“If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large.” —Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO
The entrepreneurial journey has many ups and downs. Uncertainties lie ahead, cash flow is a challenge, you will need to surmount the herculean task of sales and marketing because money needs to be made to pay for running expenses. Among the tall list of daunting necessities to make the business tick and run is recruiting. Everyone needs someone. The left hand bathes the right and the right reciprocate is a popular Akan proverb. But the entrepreneur needs tactfulness in recruiting to ensure growth and sustainability of the enterprise. People are assets and adding more assets should aid growth but should be done tactfully.
In as much as you can do all by yourself, you need to be on the lookout for who joins the ship. All over the entrepreneurial world there are success stories of entities that started with lean teams and blew out to be established business empires. In Ghana, the celebrated UT Group branched out with 4 employees including the founding Chief Executive Officer Prince Kofi Amoabeng who announced his retirement from active managerial role earlier this month. A trip to the entrepreneurial capital of the world- Silicon Valley will show that most established businesses from tech start-ups to innovative disruptors start out with lean teams. Steve Jobs started with his partner Steve Wozniack to create the most valuable brand we have today in the world- Apple. Larry Page and Segrey Brin remind us of the power of lean teams with Google also in the ranks of one of the best valuable brands in the world.
Lean is better.
In recruiting or seeking partners, lean teams are best for start-ups.
#.1 BUREAUCRATIC TENDENCIES ARE CURTAILED
Bureaucratic tendencies are mainly the characteristics of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) which hamper growth and development of such enterprises. It is also a challenge for established private enterprise. Communication get terrible as team size grows. The ability of managers or the start-up founders to coordinate, communicate, and relate with each team member for tasks to be fulfilled is a challenge as the number grows and that affect individual drive and the productivity of the team.
#.2 SAVES TIME
Time is a precious commodity and you are not going to get enough of it, but the most can be made out of it. The chances are you are going to make some awful decisions as a start-up mainly due to inexperience, poor judgment and haste. But don’t substitute it with having a full blown out team like an established entity. The little mistakes made if properly learned from can prove to be the trump card for growth going forward. The team for individual and personal egos on parade during decision time in teams drains the start-up a lot and should be avoided by sticking to a lean team when you are branching out to start a business.
There’s always a tendency as studies have shown for people to over-estimate their ability with large teams and unduly underestimate the performance of their roles in contributing to overall performance of the team. An observation made in one media house I worked with showed that when two producers worked on production, it was executed on time and achieved the desired results while more than three members of the production team went roundabout as what should be down often running behind schedule.
#. 3 SAVES MONEY
The number one challenge on the list of challenges for start-ups is money. Many start-ups according to one research by the Entrepreneur Magazine are cash-tight by the first six months of operations. Large teams suck up the lifeline of the start-up-their funds. Through compensations, allowances, and other running expenses the start-up will have to bear for having the extra team members around. Work smart by delegating and spelling out in clear and concise details the role and responsibilities of the lean members you are operating with. Don’t just leave it to chance that members will follow and do what needs to be done to ensure business survival and growth. Make it a deliberate effort and plan to get the daily work done. Established entities that start-ups seek to emulate and achieve the kinds of results and feats they have achieved make it an intentional plan to spell out roles of team member clearly.
Author: Paa Swanzy-Essuman || p.swanzy@ghanatalksbusiness.com
