In a recent blog re(Radical), Seth Godin reminds great entrepreneurs that time can wear away at the foundations on which their ventures were built, and that they have a critical question to ask to ensure their organization’s sustainability and continued growth.
At the congregation down the street, they’re doing things the way they’ve done them for the last few hundred years. Every week, people come, attracted by familiarity, by the family and friends around them, part of a tribe. And just past that building is another one, a different tribe, where the tradition is more than a thousand years old. This is not so different from that big company that used to be an internet startup, but all the original team members have long left the building. Work tomorrow has a lot in common with work yesterday, and the safety of it all is comforting.
Che, Jefferson, Edison, Ford… most of these radicals would not recognize the institutions that have been built over time. The question each of us has to answer about the institution we care about is: Does this place exist to maintain and perpetuate the status quo, or am I here to do the work that the radical founder had in mind when we started?
First principles. The quest for growth, or for change, or for justice. The ability, perhaps the desire, to seek out things that feel risky. All of us are part of organizations that were started by outliers, by radicals, by people who cared more about making a difference than fitting in.
The sparks that ignited the fires that started great entrepreneurial organizations were found within men and women who had a passion to not only bring about change, to be disruptors, but who would make a difference. They chose to live their own life with all its beautiful uniqueness, fully embracing the words of Stephen Covey: “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.“ The businesses they created were built by their daring and courage. Failure was their teacher. Success was found on the other side of fear. They spoke to naysayers the words from a Chinese proverb: “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.“
As days pass, there comes a time great entrepreneurs take that critical momentary pause to assess their work, asking the question: Does this place exist to maintain and perpetuate the status quo, or am I here to do the work that the radical founder had in mind when we started? They test the fire of their original vision and purpose. Are they making the difference they had dreamed? Are their people and organization still ablaze with possibilities of what can be? These great entrepreneurs remember the words of Richelle E. Goodrich: “”Life is a bonfire where everyone else has brought marshmallows, and you””a stick.” Yes, you brought the stick. Re-radical and continue to set the world ablaze. Enjoy the feast!
