heroes through one crisis and rethinking, after which they will reach a new goal with heroic efforts, but in real life everything is a little more complicated.
The founding fathers can successfully survive one crisis, rethink goals and find reserves for new inspiration to continue the battle, but this will only be the beginning. Robert Queen and Kim Cameron at the end of the 80s proposed a theory of the organization's life cycle. Each company goes through several critical stages on its way, and how well the company is able to adapt, overcome them - depends on the success and longevity of the company. Subsequently, Yitzhak Adizes popularized this theory, clarified and expanded, described what roles and what competencies are required at each stage.
Larry Greiner, a professor at Harvard Business School, proposed the organization’s life cycle concept in the late 200s. According to this theory, an organization develops evolutionarily, but loses its tempo over time, serious transformations begin, the next manager-rebel leads revolutionary transformations, but this does not end there and by the beginning of the next stage everything repeats.
According to Greiner's theory, the company, faced with the next stage in its development, is actually being reborn. For a dramatic plot, one complete transformation and a 180-degree turn is usually quite enough, but, unfortunately, in real life such “dramatic turns” will be no less than five and more than enough to not be able to cope with control and get out of the way at the next turn. Most often, falling into the “growth trap” causes such serious financial and psychological damage that our recent heroes entrepreneurs forever vow not to do business anymore.
If we continue to draw a parallel between the development of a young startup and the classics of drama, then the best comparison will probably be the work of Lewis Caroll's “Alice in Wonderland”. A young businessman is faced with a situation of complete uncertainty. Everything around is changing so fast that it is very difficult to find any logic in it. At some point, the company may grope for a niche and begin to grow rapidly, like Alice tried another item, but then, suddenly decreases rapidly. The hardest thing is that all these changes can be so swift that there is no time left to comprehend them, draw any conclusions and find patterns. The main criterion for success is speed, Caroll has a corresponding statement in the book: “You need to run as fast just to stay in place, and to get somewhere, you must run at least twice as fast! ” In addition, you need to be able to very quickly overestimate the picture of the world: “You cannot believe the impossible! “You just have little experience,” said the Queen. ” It is one thing to observe such a plot in the cinema, it is another to maintain such a pace for a rather long time.
Beginning entrepreneurs take some actions to assess their chances in a new market and thereby change it. A new innovative market will be formed only after the tester evaluates it. Practical classics of quantum uncertainty, and if we add to this the elements of quantum entanglement, the situation becomes simply eerily uncertain. It is impossible to exist in a constant mode of uncertainty for a long time. Everything around is changing so fast, you need to constantly run twice as fast, and at the same time it is not clear where you need to run, what is the final goal, where is the finish line and is it there? We are used to living in the material world, our mind, our psyche is set to search for patterns that allow us to clarify the picture of the world, stabilize it, and achieve the status quo. It turns out such a dichotomy. We run as fast as possible in order to stop; find some certainty, achieve stability, the status quo.
If you look at the life cycle graph, then after the heyday, a period of stability sets in, that desired certainty and status quo. In the Greiner model, the plateau should begin after the crisis of delegation of control, at the stages of coordination and collaboration. How many successful entrepreneurs reach this stage? The main problem is precisely the intolerance of existence in conditions of uncertainty, and the first ones who begin to slow down the development of the company are the founders themselves. The desire to feel firm ground under your feet after a long swim becomes almost a passion. If the picture of the world changes all the time, then you can create your own ideal world in your imagination. In business, this is called creating a strategy, everything becomes clear how and by whom we see ourselves, what will happen to us in a year, in five, where the market will develop, etc. All that is lacking in real life can be drawn in corporate strategy. Later, relying on this imaginary world, there will be an attempt to build a company, a product development strategy. But, the ideal world of strategies, it’s better to say fantasies, is sharply broken up by the suddenly opened opportunity, like Rocky, who was invited not to the battle, but, in fact, to the show. Only this time, our entrepreneur-fighter will gracefully dodge the opportunity, as this violates the integrity of his new-found strategy. who was invited not to the battle, but, in fact, to the show. Only this time, our entrepreneur-fighter will gracefully dodge the opportunity, as this violates the integrity of his new-found strategy. who was invited not to the battle, but, in fact, to the show. Only this time, our entrepreneur-fighter will gracefully dodge the opportunity, as this violates the integrity of his new-found strategy.
