1.5.2022
Whether it is a business, a product, a sales funnel or anything in between - building anything is an iterative process. Two steps forward, one step back.
No-one knows what exactly the future will look like - especially not in the fast-paced business and technology environment that we are living in today. Therefore, the most important skill you can acquire as a startup founder, business owner or product manager is to master the process of iterative improvements, learning and change. There are many tools to do so, such as OKR, scrum, time-boxing, SMART, MBA and more. But none of these will be fruitful if you let your own bias about your own ideas ruin your progress.
No-one knows what exactly the future will look like - especially not in the fast-paced business and technology environment that we are living in today. Therefore, the most important skill you can acquire as a startup founder, business owner or product manager is to master the process of iterative improvements, learning and change.
To embrace change, you need to embrace a culture of "begin wrong". Or a culture of "failure". It's okay to fail, it's okay to have been wrong, it's okay to change your mind - as long as you are doing the right thing now. "Killing your darling" - or your past ideas that serve no more value for the business in the future - is the best practice to enable growth, change and adapt to the ever-changing business environment. In that way, killing an idea that has seen its time is a step in the right direction, and therefore progress.
Never changing your mind in today's market is a recipe for failing slowly. Fading away rather than keeping up with the ever-changing consumer demands and needs. I am convinced that only those startups and businesses will remain competitive that embrace change, embrace failure for the greater good and are willing to change their mind sometimes.