Support But The Execution: I have often written about the fact that goals are important for founders. Because only when you know the dream, can you think about how to achieve it. But many of them need help. But that doesn’t always work either. So here are a few tips for dealing with people who offer certain assistance.
Support But The Execution: A Typical Situation And The Problem Support
This situation is typical: Founders have an idea of selling their products. You may also have identified a person who can help you with this. But now they face a problem. Because they know what they want to achieve at the end, namely the distribution of their product, but they don’t know exactly how the people identified as helpers are supposed to support them in achieving their own goals.
It leaves a vague feeling that these people might be necessary somehow. The problem is the support. Founders often turn to others because they want to ask for their help. I experience that all the time. What they specifically want, however, they cannot formulate. Worse still: the supporters should somehow find out for themselves how they can help.
The Difference Between Action And State
In his book “You do what I want,” Volker Kitz describes it so beautifully: An action is something different from a state. The state is what is ultimate to be achieved. The act is what the support person is specifically supposed to do. Either the desired state is already reached through the action, or the movement brings a partial goal on the way to the final shape. People always carry out activities, not states. States, in turn, are reached through actions. And so that it is clear what is wanted, they have to be as specific as possible.
Founders should not ask mentors or investors for general or unspecific support. It is much better to say clearly what the person should do exactly: “Please contact Frank Thelen before his book presentation at Dussmann so that we can be introduced to him during the previous reading for guests.”
Because this is a straightforward action required of a person and with which something is to be started. Of course, I am assuming that the person is also able and fundamentally willing to comply with this request.
A Warning Of Intermediate Destinations
At this point, however, I have to warn briefly about intermediate goals, or rather: before looking at intermediate goals. They are often minimal. For example, I experience time and again that I am asked about the books I have written and that the person who speaks to me also wants to write one.
Of course, I’m pleased about that. But when I then ask what exactly I can do, I am often asked if I could support the book project. I can usually do that! But unfortunately, I am not told how that should be done in a specific case. It is often so challenging to describe intermediate goals because the company is not held in high esteem.
In the example with the book project, it is much more glamorous to talk about the finished book than about how to get there, through contacting an agent and publisher, pitching the book idea, and the necessary usable presentation to write the manuscript as well the correction.
My Recommendation: The Means Of Looking Back
These are all intermediate goals to the final state, namely the finished book. But they are also tedious and do not arouse as much enthusiasm as a finished book that you hold in your hand. So that founders don’t make the mistake of losing sight of intermediate goals because of a high-end plan, I recommend looking back. It is assumed that the end goal, i.e., the intended state, has already been achieved.
Based on this, it will now be checked which intermediate goals were necessary to achieve them – going back to the present day. In the best case, no intermediate step is forgotten, and each of these intermediate steps can be assigned a person and a specific action to achieve.
Conclusion: This Is How You Can Achieve Your Goals With The Support
Goals are significant for founders. Because through them, the way to them becomes recognizable. However, these goals cannot always be achieved directly. Instead, it needs the help of other people. However, for them to help at all, an action to be carried out must be formulated for them.
This is achieved by using a verb within the framework of the formulation – i.e., a “do-word” – and the target person becomes the subject of the sentence, i.e., the person who is being addressed. Then that person needs to be able and willing to act.
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