In addition to the dynamism of the external environment, which the company is already resisting rather than adapting to, there is an increase in internal problems. Successful experience led to the rapid growth of the company, but the rapid growth entailed the problem of management efficiency. To achieve the controllability of internal processes, employees with experience working with leaders in this market are massively recruited to the company. Successful managers of large companies, by their nature, are very different from the culture of innovators. In order to make a career in a large company, you need to develop a few other skills. It is necessary to try as little as possible to take initiatives, if necessary, it is better to join a successful team and share their success with them. You need to be able to fix your responsibility zone and separate the failures of others from your success. In fact, a good manager of a large company is a bureaucrat, unlike an enthusiastic and aspiring entrepreneur, a bureaucrat does not hover in the clouds, he is more pragmatic, he cares mainly about his own success. From his own experience, the young bureaucrat has long learned that he cannot influence the general success of the company, but the ability to correctly outline his borders and the area of responsibility can do a good job. When such an experienced manager who worked in the most successful companies in this market comes to a fast-growing company, he, unfortunately, does not bring a piece of success to his previous employer, since the company was largely successful and will come after it. The best that such an employee can bring with them is the skills of building certainty, creating the appearance of controllability and controllability,
Thus, it turns out that the company lost its flexibility, was unable to pass the next milestone, and after passing through several stages, it moved to the fading phase; tired of constantly running and adapting, she began to actively resist change, to shut down and bureaucratize. Some innovative companies find such a rich gold mine that it allows them to make and correct several mistakes in their path. Others, on the contrary, are less lucky and the grooved niche is so narrow that the slightest mistake leads to the inevitable death of the company. The fertility of the grocery market may affect the duration of the startup, but the main plot twist is that the main villain who actually kills the company, in the end, will be the founder himself or one of the founders. On the other hand, a good company differs from some single star in precisely the fact that this is the coordinated work of a group of people. A good team can be compared to a column of cyclists in a competition, when the leader exhales, then he moves inside the column and allows the new leader to seize the initiative, which, in turn, will change places with the next one when it is exhausted.
According to the laws of drama, several scenarios are possible. The simplest option is a plot with one goal, where the main character fights with various antiheroes and overcomes obstacles with the development of the plot: “all life is a struggle”, the main aspiration and goal, “efforts and labor will grind everything”. A classic example of such a plot can be found in the cartoon "Finding Nemo", or in many episodes of the Bondiad. As a rule, the stories of successful startups do not fit into this dramatic framework. Most often, the fathers of the masterminds started with one idea, but in the course of the work it turned out that the original goal was erroneous; and the original concept that a group of initiating heroes together overcome all dangers, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, being a support for each other, can crack. At some point, it becomes difficult to understand which of the founders is a hero, and who is the villain; whose efforts promote the company, and someone else’s, perhaps unconscious actions, harm the company and prevent it from developing.
A standard startup develops along a complex storyline. The original goals are likely to be false, or at least be seriously revised. Not all new faces will turn out to be good heroes, and some of the main characters may suddenly turn out to be antiheroes. The plot twists, the intrigue grows, but then a turning point occurs, everything begins to become clear, a new picture of the world is being drawn, a new goal becomes obvious and the hero goes to a new peak. A classic example is the Rocky film, where the main character, played by Sylvester Stallone, is desperately training, but just can't get into the ring until the case helps him. The rival of the famous boxer Appolo breaks his arm and cannot enter the ring. Appolo invites Rocky to the fight, hoping for a beautiful and exciting duel. There is a turning point the protagonist changes his original goal, in this case from a duel to the show, and agrees. Then the main character, Rocky, is actively practicing, but it did not work out to win, but he managed to have a great fight and motivate the teenagers. In the same way, innovators have to change their initial goal at some point, quickly transform and continue to strive for a new goal with even greater efforts. It is enough for the scriptwriter to lead the heroes through one crisis and rethinking, after which they will reach a new goal with heroic efforts, but in real life everything is a little more complicated. In the same way, innovators have to change their initial goal at some point, quickly transform and continue to strive for a new goal with even greater efforts. It is enough for the scriptwriter to lead the heroes through one crisis and rethinking, after which they will reach a new goal with heroic efforts, but in real life everything is a little more complicated. In the same way, innovators have to change their initial goal at some point, quickly transform and continue to strive for a new goal with even greater efforts. It is enough for the scriptwriter to lead the heroes through one crisis and rethinking, after which they will reach a new goal with heroic efforts, but in real life everything is a little more complicated.
The founding fathers can successfully survive one crisis, rethink goals and find reserves for new inspiration to continue the battle, but this will only be the beginning. Robert Queen and Kim Cameron at the end of the 80s proposed a theory of the organization's life cycle. Each company goes through several critical stages on its way, and how well the company is able to adapt, overcome them - depends on the success and longevity of the company. Subsequently, Yitzhak Adizes popularized this theory, clarified and expanded, described what roles and what competencies are required at each stage.
Larry Greiner, a professor at Harvard Business School, proposed the organization’s life cycle concept in the late 200s. According to this theory, an organization develops evolutionarily, but loses its tempo over time, serious transformations begin, the next manager-rebel leads revolutionary transformations, but this does not end there and by the beginning of the next stage everything repeats.
According to Greiner's theory, the company, faced with the next stage in its development, is actually being reborn. For a dramatic plot, one complete transformation and a 180-degree turn is usually quite enough, but, unfortunately, in real life such “dramatic turns” will be no less than five and more than enough to not be able to cope with control and get out of the way at the next turn. Most often, falling into the “growth trap” causes such serious financial and psychological damage that our recent heroes entrepreneurs forever vow not to do business anymore.
