1561: Being a Quitter Makes You a Good Entrepreneur by Nir Eyal of Nir And Far on Starting A New Business

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily. Being a Quitter Makes You a Good Entrepreneur by Nir Eyal of NirAndFar.com.

[00:00:08] When we look at successful entrepreneurs, it may appear that they spend their lives relentlessly driving towards a singular goal.

[00:00:15] We assume the path to success was a straight shot, lined with mile markers throughout. In fact, it wasn't.

[00:00:22] Entrepreneurs make it up as they go. The nature and uncertainty of entrepreneurship favors those who can quickly find the most efficient path,

[00:00:29] regardless of where the crowd may be headed. Finding the optimal path, that is, doing only the stuff that matters most and quitting the rest,

[00:00:37] is paramount to an entrepreneur's success. In this final post in my three-part series on the lessons and parallels of running a business

[00:00:44] and running as an athlete, I'll be taking a look at why quitting is as important as commitment.

[00:00:49] Lesson 3. Quit to Win

[00:00:52] Every week I meet with entrepreneurs who are lit up with a passion for their business. Typically, when I'm asked to advise someone,

[00:00:59] I will ask what the top issue is that I could help him or her with. True to form, they begin to describe their social media plan,

[00:01:06] followed by a description of the slides in the investor presentation they will inevitably make.

[00:01:10] They would be hard-pressed to omit the amazing code they are in the process of building, and the great feedback received from a PR agency they met with, and on and on.

[00:01:20] Invariably, and quite clearly, there is a lot on their mind. I usually find myself interrupting the barrage of lofty plans and ask,

[00:01:28] So what's most important right now? What are you working on first?

[00:01:32] It often results in slightly confused looks, hands still aloft in midair from the high-velocity gestures used to describe their plans.

[00:01:41] Well, all of them, I'll hear. That's why I need help.

[00:01:46] This is a telltale sign that I won't be acting as an advisor for that company much longer. Prioritization is an entrepreneur's most important responsibility.

[00:01:55] Startup CEOs need to know what to do and what to quit doing. Doing everything at once doesn't work.

[00:02:01] Andy Ratcliffe, one of my professors in business school and a prominent venture capitalist, once shared a technique he used to weed out founders who haven't learned the critical skill of knowing what to work on and what to quit.

[00:02:12] After hearing the pitch of a business he's interested in, he will email the CEO a litany of questions he wants answered ASAP.

[00:02:20] Unbeknownst to the entrepreneur, Andy intentionally mixes important questions with fluff questions.

[00:02:26] These fluff questions require a good deal of time-wasting research, and so the entrepreneur has some important decisions to make and quick.

[00:02:33] The founder, eager to please the VC and get the investment, has to choose where to best spend his time.

[00:02:39] If the CEO answers all the questions and does all the research requested, he fails the test and Andy passes on the deal.

[00:02:47] If the founder prioritizes correctly, picking the most important questions to address while selectively deprioritizing the rest, he passes the test and goes to the next round of the investment process.

[00:02:58] Instead of trying to do everything all at once, the startup CEO needs to focus on what really matters.

[00:03:04] Like in running, all that matters is the very next step.

[00:03:08] While barefoot running in particular, I scan the road ahead to see what my foot will come in contact with when it hits the pavement.

[00:03:14] By focusing the mind on the very next step, you prioritize what you should be doing right now.

[00:03:20] Do it correctly and quit worrying about everything else.

[00:03:23] The size of your next step depends proportionally on the size of your company.

[00:03:28] In very early companies, you need to focus on baby steps to validate your vision.

[00:03:32] Questions like, how do we get a user to open our app daily?

[00:03:36] Or, how do we get a user to register with their email?

[00:03:39] Those are often the most important next steps.

[00:03:41] For larger companies, next steps include bigger strides.

[00:03:45] The OKR, or Objectives and Key Results method, is one taught to me by our investors at KPCB, and I recommend it for growing companies.

[00:03:53] Just make sure to match the size of your next step with the size of your company.

[00:03:58] Taking too big of a stride can distract you from small steps needed to get you there.

[00:04:02] Keep the steps small and actionable.

[00:04:04] Taking too big of a step often leads to confusion and exhaustion as team members struggle with objectives too far up.

[00:04:11] You're out of reach to know exactly what to do next.

[00:04:13] You'll know your next step is the right size when, like running, it's easy but not effortless.

[00:04:19] It should flow from your organization like one foot following the last.

[00:04:23] People love to see progress, even from small steps.

[00:04:27] This is one of the reasons burndown charts work so well in agile software development.

[00:04:31] But the principle of taking small steps along a journey can be applied in many situations, in business and in life.

[00:04:38] By taking small, attainable, and thoughtful steps in your business, you will increase team motivation and focus.

[00:04:44] Successful people thrive on reprioritizing work by quitting some tasks to maintain focus on more important work.

[00:04:51] Don't think too far down the road to the finish line.

[00:04:54] Just keep moving forward.

[00:04:56] Like running barefoot, successful entrepreneurs follow their feet.

[00:05:03] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:05:05] Being a Quitter Makes You a Good Entrepreneur by Nir Eyal of NirandFar.com

[00:05:10] And thank you to Nir, his name and site, by the way, are spelled N-I-R.

[00:05:16] Nir previously taught as a lecturer in marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business

[00:05:21] and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.

[00:05:24] He currently writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business,

[00:05:30] or as Nir refers to it, behavioral design.

[00:05:33] Since 2003, Nir has co-founded and sold two tech companies

[00:05:37] and was dubbed by the MIT Technology Review as the prophet of habit-forming technology.

[00:05:43] He's also the author of two best-selling books called,

[00:05:46] Hooked, How to Build Habit-Forming Technology,

[00:05:49] and Indistractable, How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.

[00:05:53] Those are both highly reviewed books and you can see them, his blog, and more at NirandFar.com

[00:06:00] Again, N-I-R-and-Far.com

[00:06:02] And I've got that linked in this episode's description.

[00:06:05] But with that, I hope you have a great rest of your day, and I thank you for being here as always.

[00:06:10] And I'll see you back here tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.

[00:06:13] I'll see you back here tomorrow, and I'll see you back here tomorrow, and I'll see you back here.

[00:06:14] I'll see you back here tomorrow, and I'll see you back here now, and I'll see you back there.

[00:06:14] I'll see you back here tomorrow, and I'll see you back here tomorrow, and we'll see you back here.