506: How to Instill a Sense of Urgency in Your Business
Explicit content warning
04/21/20 • -1 min
In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to instill a sense of urgency in your business.
In the startup world, the most successful CEOs tend to be the ones that maintain a sense of urgency in order in their business. They react quickly to market changes, develop new products all the time or add new features to existing ones. And having this sense of urgency is key to the success of their startup.
In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the meaning of a sense of urgency, how to react in times of crisis, what makes a CEO good at maintaining intensity at all times and much more.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
00:00 About today’s topic.
00:45 Why this topic was chosen.
01:52 Why Steli knows how to act during a crisis.
02:35 What Steli does during a crisis.
03:22 What Steli struggles with.
04:05 What makes a CEO good at maintaining intensity at all times.
05:06 The meaning of a sense of urgency.
06:25 How to react in times of crisis.
06:55 Why the sales department is an area of most businesses with the most sense of urgency.
08:36 What a sense of urgency means to Steli.
3 Key Points:
- There’s a very different mindset and leadership style as a CEO during wartime versus during peacetime.
- A lot of companies are under some level of threat at the moment.
- I don’t think there’s such a thing as a peacetime CEO.
[0:00:00]
Steli Efti: Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.
[0:00:02]
Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah and today on the Startup Chat we’re going to talk about this idea of having a sense of urgency in your business and instilling it across your business. The definition of this is basically people in the organization, you as an organization, thinking of urgency of execution, urgency as like a sort of either a framework, a mantra, a way of being, that I think is necessary in business and it’s something that I strive towards in my own companies. And there’s usually no better time than like when there’s a pandemic or a crisis to really think through how you can have a greater sense of urgency because you’re kind of forced to at this time. But how can you do that more regularly in your company, in your business, and why is it important? It’s kind of like, I think what we can unpack.
[0:00:58]
Steli Efti: I love it. I just had to think, what a weird statement that’s totally normal to be like, “There’s no better time to think about urgency than during a pandemic.” And it’s like, “Yeah, of course this is [inaudible 00:01:12].”
[0:01:12]
Hiten Shah: Sounds about right, right?
[0:01:13]
Steli Efti: There’s an old business saying that, thy shall move fast during a pandemic. I get it.
[0:01:20]
Hiten Shah: Yeah. I mean, come on. Okay, go on.
[0:01:28]
Steli Efti: So I’ll challenge this, because this episode is actually inspired by our last episode around being a wartime CEO, and I think I know how to act with urgency during crisis. I had been told that I’m particularly effective when things are tough and-
[0:01:49]
Hiten Shah: You know why, right?
[0:01:50]
Steli Efti: Tell me.
[0:01:51]
Hiten Shah: You’re steady, that’s why.
[0:01:53]
Steli Efti: That is true.
[0:01:54]
Hiten Shah: You’re steady. That’s it. You’re just steady, and when you’re steady and everyone else might not be steady or needs that steadiness, you’re there. That’s just who you are. And I think that that’s different. Different in the sense of like, that would be you being able to be calm under pressure. That would be my read on it.
[0:02:19]
Steli Efti: Yeah. So, so there’s some truth to that. I think there’s also something to be said that during a crisis, I know how to make decisions under fire and had creed clarity and execute, not freeze when there’s uncertainty, not freeze when the stakes are really high. I know how to kind of keep moving when the stakes are high, making decisions, making adjustments at focusing people and I’m calm. I’m not somebody that panics in a way, that would ever panic in a way that screams at people or loses mind or acts funny. I have high intensity but I’m pretty calm. But the thing I am struggling with is when there isn’t a crisis or a global pandemic or things aren’t, there isn’t a threat of some kind that ...
In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to instill a sense of urgency in your business.
In the startup world, the most successful CEOs tend to be the ones that maintain a sense of urgency in order in their business. They react quickly to market changes, develop new products all the time or add new features to existing ones. And having this sense of urgency is key to the success of their startup.
In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the meaning of a sense of urgency, how to react in times of crisis, what makes a CEO good at maintaining intensity at all times and much more.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
00:00 About today’s topic.
00:45 Why this topic was chosen.
01:52 Why Steli knows how to act during a crisis.
02:35 What Steli does during a crisis.
03:22 What Steli struggles with.
04:05 What makes a CEO good at maintaining intensity at all times.
05:06 The meaning of a sense of urgency.
06:25 How to react in times of crisis.
06:55 Why the sales department is an area of most businesses with the most sense of urgency.
08:36 What a sense of urgency means to Steli.
3 Key Points:
- There’s a very different mindset and leadership style as a CEO during wartime versus during peacetime.
- A lot of companies are under some level of threat at the moment.
- I don’t think there’s such a thing as a peacetime CEO.
[0:00:00]
Steli Efti: Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.
