Remember Murphy’s Law?
“Everything that can go wrong will, and at the most inopportune moment.”
Then came O’Toole’s Corollary: “Murphy was an optimist.”
They both ignored a key segment of the empirical data. Not only will things go wrong. That implies that uncontrollable forces will act against you, which is true. Unfortunately, controllable forces will also act against you. You will, in fact, screw up. Count on it.
Here are some common mistakes that you may be able to avoid because I’ve listed them for you. Avoid these. I’ve watched them ruin dreams.
Do not…
- Ignore market information that does not conform to your preferred view of the world. The market is always right.
- Crash ahead in spite of strong and obvious reasons to stop, or at least to review strategies. Sometimes the magic just doesn’t work.
- Think too small. Some businesses just won’t work below a certain critical mass. Review your model, both market-wise and financially.
- Think too big. Companies like Microsoft and Google only come along once every 20 years.
- Insist that a product be perfect. Excellent is good enough, requires less money, and may actually get to market.
- Hire a résumé instead of a person. Teamwork is essential to success. Perhaps the most critical management skill is hiring.
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