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Emotional Investment Leads to Success | LoadProof

 


It’s been said that hindsight is 20/20… and it’s certainly true that taking a moment to ponder the outcomes of the projects and activities of the year is useful. I’ve had wild successes, as well as some equally fantastic failures. As a project manager, I’ve always believe that if my team did not accomplish its goals, it pointed to a failure on my part.  Learning from both the ups and the downs is the first brick in building a firm foundation that will allow an organization to stand the test of time even as change accelerates everything around us.

Technology is evolving quickly and the world is getting smaller. In the best organizations, the work environment is becoming inter generational and multicultural. Some people are even positing that robots and artificial intelligence (AI) will reform the workforce even more.  How can you build a great team even amidst change? How do you avoid failure as much as possible? How do you turn adversity into opportunity in those moments when failure does occur?

Most of us start as individual contributors doing technical (as opposed to strategic). For example, I started as a software developer, focused on the technicalities of the product. I always knew, though, that I aspired to being entrepreneur and I kept that in my mind as I made every decision. When I bought my used Toyota Corolla, I tried to take lessons from the experience about how to buy used machinery or tools once I started my own company. I continuously looked for transferable skills. I even learned from my failed ventures.

A big part of starting a company is solving problems. To do that successfully, you must learn the business. Traditionally, IT experts like me have mostly played supporting role, developing, deploying, or supporting a system. They do get pulled into business discussions but they don’t have direct responsibility for solving business problems. When I started my company, I switched roles to become a functional expert, playing customer-facing roles solving business problems, addressing operational challenges, and understanding the key goals for a business.

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