Key Story Pointers – They encapsulate the series of Five Phases +1 that you recently followed

» Enlightened leadership focuses on building continuous momentum, rather like a fly-wheel going at an appropriate speed, rather than fixating on stop-start activities in order to retain control.

 » It’s well known that high failure rates exist in conventional start-ups, consequently this Start-up Venture Team (SVT) approach should be seriously considered.

» It leverages a great opportunity to provide professional “newbie” staff onboarding services utilizing EL2 principles; especially for salespeople, who can also be exposed to Enlightened SMART selling principles.

» Effective envisioning and strategic clarity at the outset of any new venture is crucial – note that traditional projecting and decision-making approaches don’t cut it.

» Beyond that, it’s paramount to appropriately position any venture and find an optimal pathway through strategic framing – note that more traditional structuring and strategic planning exercises don’t cut it.

» Then comes the hiring, engaging and involving the right people within any vision and approach, so that staff “want to” rather than feel they “have to” participate – note that traditional employee motivators don’t cut it.

» Once these three phases are underway, any leadership team should then orchestrate and build teamwork to optimize outsider and insider team involvement and contributions, i.e. be outside-in focused – note that our all too often inside-out approaches, where ventures primarily fixate on their own self-interests, don’t cut it.

» Orchestrating and momentum building is the final phase of the initial cycle, where strategic and operational streaming is incorporated. This is where leaders Think About, Prepare for and Execute in due proportion and in discrete streams but interdependently – note that traditional numerical control systems/KPIs don’t cut it.

» By the time SalesSMART Advisors’ leadership team returns to its cycle’s beginning, as per Phase 1 of CYCLE 2, its venture is naturally off and running. Its leader team then re-envisioned and re-clarified its strategy accordingly, and so moved onward with its next and subsequent cycles. At this point conventional manage-ment is inclined to take a time-out to review its navel or pursue business-as-usual; losing vital momentum.

» This story aims to underscore that, with a compelling vision-strategy, capable people and effective leadership, it isn’t always necessary to pump money into a start-up…thereby incurring ongoing debt.

» Quite naturally, there’s nothing to stop start-ups from allowing outside investors. However, they could be an eventual financial liability – debt to be repaid and more – and it could mean those investors will desire input on all your financial decisions. Depending on the inclinations of any investor, that could be an asset or a liability, too. As one entrepreneur shared with this writer; “All they wanted to talk about were the numbers, with little or no regard for the business fundamentals and the efforts of those involved.”  Funding through self-generated revenues at the outset naturally encourages a good degree of frugality; whereas outside funding increases the temptation to spend beyond appropriate limits.