siliconindia | | May 20159now matter more than others? What kinds of customers are more likely to buy? How do I adapt my business plan or organization so that it is better aligned to the world ahead? I urge all entrepreneurs to introspect and reinvent themselves at this time. A thorough research unlocks intelligence which satisfies the `need of the crowd' or soon to be. May be, instead of following the same old route of mobile application we can choose a different path like health care. For example, There is a surging need to solve the problems of elderly people in hospitals and this can be a perfect start. And how do you get to know? By a rigorous Research, which envisions the need of the hour, unseen and unheard by many. You have to charter your own course. It is fine to gather intelligence from the crowd, but, you must pull off a gameplan that is your very own and unique!S is for StrategyStrategy helps all of us to compete. How do we frame the right strategy around Performance and Risks around your vision? How much performance is good enough as you are getting started ­ should you try to go for the moon, or should you try to build a steady growth trajectory? What should be your risk appetite as we look at your venture ­ and what is your mitigation plans? Counter to popular belief, successful entrepreneurs hate taking risks, rather they are focused on successfully mitigating risks. What are the business model risks, market risks, competitive risks, financial risks that we should worry about or not? Rather than setting unrealistic performance goals, we should set challenging goals and work hard in reducing the risks in pursuing those goals. Modern startups understand how to take risks and drive innovation while keeping their customers in mind. As an entrepreneur, your strategy should attempt to disrupt business models, rather than just build products or services. Apple Watch is a perfect example. How many of you own or will own an Apple watch? ­ Whether there's mass adoption of the technology is a different issue. But, I'm sure we can all agree that Apple is committed to bringing strong design innovation as well as strong ecosystem of partners to transform a 500 year old watch industry. This is exciting. Modern businesses like Apple are disrupting business models, going beyond building good products and delivering services. That is what entrepreneurs must think about, as they define and refine their strategies.Leaders and great product strategists are maniacal about consumer experience, and understand the value of paying attention to every aspect of their customer need. The verbal needs, the non-verbal needs, the obvious needs, the subtle needs.Great products are outcomes of great details and an incessant desire to imagine and fulfill the entire "360 degree" need of one's customers.E is for ExecutionWe have to get better at iterative execution to bring business process and people together by driving actionable insights. Leaders know how to create a powerful framework for execution. I feel that it is as much as a trained science. But how do you turn this thing into science? How you can drive this? Successful entrepreneurs do not come up with the idea upfront, they keep executing and when one doesn't work they try something else. The e-commerce boom in India is the result of a smart strategy properly executed by Flipkart. As the introduction of credit card payment was too early in the Indian market, Flipkart introduced a new strategy of cash on delivery. They did not come up with the idea upfront, they just kept executing and when one thing didn't work they tried something else. Not a Big Ship but an Army of Small Boats When you have to execute, be nimble and be like a startup. Even if you raise 100 million dollars, you don't need to be a `big company', you don't need to become a big ship, and you ought to be tens or hundreds of small boats going to the promised land of success. Being a small team of accountable and driven employees helps stay focused on key initiatives like products, customers, or challenges to seize opportunities or to solve problems. Many times, entrepreneurs just jump into the vision and start executing and hit a wall. Their business does not scale, does not attract capital because their research ­ intelligence ­ strategy and execution is not deep enough. It is less about your initial IDEA, it is more about how you learn to RISE to deliver true performance and outcomes!Great products are outcomes of great details and an incessant desire to imagine and fulfill the entire "360 degree" need of one's customers"
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