Chapter Nine
Marry Impact, Not Ideas
“Without execution, ‘vision’ is just another word for hallucination.”
—Mark V. Hurd
All of our purpose should be rooted in making an impact. What is the alternative? A great idea. Far too often, we are enamored by a great idea. We start to visualize what it could look like when it comes to fruition. Only after we actually attempt to execute it do we start to realize the imperfections and flaws in “the great idea.” When that moment arises, some of us will sit there and see the beauty in the imperfections. While I, too, believe that we should not disregard an idea or an approach because of one initial setback, I do believe that we should not get strung up on any one particular idea or approach, especially as entrepreneurs or social entrepreneurs.
Iterate, pilot, iterate, pilot, iterate, pilot—every great entrepreneur and innovator knows that this is the process to creating something of true value. In this context, iterate means to collect feedback and improve your existing service or product, and pilot means to sell or try out again. It is very easy to imagine the most successful entrepreneurs as having a monopoly on the right answer. But that would mean Bill Gates woke up one morning and imagined Windows 8, Steve Jobs was in his garage when he imagined the iPhone 6, and Mark Zuckerberg was strolling down the streets of Palo Alto one morning when he imagined the most recent iteration of Facebook. However, we know that it did not happen that way for any of them.
A few years ago, I had this realization that the most successful entrepreneurs and problem solvers do not start with the desired solutions or approaches in mind; they start with the desired impact or the outcome. Then they start to reverse engineer the rest of the process. They have an idea of how to start achieving that desired impact, whether it is a nicely designed phone or a social network, but they do not have the final product fully sketched out. And that is a good thing. It allows them to be fluid with their product and service.
When I visit classrooms, I lead mini thought exercises with students to get them to truly understand what I mean when I talk about starting with the desired impact. I ask kids to imagine they are in New York and would like to get to Washington, D.C. How many different ways could I get there? There are numerous possibilities: I could walk, I could bike, I could take the train, I could fly, I could drive a car, I could take a bus, or I could carpool with a group of other people. In this case, the desired impact or the outcome is getting me to Washington, D.C. Taking the train or the bus or walking are different solutions or approaches. When there are no time or financial constraints, all of those approaches are equal. When we start to factor in reality and add in constraints, depending on the constraint, those approaches are not equal. If I asked for the cheapest way, then the response should be to walk. If I asked for the fastest way, then the response should be to fly. If I asked for the most efficient way, then the answer should be to take the bus or the train.
The solution or the idea we have to eventually solve a problem should be regarded in that same light. We should have an unwavering commitment to solving a desired problem and then be fluid in our approach to solving the problem. The real question we should be asking ourselves is: How do we get to our final product or service? The answer is simple: we need to monitor and evaluate how the end users, whomever they may be, respond to the latest iteration of our product. This is done through observations, surveys, focus groups, informational interviews, calls, etc. As entrepreneurs, we need to decide at what junctures we are going to stop to process the results and iterate to release the next version of our product or service. At Practice Makes Perfect, we do this once a year at the end of the summer. For Apple’s iPhone, right after they release their latest model they begin working on releasing their next one.
Ultimately, evaluating and collecting information to improve our product or service is only worthwhile if we are ready to change our approach. When I originally came up with the mentoring model for Practice Makes Perfect, I decided to pair academically struggling students with higher-achieving near-peer mentors in a 2:1 ratio. It was not until the end of our second summer that we noticed how arbitrarily we picked the pairings. I remember talking to one of our advisors and suggesting a 1:1 ratio, and his response was, “One-on-one is awkward,” so we decided to go with a two-on-one approach. The decision-making process in the latter half was not any better than it had been in the former case.
During the summer of 2013, we threw all of our arbitrary assumptions out the window and paired kids in groups that ranged from one-on-one to six-on-one to decide what the optimal group size was. We were only interested in having the maximum impact on the lives of the students we served. To our surprise, we found that four-on-one was the optimal group size, and that three-on-one and five-on-one were better than one-on-one.
Once we knew that those larger group sizes drove better outcomes, the next step was to figure out why—especially since it did not make sense intuitively at first. We discovered that when there were smaller group sizes there were more mentors in the classes and they would talk to one another once their scholars finished their work, which made classroom management tougher for our teachers. When the group sizes were a little larger, the mentors felt like teacher’s assistants and the kids would compete amongst one another in their groups to get their work done.
Every summer since then, we have paid close attention to the feedback we received from all of the stakeholders who benefit from our program. We also realized we cannot just make changes in isolation. When we adjust our program schedule or change the curriculum, we monitor what the impact is on our programs.