[0:00:02]
Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah and today on the Startup Chat we’re going to talk about this idea of having a sense of urgency in your business and instilling it across your business. The definition of this is basically people in the organization, you as an organization, thinking of urgency of execution, urgency as like a sort of either a framework, a mantra, a way of being, that I think is necessary in business and it’s something that I strive towards in my own companies. And there’s usually no better time than like when there’s a pandemic or a crisis to really think through how you can have a greater sense of urgency because you’re kind of forced to at this time. But how can you do that more regularly in your company, in your business, and why is it important? It’s kind of like, I think what we can unpack.
[0:00:58]
Steli Efti: I love it. I just had to think, what a weird statement that’s totally normal to be like, “There’s no better time to think about urgency than during a pandemic.” And it’s like, “Yeah, of course this is [inaudible 00:01:12].”
[0:01:12]
Hiten Shah: Sounds about right, right?
[0:01:13]
Steli Efti: There’s an old business saying that, thy shall move fast during a pandemic. I get it.
[0:01:20]
Hiten Shah: Yeah. I mean, come on. Okay, go on.
[0:01:28]
Steli Efti: So I’ll challenge this, because this episode is actually inspired by our last episode around being a wartime CEO, and I think I know how to act with urgency during crisis. I had been told that I’m particularly effective when things are tough and-
[0:01:49]
Hiten Shah: You know why, right?
[0:01:50]
Steli Efti: Tell me.
[0:01:51]
Hiten Shah: You’re steady, that’s why.
[0:01:53]
Steli Efti: That is true.
[0:01:54]
Hiten Shah: You’re steady. That’s it. You’re just steady, and when you’re steady and everyone else might not be steady or needs that steadiness, you’re there. That’s just who you are. And I think that that’s different. Different in the sense of like, that would be you being able to be calm under pressure. That would be my read on it.
[0:02:19]
Steli Efti: Yeah. So, so there’s some truth to that. I think there’s also something to be said that during a crisis, I know how to make decisions under fire and had creed clarity and execute, not freeze when there’s uncertainty, not freeze when the stakes are really high. I know how to kind of keep moving when the stakes are high, making decisions, making adjustments at focusing people and I’m calm. I’m not somebody that panics in a way, that would ever panic in a way that screams at people or loses mind or acts funny. I have high intensity but I’m pretty calm. But the thing I am struggling with is when there isn’t a crisis or a global pandemic or things aren’t, there isn’t a threat of some kind that ...
Previous Episode
505: How to Be a Good Wartime CEO
In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to be a good wartime CEO.
In times of crisis, companies need strong leadership to make some tough decisions that will help them get through this crisis. However, there is a tendency for some CEOs to use the crisis as an excuse to behave badly towards employees and everyone around them.
In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what the concept of a wartime CEO means, why there’s no such thing as a peacetime CEO, the right way to think about this concept and much more.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
00:00 About today’s topic.
00:40 Why this topic was chosen.
01:13 The concept of a wartime CEO.
02:55 Why there’s no such thing as a peacetime CEO.
03:57 How people think about wartime or peacetime in business.
05:07 How your business is always under attack.
05:23 The idea of wartime versus peacetime really means.
06:30 Why context really matters when deciding how to lead.
09:05 The right way to think about this concept.
10:09 How speed is the most important thing during wartime.
3 Key Points:
- There’s a very different mindset and leadership style as a CEO during wartime versus during peacetime.
- A lot of companies are under some level of threat at the moment.
- I don’t think there’s such a thing as a peacetime CEO.
[0:00:01]
Steli Efti: Hey, everybody. This is Steli Efti.
[0:00:03]
Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah.
[0:00:04]
Steli Efti: And today on the Startup Chat we’re going to talk about being a good wartime CEO. What does it take? What does it look like? What is it? How could it be useful to know more about this? You use this framework potentially during these difficult times. So first maybe we’ll break down for the listener the concept of peacetime CEO and wartime CEO. First time I heard about this was Ben Horowitz’s book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things. I think he’s the first one to use this metaphor. I’m not sure if he stole it from somebody else. I haven’t read that book in many years, but something tells me maybe not a bad book to read right now.
[0:00:44]
Hiten Shah: Definitely not.
[0:00:45]
Steli Efti: For some people, it just describes very difficult times, very difficult decisions for a CEO. But the way I remember his breakdown on wartime and peacetime, and then I want to focus on the wartime metaphor is that he basically describes, hey, there’s different phases a company can go through, and during the peacetime for a company, it means the company is not under any direct threat by a competitor, by industry, by markets, by whatever. And it is growing and it’s prospering. And so, it’s a time where you as a CEO, you have to manage that growth, that prosperity, you have to stimulate creativity. And it was describing how for a long time Google was in peacetime, right, not on the really aggressive attack of competition and all that. And there’s a very different mindset and leadership style that’s required during peacetime as a CEO versus wartime. And wartime is the exact opposite. Your company is under direct threat either by a competitor, by an innovation technology industry market economy, or like we are probably right now, the entire world is on fire, we’re in a global pandemic and that might create a ton of economic attacks to the lifeblood of your business. So a lot of companies are under some level of a threat right now. Will we survive this time? How will we survive this time? And wartime CEOs have to be very different in the way they think and manage and they lead their troops during this time. So, I die to hear your thoughts on this, even on this peacetime, wartime framework. Do you like it, do you hate it? And then, let’s maybe unpack a little bit about what it takes to be an effective CEO during these times that maybe is different from others.
