Managing through the Entrepreneurial Fog

THE MANAGEMENT PART

 If you are a manager and don’t want to be regarded as a Great Boss ... then you should not be a manager in the first place. Regardless of the profession, you have the opportunity to inspire those under your purview to the point where they feel privileged to have you as their leader. Much work may be necessary for you to get there, but not aspiring to be the best manager possible does a disservice to the organization, to yourself, and most important, to those you agreed to lead.

Management - A Profession All by Itself

 Whether I was an administrator at a hospital or the president of a software company, I always looked forward to going to work each day. It was exciting to be able to work with people from all walks of life; my job was to provide a work environment conducive enough for all of them to happily and efficiently work toward accomplishing the goals of the company. Throughout the years, I had the opportunity to witness and become involved with many different types of managers from around the country; some were very experienced and some were brand new to their field; many of them were very good and some, not good at all. Some were well educated, good at their job, and easy to work with, and others were just educated idiots. Many managers with a limited education were some of the best, while others managed with the attitude “It’s just a job”; this type of attitude was referred to in the military as being on the ROAD (Retired while On Active Duty). Unfortunately that type of attitude is also found in the civilian sector.

 Have you ever had a boss you despised, one that made you think, “If I ever find myself in a position of authority, unlike this boss, I will do everything possible to “inspire” my employees?” I had such an experience early in my career, which gave me the motivation to learn all I could about being a good manager.

 Managers are in a unique position ... they are in “control”; some more so than others. Unfortunately many managers, especially new ones, do not know where to begin, which oftentimes relates to a lack of self confidence or simply not knowing what it means to be in control. These managers are in a tough position; they got the job alright, but they are in need of some direction. Having been there myself and then having the responsibility for  leading other managers, I believe it doesn’t hurt to have some rules to follow as one develops their management skills.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PART

 As the title suggests, although we definitely had the entrepreneurial spirit when we decided to start a business, we found ourselves in an entrepreneurial fog. When we decided to start a company, we truly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The following months had a path full of potholes to be navigated without a compass, and thinking about all of the minutia necessary to run a business would only take away from the overwhelming euphoria that got us there. Our software fit on a computer tape that cost $17 and we planned on selling it to our first customer for the bargain basement price of $60,000. For the most part, we were ready to open shop. During the 36 months prior to us making our decision to press forward, we were developing the software while I was concurrently checking what was available on the market. There was no doubt we had a product that was outperforming what our soon to be competition was offering, so it definitely seemed as if success was on the immediate horizon.

 Unfortunately, during the euphoric hype, we failed to see the patch of fog that was obstructing our view of that horizon. This book describes how the FOG might be a good thing, where knowing everything required to start and operate a business is not necessarily a prerequisite for success, and perhaps, not even desirable..Entrepreneurs (synonymous with “risk takers”) often make decisions based on ideas that have never been tried before ... or on “how to ‘build’ a better mousetrap.” When an idea is conceived and the decision is made to turn it into an enterprise, one can thank the heavens all contingencies are “not” considered prior to making that decision. The premise is if most entrepreneurs knew what they were getting themselves into, they would probably say, “Forget It, it’s not worth it.” Our company had NO documentation, NO office, NO marketing material, and NOT enough cash to keep the company operational for more than six months. What we did have was a true start-up company that one might say was based on that proverbial wing and a prayer.

 The software definitely satisfies a niche market; how many hospital materials managers do you know? When people find themselves considering hospital administration as a career field, Materials Management (MM) is usually considered to be at the bottom rung of the ladder for getting experience. I refer to MM people as the Rodney Dangerfield of healthcare (They get no respect.), yet, I found the field to be one that afforded many opportunities for improving an operation that was in dire need of it. When the process for automating the department began, PDF files hadn’t entered the market, Microsoft’s PowerPoint was still on the drawing board, laptops did not exist, IBM’s PC had not yet entered the market to push Tandy’s TRS80 to the back of the bus, and when files could finally be transferred from one computer to another it was at the speed of 12 kilobytes per second. For anyone taking on such an endeavor, no matter how big it might seem from the onset, it is important to remember one deals with it ... one day at a time. When I look back, I can honestly say that in the beginning I had no idea as to just “how” big of an undertaking was in front of us. I knew it was going to be big, just not so much that it would change my life and those of many around me. I cannot say if I had realized just how big the project was going to be, I would have taken it on. However as it slowly evolved, it became quite apparent ... there was no turning back.