The feedback over the years has influenced other parts of our programs as well. Over time, we have changed the number of college students in the classes, modified the role of the teacher, manipulated the duration of our programs, and revised our content. We have started and stopped a merit-pay program, and we have integrated home visits and modified them to meet the constraints that we are dealt. Sometimes we find that one approach works really well when our organization is a certain size; however, as we scale, that approach is no longer the best approach. As we continue to grow and scale our impact, we will continue to monitor the progress of our summer solution and iterate. That is because we are married to the impact and not the idea.
Chapter Ten
Entrepreneur Mindset
“Conquer your mind and conquer the world.”
—Guru Nanak
In the process of building Practice Makes Perfect, I’ve realized there are three different mindsets I’ve adopted that have been vital to my success: going in the right direction, not now, and being wrong.
The “this is the right direction” mindset:The right direction mindset is necessary when decisions have to be made with time constraints. It is an especially important mindset at times of uncertainty, which, for every entrepreneur I know, happens a lot. This mindset works well when the team or company is smaller and you’re making decisions within your realm of expertise. You also need this mindset to take your vision from ideation to existence. That said, be careful getting too caught up in this mindset as your team grows. You will have other smart leaders (if you’re hiring correctly), and the right direction needs to come from the group. In my experience, it isn’t the right answer that typically works out. The answer or direction the group believes in, whether it is flawed or not, tends be the right answer.
The “no doesn’t mean ‘no’; it just means ‘not now’” mindset: First of all, you can’t take “no” personally. Getting rejected is part of the entrepreneurial journey and learning process. I remember counting noes at one point early on in my journey and noticed that I was receiving ninety-seven noes for every three yeses. We kept moving and didn’t let the negativity distract us. Eventually we would get yeses.
In the beginning, many of the noes really were “not nows.” In future years, we converted several people who had previ
ously said no to say yes.
Be careful not to get too carried away. No definitely does NOT mean yes or maybe. If you push too hard, you can alienate people and sever relationships. Instead, I’d suggest that when people say no you give them some space and later ask them for feedback on why they said it, if it wasn’t inherently obvious. Use questions like: “Why did you decide against purchasing our product or using our service?” and “What would make you, or would’ve made you, a yes?
The “I was wrong” mindset:No one wants to work for someone who thinks they are perfect and never admits when they are wrong. It shows a strong sense of insecurity and lack of awareness. The worst thing about being wrong and not owning up to it is that it sets the wrong precedent internally. If you, as the leader, don’t admit when you’re wrong, then others, internally, may never do it either. This means people will not be growing from their mistakes. At times, small issues may snowball into even bigger concerns.
There are also positive outcomes to admitting when you’re wrong. For one, it shows a bit of vulnerability. It humanizes you. Also, owning your mistakes can be very powerful for company culture and getting help.
But be careful not to get too carried away with admitting when you’re wrong. Not many people want to work for someone who is always wrong.
Chapter Eleven
Dealing with Roadblocks
“Obstacles are put in your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for.”
—Author unknown
Every stage of running a company has its own highs and lows. In the very beginning, you’re bootstrapping as you test your assumptions and build a minimum viable product. After getting a product out there and gauging feedback, you need to learn how and when to pivot. Once you pass the pilot phase and you start hiring people, you learn about the challenges associated with attracting, retaining, and rewarding talented individuals. In all of these areas, there are well-documented practices on how to avoid immediate failure. But what happens when your business is moving smoothly, the vision for the future is crystal clear, and you hit a wall?
A wall in this case isn’t a funding gap or crisis; rather, think of it as a moment in time where you have a few options for next steps that all seem relatively attractive, but you can’t support any of them with any logical reason. The reasoning needs to not only be rational but it has to make sense for your company too.
We recently had one of those moments at Practice Makes Perfect. Our goal of building a national summer school model was crystal clear, but the next step toward expansion in our growth phase was not. Did we need to replicate our model in every major city? Did we need to fully concentrate in a single state or city? There have been successful organizations that have done both. And after weeks of conversations held internally and externally, we broke through the wall and put together a game plan that made our next steps as clear as our end goal.
Here’s how you can break through the wall and feel confident:
Define the roadblock. What is your exact challenge? What are the obvious options? The most important things we did were reflecting and clearly articulating what we were up against. We then spent time talking and mapping the potential routes we could take. This makes it a lot easier to find a solution and gather feedback.
Identify the experts in your market or space. This is where your board, investors, and extended network are most important. The easiest way for them to add value is by opening doors. Who are the thought leaders in your space? Once you’ve identified them, put in some extra effort identifying how you want to articulate the roadblock. The true experts in your field will have very little time, and you will have to get straight to the point. The only caveat here is that you don’t want the list of people you need to speak with to be too long. For us, three to five was a good number.
