Entrepreneurship is about making things possible, not discussing limitations. Focus on simple solutions that work and you will be fine.
“I’m afraid that is against our compliance regulations.”
“That’s a dealbreaker for us. We can’t overrule our internal processes.”
“I know the process is tedious and doesn’t add any value, but it’s required by law.”
“We agree with everything you say but need an additional clause in the contract.”
You probably have heard most of these sentences before if you are an entrepreneur. But let’s be clear: Entrepreneurship is about creating what is possible, not about discussing what is not possible.
As the Founder & CEO of Yonder, a B2B SaaS company, I am trapped between both worlds: We try to make stuff possible, but we work with organizations that are trapped by way too many guidelines: Enterprise customers, partners, authorities, and investors.
I don’t think we need to look into any specific examples — if we would, this would be a very long (and boring) article. Instead, let’s focus on a couple of approaches to get back onto a constructive path.
Solution 1: Remove Overdetermination
We all know it, yet we still do it: The more guidelines and requirements there are, the higher the chance that those guidelines and requirements contradict each other.
With a growing number of guidelines and requirements, solutions become complex and unclear. This increases the probability that their implementation will run into problems or even failure. Because it’s an evil and messy world out there. We call this phenomenon overdetermination. If a system is overdetermined, it will never reach a stable state. As a consequence, overdetermination needs to be removed.
Every military officer learns very early on that in war, only simple solutions will work. Somehow that lesson is often forgotten in business life. Serving as an active reserve officer who returns to the military regularly is just one of the benefits of the active reserve system.
Removing overdetermination and creating simple solutions that work is not a one-off activity, it is a constant task for all leaders and entrepreneurs.
Solution 2: One For All, All For One
If you’re not a prepper or a solopreneur, you will have to deal with other people in your life. By nature, different people have different interests, so it’s normal that those interests clash from time to time.
It’s fair to insist on your interests. It’s fair to draw a few red lines to defend your reputation and your values.
On the other hand, think about most conflicts of interest. Are they really worth a fight? Can you really not live with that one clause in the contract the other party insists on? Does that one internal process step really move the needle?
Business is always about win-win, and petty things should not dominate the key elements to win-win. And in case of a dispute over a petty thing, somebody needs to show largesse in the view of the common good.
One for all, all for one.
That’s the motto that’s engraved in the ceiling of the Swiss parliamentary building. Nothing represents the role of the constructive entrepreneur better than this motto.
