team

A leader’s role is to lead and take the organization forward. They are responsible for setting up the culture, values, and other virtues. It is not an easy job with evergrowing team size. That is where mentoring comes into the picture.

A leader requires a team that can outgrow them by learning their everyday virtues. These teachings require no MBA degree or any special skills. It requires a leader to be open, transparent, and believing in the team.

An organization is built little every day with sweat from every stakeholder. The team sets the mood for future success embedded with all the learning and virtues of a leader.

strength

We have to focus on our mental strength more than our physical. We are living in a world where everyone acts hyper-competitive. Each one has personal gain above the rest.

We can stay virtuous and play by our strength. Many scenarios arise that we have no control over. These are the times when mental well-being and strength play a huge role.

We all can acquire that strength. Many do yoga, meditation, and healthy eating. Some others get into high-intensity workouts and exercises.

Our life is as we see it. The mindset plays a huge role. That is where our mental strength comes in as a friend.

Faith

Time and again, we hear about faith. People tell stories of overcoming various hardships with undaunted faith. We know our life is unpredictable. But that does not mean we should stop living.

There are stories of people surviving on islands alone after a ship disaster or mountaineers breathing in frozen glaciers for days. They say it was their hope that someone would come for them.

We hear the miraculous story of people healing from incurable ailments with faith, prayers, and self-belief.

Does this mean faith alone is sufficient? I would say no. Our action has to work along with infinite faith for results.

Race

Time and again, I have to remind my founder friends that building on VC money is different from building bootstrap way. Raising from others, you are accountable and have to progress at a certain pace. The progress of company investor’s incentives are hard aligned.

The expectations of the founder and investor need to be aligned. I think this education needs to be imparted by friends and early angel investors to entrepreneurs. The VC money is on a tight schedule to deliver.

As a founder, you need to run like a racehorse and build a team of lieutenants who will go all cylinders firing from the start. You are on a clock set by investors. Your investors are on the clock to deliver the returns to their LPs or close the current fund vehicle completely.

Karthik wrote long back about same long back

Institution

We all know the rapid progress of Japan. We all use one or the other products innovated by Japanese firms. The rate of innovation did not happen overnight. Much of it happened because of government push, cheap loans, and a bucket load of subsidies.

Above all, the factors that worked well for Japanese entrepreneurship have also to do with nationalism, the proud feeling about the country, and its innovation.

The entrepreneurs who built the institutions built it to outgrow them. They wanted everyone to be wealthy, rich. The sole purpose was to set up large organizations and take companies public.

Even now, it is the remanence of those CVC who are fostering innovation in Japan with their wealth and IP. Not only that, many generational wealth has been created.

Why can we not do the same elsewhere?

bottlenecks

Being a startup founder is not unique.
What matters is building a legacy and a generation-lasting business.
Every level of business has its unique difficulty.
When starting, it is about finding team and product market fit.
As you grow, the organization needs a structure and process in place.

An organization changes its DNA at every stage.
It becomes critical for a founder to eliminate all the bottlenecks and find the right members to lead.

Many founders quit after a few years because they cannot transform and continue running with the same gear, which hampers progress. So professional operators are bought. In most cases, the transformation does net benefit to stakeholders.

In many other cases, the founder’s ego and sunk cost do more harm. The professional team does not get a free hand and everything crumbles.

plan

Were most successful people going into business with all things planned?
Did they have a crystal clear view of the future of their business? How will it pan out?
How will they build an empire?
On most occasions, they did not. What worked in their favor was that they tried multiple avenues.

There is no secret to success other than trying. Ray Kroc kept dreaming and failing at all the jobs until he found the McDonald brothers. There are 1000 other examples: Benjamin Fraklin, Charlie Munger, Tesla, and Ramanujan.

The same applies to life. We keep meeting people, keep building relationships, learn, and fail. There is no one fit for all. Some find soulmates the first person they meet, while others die without a compatible match. The other smart ones keep trying and meeting people unless they match.

Our life gives us an opportunity to explore and see the world. No one has anything planned in life. People live in it and in the journey figure out life.

There is no such thing as perfection or planning, the only thing is living and experiencing.

Most scenario models in life and business end up living in the sheet.

Magic

Magic happens because we put our heart and soul into something. Not because we want instant recognition or popularity.
People make money as a byproduct. Most successful people don’t start with the aim of getting rich quickly.

The quick and instant generation of ours wants everything now at their fingertips. As a result, the competition for the top is making more of society sick.

The art and craft have been replaced with all things quick.

connect

People like people whom they connect with.
You cannot force yourself to them.
Many of us think confidence can do or get whatever we like or want.
Our life requires real effort, hard work, and honest association. Living in fantasy and delusion will only make us manic.

No one likes a colleague or a friend who is lazy, ignorant, and confident. It will make life hell for everyone around.

check

The beautiful part of our long life is that it tests us every day on our fundamentals. Our loyalty, virtue, trust, and fundamentals are on the test.

Many people end up forgetting their core for short-term benefits. Many others seek pleasure against the virtues.

We are living in an era of hyper-connectivity and abundance. We have everything available on the phone, from getting rich quickly to dating a partner.

In life, we are more living and negating vices than seeking virtues. It is easy to get lost and chase things that matter nothing in the long run.

It’s like the back of our mind one has to check before committing anything or falling into engagement.