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Critical ingredient in a startup: Though it sounds a bit crass, the quote makes an important point about taking swift decisions in a startup. We always get caught up between strategy and acting fast. In most cases, it is also called being tactical. For a startup, both strategy and tactics go hand in hand. We are forced to take some decisions quickly and have little time to strategise about its wider impact. One may even argue that strategy is a challenge with a scale up rather than early stages of startup.

Maybe it is true of a small business to keep moving straight into deliverables. But a startup is all about scale and ability to grow quickly after a certain stage. Although it is important to move quickly, we ought to stay within the finite lines of strategy and the business plan.

Meaning of the critical ingredient is getting off your butt!

What is the difference between strategy and fire fighting? The debate will continue to engulf us during the early or growth stages of startup. As you can imagine, in a startup, there’s a huge demand to create value, deliver sales and produce results. The last part – producing results is probably the most commonly asked question.

This is really the heart of this quote – the critical ingredient in a startup is producing results and in other words getting off your butt.

The most valuable thing you have as an entrepreneur is your ability to act quickly. Large companies struggle with decision making do to the amount of redtape and bureaucracy. In some cases, this stifles innovation. As a startup, you can bypass that by taking swift actions. Large companies fulfil a wider need of getting stakeholder approval costing time which a startup can exploit. The faster you work towards it, the better chances you have at your startup.

The critical ingredient is – doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer

The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer

–Nolan Bushnell, Entrepreneur

The worst part is when an idea remains an idea

Ideas are often the most powerful asset for an entrepreneur. However, an idea is useless if it doesn’t have the critical ingredient needed for a startup – the motivation to do something. There won’t be any difference between an idle dreamer and an entrepreneur if you don’t take risks. You’re best suited to take risks compared to a large company which struggles with the pace of execution.

Find a way/strategy to arrive at decisions quickly. Follow the powerful strategy of listening to feedback and moving quickly from it. Don’t let perfection delay your progress – it is more important to keep moving to give yourself the best chance of success.