4 Startup Mistakes: Execution is more important than planning

Execution is more important than planning: It is often said – Great ideas rule the world. I couldn’t agree more! Each of these ideas has transformed the world into an exciting place today. And most times ideas are as simple as using houses to stay instead of hotels (Airbnb) or making taxi bookings easier such as uber.

When these successful ideas came by, I’m sure they were not unique. However, it was the level and quality of execution that has made a difference. We talked about key characteristics of an entrepreneur where problem-solving and execution were rated as top qualities. In this article, we focus on the need to channel these ideas into something stronger and of substance. In fact, a business is nothing but a sophisticated sense of this idea. The idea needs to be developed further through a business plan and executed as a startup to reach its maturity.

Business Plan and idea Vs Execution

As I make this statement, I’m fully aware of the possibility these ideas can create. With the biggest respect to these ideas, they still fall short if not channelled in the right direction. A startup can never be just about the idea alone. It takes hard work, commitment and strategy to make it work.

Hence, the first challenge, I’d throw to anyone having an idea is – How do you make it work? In fact, this is the first thing we talk about in assessing whether your business idea is worth pursuing. And precisely why you need to challenge your business idea.

The business plan gives you an overall picture of your strategy indicating key milestones you can achieve. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that it cannot change. A successful business plan goes through multiple iterations before

Pro Tip: Don’t fall into the trap of over-analysing the idea. Get cracking! Identify its viability, think of business possibilities and the value you can add. If you want to get into the startup world, speed and agility are two key traits that can help your idea fly into something bigger.

4 Common Traps: Execution is more important than planning

If you are a planner, then there is a good chance that you fall under one of these categories of traps. These traps not only hold you back from pushing your startup idea further but also hinder your biggest asset – Agility. A startup is known for its ability and speed to react for circumstances. You sometimes lose out brilliant opportunities if you’re stuck in over planning.

Common traps which prevent you from executing ideas are:

1. Planning for Perfection – You’ll need some space for Uncertainty

The business ideas of a startup are never perfect. They take time and constant tinkering to make it viable. The most important part of a startup business plan is its ability to change. You’ll need to adapt this for the market, product and your fit.

With startup business plans, they can be very volatile. Startups will need to respond to changes either based on customer, market or even product demand. If you are trying to create the perfect business plan or expect that timelines will be met, you’ll be in for a surprise. You may recall that we talked about handling uncertainty as a key trait for a startup founder. If you are stuck in planning, you have very little time to act on it and modify your action based on feedback of the results.

2. Waiting to finish complete product – Execution doesn’t refer to product alone

We talk about this in detail in using MVP – Minimum Viable Product for a startup. Your product will need to undergo multiple iterations before it is ready for the market. Product development cannot be done in a vacuum. You must combine it with market feedback to continually change and adapt. The agile processes are perfectly suited for a startup environment.

You don’t want to be spending 2-3 years building a product only to realise that no one wants it. Make use of the MVP approach to gauge the market interest and your product/market fit. You may have to prepare yourself for a change based on the customer requirements. Instead of spending this time, act now – Execution is more important than planning!

3. Financial Projections are not as important as executing your projects

Projections are often meaningless. They give you an indication of where your business plan is headed. Although it is an exciting thing to do, it sometimes wastes your time. Instead of worrying too much about projections, focus on how you can make incremental improvements to your value proposition.

The only time these projections are useful is your board meetings and investment discussions. Don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean to disrespect them. But, in a startup, too many things can go wrong. Projections give you a direction to decide where your business plan is heading. Don’t read any more into them than you have to. Your best results are in your actions.

4. Responding to every feedback can be a distraction in executing your goals

This is important, yet the unwritten rule of entrepreneurship which is a roadblock holding you back from executing your ideas. Not all feedback is valuable. Devise a mechanism to assess the quality of feedback and ensure that you take in only what’s sensible. If any feedback is hampering your progress, it is either wrong timing or wrong feedback. Don’t be overwhelmed by negative outcomes.

You have to find a way to phase this feedback. You’ll not be able to work on everything at once. Building a startup takes time and is done brick by brick. You’ll, unfortunately, have to turn a blind eye to some problems and keep going ahead. It doesn’t mean that you’re ignoring it, but rather focusing on something more important. This will come back to your approach to prioritisation – How you can use the Moscow principle to prioritise your activities.

In summary, you can notice that we are basing this article on the theme execution is more important than planning. I don’t mean to deride planning in any way. But make sure that you maintain a balance between plan and action.

“Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not.” 

–Michael Dell, Dell Chairman and CEO