Jason Foodman is President of Rosy Salon Software and a USCG Licensed 100-Ton Master.
“The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.”―Edmond Gibbon
Conditions can change fast at sea. Waves and weather can be unforgiving. The saltwater is always undrinkable. One minute, a vessel is functioning normally; the next minute, it may be on fire. I remember crossing the Gulf of Mexico for the first time and looking at water in every direction. At that moment, without any land in sight and water in every direction as far as the eye could see, I felt very small. A company just starting up is likewise much smaller than the world it inhabits. When there are no landmarks, one needs a compass. A great captain is prepared, trained, confident and experienced. It takes effort to get to that place, but when problems arise, and they always do, the planning, training and expertise pay off. My time at sea greatly affected and informs my decisions as a business entrepreneur. Below are some of those key points and how they can hopefully help you.
Preparation
A key attribute of a good captain is preparedness. Thorough and coordinated preparation is absolutely essential for handling any sort of hindrance on a voyage. Plans should have backup plans (the quintessential Plan B), and systems should have redundancy. Yes, you can only be ready for so much, but “so much” will often prove to be “enough.” In business, as on the sea, being prepared ultimately comes down to two things: knowledge and planning.
Knowledge
If you’re starting a business, you need to take the time to thoroughly understand your engine. A thorough understanding of the technology powering your business is essential. Knowledge doesn’t stop there, of course; you also need to understand the customer. Who are your customers? How does your technology address its challenges? The more you understand your solution, your customers and the problem you are solving for them, the higher the likelihood of your success. In short, knowledge is direction; direction is purpose.
“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”―Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Early Planning
When contemplating a new business or business initiative, preparation is all about strategy. With consideration of your knowledge of the market and your customers, create a proper course to follow. This roadmap, often in the form of a business plan, will help you organize your thoughts, prevent you from missing key steps and increase your chances of success. For an existing company, financial plans and product plans are key. Plans also give you a barometer of success; you can’t know how far you’ve come or how far you have to go without knowing where you are going.
Crew
Most successful projects and efforts involve a hardy crew. A small team of highly motivated, well-led people can accomplish amazing things. Motivation comes from everyone understanding and being aligned with the objectives, goals and corporate values. Simple tasks may require just one person and their attention, but it’s easy to overlook that many key objectives for a business are complex and require all hands on deck. The team needs to be more than skilled; they need to interpolate and cooperate. They need to get along and work better together than they do apart. Developing that sense of comradery, of a united goal and of a team effort is absolutely crucial—especially when the going gets tough.
Captain
Just as every ship has a captain, every company has a leader. A business is a complex machine with a lot of moving parts; someone has to have overall responsibility. There may be different departments and specialists in different areas, but a good leader should have an excellent understanding of every vital part of the business. Excellence at this level starts with leadership.
Preparing The Ship
Before setting out into the ocean, I always thought a lot about communications, spare parts, deck safety, training, emergency procedures and compliance. Legal and regulatory compliance is easy to overlook, but you don’t want to travel to another country only to be turned back because you didn’t have the proper paperwork.
A good starting point at the genesis of any company or project is communication. You need to acquire and create tools and systems to facilitate communication—internal and external. Ask yourself what tools will create the most seamless communication between your team members internally and with your customers externally. Determine what security and privacy tools you’ll need to ensure customers have a good experience and their data is protected. Evaluate what compliance or legal efforts you need to engage in to ensure the business and its products are in legal compliance in each geography where it operates.
As Jimmy Dean is often credited with saying, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.“
Getting Underway
When a voyage gets underway, a captain must remain vigilant at the helm, keeping the ship correctly on course and ready to handle unexpected obstacles. Businesses require the same level of attention. Without good leadership, a business can quickly become a NUC: a vessel Not Under Command. Someone has to have overall responsibility for the team, for the customers and for the actions of the business, and it’s essential that person has hands on the wheel and is watching the seas. Regular analysis of the business’ metrics helps leaders spot trends related to slow-moving changes, and watching the day-to-day and minute-to-minute activity is necessary to react quickly to fast-moving shifts in your market. In a dynamic environment, a key strength is being able to respond quickly, professionally, flexibly and with a plan in place.
In summary, a successful business requires not only a prepared captain but also good planning and leadership, a focus on operational excellence and a highly motivated, well-trained team. Safe journeys.
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