What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from
Authors
Authors, like entrepreneurs, agonise
about making their work a big success. But “best-seller obsession” can take
them down the wrong path.
For a long time, I had wanted to
take a writing sabbatical. Then, in 2011, I took the plunge. While my book is
still undergoing editing, the journey has already given me important insights
into shaping new initiatives. Having worked all my professional life in
start-up situations, I realise that every innovation is, quite simply, a story
waiting to be told. To get that story right, entrepreneurs can take a page out
of the writer’s playbook.
When I started writing my book, I
would spend hours idly looking outside the window of my apartment towards the
playground below. I didn’t know where to start. I had “writer’s block”.
As days piled up, the euphoria of my
sabbatical was turning into anxiety.
Then, one night, unable to sleep,
maybe because my mind was so full, I threw caution to the wind and just wrote whatever
came to my mind. There was no stopping me. I realised, I must have breached a
really big barrage because now the story just gushed out. I think that barrage
was me. When I got out of the way, the story flowed unfettered.
The more I wrote, the more it
cleared the way and the more it cleared the way, the more I wanted to write. I
would write until late at night and early in the morning. According to my wife,
my bearded, haggard form revealed a feverish passion that she hadn’t seen since
college.
As the book neared completion,
however, the anxiety returned.
‘Is anything wrong?’ my wife asked
after a few days had passed and the situation hadn’t improved.
‘I guess, I am just anxious for this
book to be a bestseller,’ I said.
She smiled.
‘Can’t the book be the reward
itself?’ she suggested.
‘It can, but…’
‘Tell me something. How many pages
is your book?’ she asked, trying a different approach.
‘About 300 pages, why?’ I enquired.
‘…and how many pages to the end once
the friends reach the destination?’
‘About 15.’
‘So, 285 pages for the road-trip and
15 for the destination.’
‘Yes. So?’
‘Can’t you see, it is the journey
that really matters?’ she asked.
Overcoming writer’s block
Working on an idea can be
overwhelming. There are no rules, no redlines, no boundaries. Just infinite
choices paralysing us much like Buridan’s ass. To first-time authors,
experienced writers prescribe a simple remedy for overcoming writers block:
writing.
The fog does clear but only if we
move forward. Like the game of twenty questions in reverse, moving forward
forces us to make ‘real’ choices that help us recognise our goals with
increasing clarity.
That is because the road to
innovation is not a straight arrow. It is a maze of narrow winding alleys.
Chances are, they may lead you to an unexpected destination but it could be a
vastly better one.
As one of the most prolific
innovators of our times, Steve Jobs, points out, “you can't connect the dots
looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.”
The lesson is simple: don’t worry
about connecting the dots even before you start. As Henry Ford said, “Life is
not a battle that you will lose with one wrong step.” Life is an opportunity.
Avoid Bestseller Obsession
“If you keep fussing about how the
book is going to come out, you will never find your voice,” publishing editors
frequently advise first-time authors.
Similarly, entrepreneurs could be so
obsessed with creating a bestselling product that they might impair their only
chance of success: their original and unprecedented perspective.
To find that unique voice, that
unique perspective and even to find ourselves, we must first strive to get
lost, in a meaningful purpose. We must get out of the way and allow our idea to
evolve unfettered by our dogmas and expectations.
There is a huge difference between
thinking about aims and thinking about consequences. The latter is called
worry, because it is outside our sphere of control.
As long as our efforts are oriented
to meaningful aims (a product that serves people in new ways), we feel
fulfilled. It is only when they become anchored to consequences (money, fame
etc.) that we feel pulled in different directions, we feel anxious and
stressed.
“Writers block” and “best seller
obsession” not only impair our ability to innovate, they make our journey a
burden we must endure rather than an adventure we can enjoy.
If we are prepared to go all the
way, we might find ourselves at a destination that makes even more sense.
Miracles do happen, but only if we make a start and don’t get caught up with
the happy ending.
Venugopal Gupta
Read more at http://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/what-entrepreneurs-can-learn-from-authors-4111#O5ei8BddIpxVmK7W.99
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