Grit & Hustle vs Business Process

Sticking to the business process or finding the best way to get things done?

Or I have set up something new and profitable through sheer grit, hustle and determination but now I need the business process to scale it up; Where does grit and hustle stop and business process start ?

I have been through both these phases in my career and if both these questions are not handled correctly it will lead to both personal despair and professional ruin. Grit and Hustle are the hallmarks of any career but more often than not these sprinters come up against the above two questions at some part of their career.

In this article, I will attempt to answer both the questions which I have raised and how we can use the business process as a friend whilst pushing to achieve our goals.

Should I stick to the business process or find the best way to get things done?

In the ideal world, the business processes embedded in the organization’s DNA should be the best way of getting things done. But in the real world that is not often the case. This happens because of the following reasons:

• We live in an agile world: What was right yesterday is no longer valid or worse yet wrong today. Organizations especially large ones have difficulty in managing the business process fast enough to keep abreast of changing trends in this VUCA world.
• Goals vs Execution mismatch: Goals have to be created keeping in mind these four pillars of business: people, process, resources, and values. If you create goals and push them onto people without putting in place the right business processes or resources then the organization’s values have to be compromised for those goals to be achieved. These compromises lead to an Enron/Satyam-like situation.

But nowadays, where stretch goals seem to be the norm and we do not always get the resources to make things happen, how do I achieve my goals if the given business process is insufficient or even outright sabotaging my end game?

What are your choices when someone puts a gun to your head? You take the gun, or you pull out a bigger one. Or, you call their bluff. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things.” – Harvey Specter, Suits

• There is always a way: Do not lose focus. There is always a way. The moment you doubt whether the end goal can be met is the moment you lose all
• Do not compromise on values: Whatever happens do not compromise on both your or your organization’s values. If you do any one of those then that’s a straight line to professional ruin.
• Remember the Theory of Constraints: Identify that limiting factor, that one limiting factor that stands in way of your goals, and keep on improving that until it is no longer a limiting factor
• Look Outside In: Gain that fresh perspective. If that current business process is not helping you achieve that end goal then remember this: you are an outsider trying to make your way in an unknown land. Keep an open mind and look at everything as if it’s brand new. The insights you would get with this mindset are amazing. The best way of doing this is talking to employees who have been in the organization for lesser than three months. The perspectives they provide will be amazing.

And remember when the business process or the status quo is your enemy Grit and hustle is your friend. Also, as in politics, there are no permanent enemies and friends in the corporate world. So use your grit and hustle to make the business process your friend and most importantly don’t break the process; change it or devise a methodology to use it to hit your goals.

Whilst I used to have this conundrum in the early part of my career, once I started taking up managerial positions and started setting up new business verticals, I ran into a different problem.

I have set up something new and profitable through sheer grit, hustle, and determination but now I need the business process to scale it up; Where do grit and hustle stop and business process start?

Consider these scenarios. You are setting up a new department or vertical or even a new company. The first few quarters are amazing. You are a ragtag team of like-minded individuals who have the end vision in place and are using your grit and hustle to get things moving and are achieving tremendous growth.

But pretty soon, your success is setting up the road to failure. As your team expands you are unable to imbibe within the rest of the team your vision and hustle. You need business processes. But that word itself is so boring and contrary to the game of hustle which your team has made as their hallmark of success. How do you make sure that the hustle continues within this business process? Also, it’s a question of letting go. As a Founder/Head you have this conundrum: how do I let go of control and let the business process dictate the company’s growth rather than my hustle and thought process?

In order to make sure that the battle between your grit and hustle and the Business process does not destroy the team/organization, I suggest the following:

• Move from growth-hacker to growth mindset: In the beginning, you were the hacker who was infiltrating the system. Now you are the system. Focus on sustainable long-term growth and start making decisions and creating actions that will still be relevant 5 years down the line and not just now.
• Create a group of trusted lieutenants: You can only influence only so many at one point in time. Create a group of trusted lieutenants who believe in your vision and are as passionate and skilled as you are. Depend upon this group to spread the message of hustle and grit and make it part of the organization’s value structure.
• Create an agile business process with suggestions rather than steadfast rules: Your business process must help the organization succeed not hinder its growth. At the same time, a lack of business processes will lead to chaos on the ground. If you truly believe that your values or the values that you wish your organization has penetrated at least to the mid-level employees then have a flexible business process that provides suggestions on how things should be done rather than rules. If the values are yet to take hold, my suggestion is to err on the side of caution and create steadfast rules within which your employees or teammates can play around

Frankly, for me, the second question is very important. I need to create those business processes which can imbibe my value system and the grit and hustle which can make the new team/company succeed with or without me 5-10 years into the future. If not, whatever I build will eventually fail.

Most importantly, if the second question is answered right and executed in the correct fashion, there will be no reason for the first question. I am in the process of answering the second question. I do know if I have succeeded. Only time will tell. Otherwise, five years from now, one of my team members will be writing a similar article on business processes, and the circle will continue.