If we continue to draw a parallel between the development of a young startup and the classics of drama, then the best comparison will probably be the work of Lewis Caroll's “Alice in Wonderland”. A young businessman is faced with a situation of complete uncertainty. Everything around is changing so fast that it is very difficult to find any logic in it. At some point, the company may grope for a niche and begin to grow rapidly, like Alice tried another item, but then, suddenly decreases rapidly. The hardest thing is that all these changes can be so swift that there is no time left to comprehend them, draw any conclusions and find patterns. The main criterion for success is speed, Caroll has a corresponding statement in the book: “You need to run as fast just to stay in place, and to get somewhere, you must run at least twice as fast! ” In addition, you need to be able to very quickly overestimate the picture of the world: “You cannot believe the impossible! “You just have little experience,” said the Queen. ” It is one thing to observe such a plot in the cinema, it is another to maintain such a pace for a rather long time.
Beginning entrepreneurs take some actions to assess their chances in a new market and thereby change it. A new innovative market will be formed only after the tester evaluates it. Practical classics of quantum uncertainty, and if we add to this the elements of quantum entanglement, the situation becomes simply eerily uncertain. It is impossible to exist in a constant mode of uncertainty for a long time. Everything around is changing so fast, you need to constantly run twice as fast, and at the same time it is not clear where you need to run, what is the final goal, where is the finish line and is it there? We are used to living in the material world, our mind, our psyche is set to search for patterns that allow us to clarify the picture of the world, stabilize it, and achieve the status quo. It turns out such a dichotomy. We run as fast as possible in order to stop; find some certainty, achieve stability, the status quo.
If you look at the life cycle graph, then after the heyday, a period of stability sets in, that desired certainty and status quo. In the Greiner model, the plateau should begin after the crisis of delegation of control, at the stages of coordination and collaboration. How many successful entrepreneurs reach this stage? The main problem is precisely the intolerance of existence in conditions of uncertainty, and the first ones who begin to slow down the development of the company are the founders themselves. The desire to feel firm ground under your feet after a long swim becomes almost a passion. If the picture of the world changes all the time, then you can create your own ideal world in your imagination. In business, this is called creating a strategy, everything becomes clear how and by whom we see ourselves, what will happen to us in a year, in five, where the market will develop, etc. All that is lacking in real life can be drawn in corporate strategy. Later, relying on this imaginary world, there will be an attempt to build a company, a product development strategy. But, the ideal world of strategies, it’s better to say fantasies, is sharply broken up by the suddenly opened opportunity, like Rocky, who was invited not to the battle, but, in fact, to the show. Only this time, our entrepreneur-fighter will gracefully dodge the opportunity, as this violates the integrity of his new-found strategy. who was invited not to the battle, but, in fact, to the show. Only this time, our entrepreneur-fighter will gracefully dodge the opportunity, as this violates the integrity of his new-found strategy. who was invited not to the battle, but, in fact, to the show. Only this time, our entrepreneur-fighter will gracefully dodge the opportunity, as this violates the integrity of his new-found strategy.
In addition to the dynamism of the external environment, which the company is already resisting rather than adapting to, there is an increase in internal problems. Successful experience led to the rapid growth of the company, but the rapid growth entailed the problem of management efficiency. To achieve the controllability of internal processes, employees with experience working with leaders in this market are massively recruited to the company. Successful managers of large companies, by their nature, are very different from the culture of innovators. In order to make a career in a large company, you need to develop a few other skills. It is necessary to try as little as possible to take initiatives, if necessary, it is better to join a successful team and share their success with them. You need to be able to fix your responsibility zone and separate the failures of others from your success. In fact, a good manager of a large company is a bureaucrat, unlike an enthusiastic and aspiring entrepreneur, a bureaucrat does not hover in the clouds, he is more pragmatic, he cares mainly about his own success. From his own experience, the young bureaucrat has long learned that he cannot influence the general success of the company, but the ability to correctly outline his borders and the area of responsibility can do a good job. When such an experienced manager who worked in the most successful companies in this market comes to a fast-growing company, he, unfortunately, does not bring a piece of success to his previous employer, since the company was largely successful and will come after it. The best that such an employee can bring with them is the skills of building certainty, creating the appearance of controllability and controllability,
Thus, it turns out that the company lost its flexibility, was unable to pass the next milestone, and after passing through several stages, it moved to the fading phase; tired of constantly running and adapting, she began to actively resist change, to shut down and bureaucratize. Some innovative companies find such a rich gold mine that it allows them to make and correct several mistakes in their path. Others, on the contrary, are less lucky and the grooved niche is so narrow that the slightest mistake leads to the inevitable death of the company. The fertility of the grocery market may affect the duration of the startup, but the main plot twist is that the main villain who actually kills the company, in the end, will be the founder himself or one of the founders. On the other hand, a good company differs from some single star in precisely the fact that this is the coordinated work of a group of people. A good team can be compared to a column of cyclists in a competition, when the leader exhales, then he moves inside the column and allows the new leader to seize the initiative, which, in turn, will change places with the next one when it is exhausted.