Don’t rush the decision. Hopefully, you do not face too many roadblocks or walls in the really early days of starting your business. In this case, time needs to be your best friend, since this decision impacts your organization’s strategic approach to scale and growth. Don’t impose a deadline for when you need to come to a conclusion. When you have given it enough thought and spoken to enough experts, the right path for your business will become apparent.
The one reoccurring piece of advice we have received from our most knowledgeable mentors has been that you know your business better than anyone else. This is another defining moment where you have to make a decision with adequate information to ensure your company continues to thrive.
Chapter Twelve
Avoiding Burnouts
“Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first,
it means me too.”
—L. R. Knost
I believe the number one reason so many of the people in my purpose-driven realm have burned out is because they did not align their life expectations with what their purpose-driven work could provide. I know this because I have grappled with this along my journey.
A mentor of mine once told me that, in order to sustain the passion that I needed to have for my work, I needed to make sure I was sustaining myself. This is often a sore subject when it comes to dealing with social entrepreneurs and nonprofit founders because it deals with money, which is the last of the motivations on our list for why we committed to doing this work. At some point, we have to face the pressures of reality and understand that the things we want for ourselves and others have a price.
My mentor asked me simple questions about the number of kids I would like to have one day, how I would like to raise my family (middle class, upper-middle class, rich, etc.), whether I would send my kids to public school or private school, how much I would have to support my mom with her retirement, and how much income I wanted when I retired. To my surprise, I had answers for most of those questions. They might not have been final or exact, but I had an idea. He then asked me to do the math.
In 2009, Time magazine estimated the cost of raising a kid from birth to college was just north of $1 million. If you want to have three or four kids, that is a price tag of almost $5 million on its own. Buying a house in an upper-middle-class neighborhood could cost almost $1 million. If you factor in retirement and trying to sustain a six-figure income, that would mean putting away almost $2 million in retirement per person. The numbers quickly add up.
For weeks, I was saddled with frustration. I knew that as the executive director of Practice Makes Perfect I would never earn what I needed to achieve the goals and desires I wanted for myself and my family. Before I knew it, the work I loved so much, that had meant so much to me, started to mean less. There were moments when I resented my work because it meant I would never fulfill my wants. Like many of my friends, I toyed with the idea of leaving my work in search of work that might be less fulfilling, less purpose-driven, but might allow me to earn what I needed to bring to fruition the things I’ve wanted for myself and for my family my entire life.
After months of frustration, I finally understood why so many of my older peers in the space had not lasted very long. It was not that they did not love their work or that they were no longer able to carry it out; it was that they probably came to the realization I came to about their wants and their needs much sooner than I did, and because they were older than I was, they had less time to respond and react to their realizations.
When you reach the juncture I hit, you have one of four decisions to make. The first decision you could make is to keep things the way they are. You realize that you will never achieve the things you want for yourself and your family. If you do this, you will resent your work for depriving of you those wants you’ve had your entire life and you will burnout. The second decision you could make is to suppress your wants. You can reevaluate the things you have wanted your entire life and calibrate them to fall in line with what you are capable of achieving on the income you can reasonably expect to earn, which will help you avoid burning out and continue to keep you s
atisfied with your life. The third decision you can make is to restructure what you are doing in a way that will allow you to achieve what you’ve wanted and potentially leave the work you were so passionate behind you and potentially also cause you to burnout. The last decision, albeit the riskiest to consider, is to evolve what you’re doing to meet your needs and your wants, which will help you avoid burning out as well.
I had an incredible amount of conviction in why I was doing the work I was carrying out. It ultimately led me to take Practice Makes Perfect private. I made the fourth decision. For people with less of an appetite for risk, I advise them to consider the second decision. I did not succumb to the belief that doing good means that you can’t do well for yourself and that doing well for yourself means that you can’t do good for the world. I did not accept the idea that you have to do well now so you can do good later in your life. I put my faith into my own hands and have continued to scale Practice Makes Perfect with a million plus in revenue each year for the last three years. In the process, I risked losing everything I had built. For some strange reason, I had faith it would all work out.
The first half of this chapter covered the mental part of the burnout journey. This second part is about the tactical part of avoiding burnout.
I am very far from having what some might consider an ideal work/life balance. Every once in a while, a friend or acquaintance asks how I avoid burning out. From my experience building Practice Makes Perfect from scratch, I know it takes a lot of time, energy, and sacrifice. The day you sign up to be an entrepreneur you are asking to be pushed toward burnout. Here’s what I’ve learned that helps avoid burnouts:
The Purpose-Driven Social Entrepreneur Page 5