[0:02:33]
Hiten Shah: I am actually a big fan of the framework. I have a build on it. I have a build on it, and it’s kind of interesting. So, I don’t think there’s such a thing as peacetime CEO.
[0:02:56]
Steli Efti: Okay.
[0:02:57]
Hiten Shah: I think that’s the conclusion I have come to when I think about that analogy and that content and that way of thinking about it. The reason I would say that is because, if you think about tech tack, which I’m sure a bunch of people who listen are in. Maybe not, just kidding. Definitely so. And some people might not be in. And you think about it, and this analogy applies if there is any peace to ...
Next Episode
507: How to Stop Your Customers From Churning During COVID-19?
In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to stop your customers from churning during COVID-19.
During a crisis like the COVID pandemic, it is to be expected that a lot of your customers will cancel their service with you. However, there are some things you can do to reduce the rate at which your customers cancel.
In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about why you should always be working hard to improve your retention, what you shouldn’t be doing during this crisis, what to do to stop churn in this crisis and much more.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
00:00 About the topic of today’s episode
00:27 Why this topic was chosen.
01:10 Why churn is to be expected.
01:24 Why you should always be working hard to improve your retention.
01:34 What you shouldn’t be doing during this crisis.
03:00 Why you shouldn’t be lazy about trying to stop churn.
03:21 What to do to stop churn in this crisis.
04:10 The importance of talking to your customers.
05:43 Some practical ideas to help you stop churn.
07:58 How people’s feeling has been changing over time.
3 Key Points:
- We have to expect that some amount of churn is unstoppable.
- You should always be working hard to improve your retention.
- You shouldn’t be lazy about trying to stop churn.
[0:00:00]
Steli Efti: Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.
[0:00:02]
Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah and today on the Startup Chat we’re going to talk about this idea of having a sense of urgency in your business and instilling it across your business. The definition of this is basically people in the organization, you as an organization, thinking of urgency of execution, urgency as like a sort of either a framework, a mantra, a way of being, that I think is necessary in business and it’s something that I strive towards in my own companies. And there’s usually no better time than like when there’s a pandemic or a crisis to really think through how you can have a greater sense of urgency because you’re kind of forced to at this time. But how can you do that more regularly in your company, in your business, and why is it important? It’s kind of like, I think what we can unpack.
[0:00:58]
Steli Efti: I love it. I just had to think, what a weird statement that’s totally normal to be like, “There’s no better time to think about urgency than during a pandemic.” And it’s like, “Yeah, of course this is [inaudible 00:01:12].”
[0:01:12]
Hiten Shah: Sounds about right, right?
[0:01:13]
Steli Efti: There’s an old business saying that, thy shall move fast during a pandemic. I get it.
[0:01:20]
Hiten Shah: Yeah. I mean, come on. Okay, go on.
[0:01:28]
Steli Efti: So I’ll challenge this, because this episode is actually inspired by our last episode around being a wartime CEO, and I think I know how to act with urgency during crisis. I had been told that I’m particularly effective when things are tough and-
[0:01:49]
Hiten Shah: You know why, right?
[0:01:50]
Steli Efti: Tell me.
[0:01:51]
Hiten Shah: You’re steady, that’s why.
[0:01:53]
Steli Efti: That is true.
[0:01:54]
Hiten Shah: You’re steady. That’s it. You’re just steady, and when you’re steady and everyone else might not be steady or needs that steadiness, you’re there. That’s just who you are. And I think that that’s different. Different in the sense of like, that would be you being able to be calm under pressure. That would be my read on it.
[0:02:19]
Steli Efti: Yeah. So, so there’s some truth to that. I think there’s also something to be said that during a crisis, I know how to make decisions under fire and had creed clarity and execute, not freeze when there’s uncertainty, not freeze when the stakes are really high. I know how to kind of keep moving when the stakes are high, making decisions, making adjustments at focusing people and I’m calm. I’m not somebody that panics in a way, that would ever panic in a way that screams at people or loses mind or acts funny. I have high intensity but I’m pretty calm. But the thing I am struggling with is when there isn’t a crisis or a global pandemic or things aren’t, there isn’t a threat of some kind that I can detect. I don’t keep the same level of intensity and I think that we are at close, ...
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