10 THINGS TO BE PARANOID ABOUT
10
Things to Be Paranoid About As An Entrepreneur
The biggest thinkers are usually the most paranoid , and the smallest thinkers are the least . Andy Grove was a Hungarian immigrant , an entrepreneur , and one of the founders of Intel . He was known as the guy that drove the growth phase of Silicon Valley . He was respected among all CEOs . He wrote a book titled Only the Paranoid Survive . I highly recommend this book . Even though it ’ s an older book and some of its stories may not be relevant today , the concepts are still relevant . A lot of people say that it ’ s not good to be paranoid , but I think paranoia is absolutely necessary for entrepreneurs .
ENTREPRENEURS WHO ARE THE BIGGEST THINKERS ARE USUALLY THE MOST PARANOID . THOSE WHO ARE THE SMALLEST THINKERS ARE NORMALLY THE LEAST PARANOID .
Here are ten things to be paranoid about as an entrepreneur :
# 1 : SPEED OF IMPLEMENTATION Speed of implementation is probably at the top of my list of things for entrepreneurs to be paranoid about . What do I mean by speed ? I mean how quickly we implement effective ideas .
However , it is possible to move too quickly and do things abruptly . There are instances where you need to take your time and be more diligent so you don ’ t lose $ 728,000 on a project that you ’ re working on .
Here are some examples :
• Speed of delivery for customers
• Speed of delivery for partners and vendors
• Speed on how quickly you get back to customers and other people
• Speed on emails
• Speed on placement
• Speed on purchases , how long it takes , how easy it is for the buyer , and how quickly the product is delivered
• Speed on how quickly it takes for a loan to be underwritten
Everything comes back to speed . The biggest companies in the world that became way too thick did so because at one point , speed was very critical . But they ’ ve become flat because speed is no longer a priority for them . They forgot about being paranoid about the speed .
# 2 : TIME You don ’ t have as much of it as you think you do . One of time ’ s best friends to a paranoid entrepreneur is preparation . Learning to delegate the $ 10-an-hour jobs and staying focused on the vital role you play in your company is the best way to be effective with your time .
# 3 : DEADLINES I ’ m paranoid about deadlines . “ Are we going to hit this deadline ?” “ Is this thing going to get done ?” It ’ s similar to time , but different because time can be so general .
If you make an announcement that something is going to launch at a particular time , how paranoid are you that the launch is going to take place ? How does the team feel about that deadline not being met ? What are you doing to make sure the deadlines are met ?
# 4 : INTERNAL SYSTEMS How efficient are your internal systems ? What type of product are your internal systems producing ? Are they the best they can be ? Is the experience that results from your internal systems the best it can be ?
What needs to be adjusted in your internal systems to make things more efficient , faster , and more streamlined ? Can your systems be duplicated ? Can anybody do them ?
If you hired another person , could they come in and immediately do exactly what the person who was there three-and-a-half years was doing ?
How efficient are your internal systems ? Do they work well together ? Do things run smoothly , without glitches ?
You need to be paranoid about your internal systems .
# 5 : INNOVATION You need to feel a lot of paranoia about innovation . A lot of big companies aren ’ t paranoid about innovation because they don ’ t ever think they ’ ll be passed up . They are typically extremely arrogant and cocky . Then , a younger company comes along and recognizes it isn ’ t the best and it hasn ’ t arrived yet . It recognizes that the other company is bigger and better . But the younger company is hungry . It ’ s ready to fight . It wants to win .
You have to ask if you have an appropriate level of paranoia on whether innovation is still taking place in your company , or if you ’ re doing business as usual .
# 6 : ENERGY Do you still have the same enthusiasm and excitement you used to have , or are you getting too content because you ’ ve had way too many victories ? You need to be paranoid about keeping your energy at the highest level , such that other people want to be around you and emulate you .
12 | FALL 2016