How Do You Define Success for Your Business?
When we begin working with a Founder/CEO, the first thing we ask them is, “What is your definition of success?” As in, when you look to the future for your company, how will you know whether you’ve succeeded or not? For example, we here at Delta Awesome define success as flipping the entrepreneurial success ratio. Typically, nine out of every ten startups fail. We will know if we have succeeded as a company if that ratio has changed to 8/10 or smaller. Examples of other definitions of success from founders who we work with include:
“I want to change how we think about wellness to be more accessible.”
“I want to get my company to a place where I can sell it so I can have enough money in the bank to start the company that I am really passionate about.”
“I want to create a profitable business that creates impact, shifts behavior for the next 100 years, and is a fun place to work.”
Surprisingly, Founder/CEOs often don’t have a clear answer to how they would define success for their own company, even though this is the fundamental component of how you make decisions for your company as its leader. When you don’t clearly define what success looks like for your company, the default answer becomes “more.” And when it’s just “more,” the answer typically becomes “more money.” Although “more money” isn’t inherently flawed, it lacks vision and direction, the underlying assumption becomes to work harder, not smarter. When success is specifically defined, money becomes an outcome of success rather than the definition of success itself.
Once you’ve clearly articulated the definition of success for your company, the next step is to only do things that will increase the company’s likelihood of achieving that success. This ultimately means making strategic decisions that continually move your company toward that desired state.
Returning back to Delta Awesome’s definition of success “to flip the entrepreneurial success ratio,” this means we base our strategy as a team on what actions will help the most amount of startups succeed. This has meant doing things like not charging companies that we work with anything that would materially hurt their company, even if it affects our own cash flow. This has meant saying no to lucrative partnerships with organizations that didn’t share our goal of helping entrepreneurs succeed. This has meant not launching products that we knew could generate more revenue because they didn’t ultimately help us achieve our mission. Our definition of success is our company’s North Star.
So, take some time right now to ask yourself: What is our company’s definition of success? The answer will improve the decision-making process for your company and will be well worth the effort.