No, I\u2019m not talking about Star Trek but rather a common drive amongst leaders that can get them in trouble.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen this drive recently in a couple of different business-owning customers.\u00a0 My definition of it is a fast-acting, emotionally-driven decision.<\/p>\n
I think there is some value to it especially in the early, entrepreneurial stages of a company.\u00a0 Start-ups certainly need to be nimble to compete against larger, established competitors with deeper pockets.\u00a0 However, the impulse drive can outlive its value if the owner\/founder overuses it as his\/her company grows larger.<\/p>\n
One example is an owner who developed an idea for a new service offering and went full out to establish it.\u00a0 He paid lawyers to help formulate the legal side of the offering, operations people to put it into practice and advertising people to promote it.\u00a0 Unfortunately, he pursued these expensive resources before getting any market feedback or sales feedback on the viability of the offering.\u00a0 Once he reached out for that information, he received data that didn\u2019t support his impulsive decision.<\/p>\n
He rejected the feedback and pressed on anyway.\u00a0 He felt this offering would be wildly successful.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 In fact, he sold zero.\u00a0 It has now disappeared from his service offerings.<\/p>\n
That is a painful lesson in costs, time, effort, etc.\u00a0 The impulse drive has to be tempered has companies mature and grow.\u00a0 Owners have to cede some control to the people they have hired to take the company to the next level.\u00a0 Resist the impulsive decisions that masquerade as entrepreneurial initiatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"