“透視創(chuàng)業(yè)家”是一個(gè)在線社區(qū)，一些美國創(chuàng)業(yè)界里最有智慧和影響力的創(chuàng)業(yè)大咖會在這里及時(shí)回答關(guān)于創(chuàng)業(yè)和職場的問題。今天為大家分享的是Reincubate的創(chuàng)始人兼CEO艾丹·菲茨帕特里克。

這些年我先后創(chuàng)辦了幾家公司，創(chuàng)業(yè)是一段充滿挑戰(zhàn)但又富有回報(bào)的旅程，我在這個(gè)過程中學(xué)到了一些來之不易的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。我發(fā)現(xiàn)許多針對創(chuàng)業(yè)者的建議往往過于絕對化，陷入了非黑即白的模式，而真相往往是更為微妙的。有些基本的元素——比如一些價(jià)值也是非常重要的，但往往會被忽略。下面是我在創(chuàng)業(yè)歷程中學(xué)到的一些意義最為重大的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

建議有時(shí)是沒用的

市面上有成千上萬的書本和博客都會從方方面面教你怎樣創(chuàng)業(yè)，你也可以直接向一些成功企業(yè)家請教他們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，但是他們的建議并非總是適合你的實(shí)際情況。說到底，從長期看來，自學(xué)才是更有價(jià)值的。

很多大企業(yè)都有一些類似的計(jì)劃，鼓勵(lì)員工直接將他們的建議告訴創(chuàng)業(yè)者。但是在一家公司里有用的流程，未必對另一家公司也有用，特別是如果這兩家公司所處的階段不同。我在其他人的故事中發(fā)現(xiàn)過價(jià)值，也在分享自己的故事的過程中發(fā)現(xiàn)過價(jià)值，而不是直接尋找詳細(xì)的答案。

企業(yè)家并不是另一種人

我并不是一個(gè)“天生特立獨(dú)行的人”，生來也不帶著“企業(yè)家的基因”。和我認(rèn)識的許多其他企業(yè)家一樣，我也曾以為，企業(yè)家精神是給其他人準(zhǔn)備的。我曾以為企業(yè)家都帶有王者之氣，可能我是電視看多了?，F(xiàn)在我認(rèn)為，很多未來的企業(yè)家可能還沒有認(rèn)識到他們的潛能。首先你要知道人人都能成為一個(gè)企業(yè)家，這樣才能使你認(rèn)識到你的潛能。

專注是一種最難的修行

作為企業(yè)的創(chuàng)始人，你必須在企業(yè)的成長過程中擔(dān)負(fù)起企業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)型的職責(zé)。在這個(gè)課題上，我讀過的最好的一句話，是要明白“做企業(yè)”和“做事情”的價(jià)值。一開始創(chuàng)業(yè)的時(shí)候，兢兢業(yè)業(yè)的做事是很重要的。但隨著企業(yè)發(fā)展到下一階段，企業(yè)家一般需要專注于企業(yè)本身。吉姆·柯林斯在其著作《從優(yōu)秀到卓越》中闡述了很多“專注于企業(yè)”的特質(zhì)。

過去幾十年，創(chuàng)業(yè)越來越受到人們的追捧，也被人們奉為一種生活方式。如果過于擔(dān)心失敗，就很難不被分心。比如，你可能聽說某人加入了某個(gè)名聲大噪的創(chuàng)業(yè)俱樂部，從某個(gè)知名風(fēng)投那里拉來了融資，或是認(rèn)識某個(gè)火到不行的創(chuàng)業(yè)大咖。但是你花在追趕競爭對手上的時(shí)間，和花在試圖進(jìn)入某一個(gè)場合上的時(shí)間，本來是可以用在打造一個(gè)產(chǎn)品和一項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)上的，那才是你應(yīng)該擔(dān)心自己會錯(cuò)失的東西。

價(jià)值如果制定得好，可以對構(gòu)建企業(yè)產(chǎn)生巨大幫助

在Reincubate創(chuàng)業(yè)之初時(shí)，我們把整個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)帶到國外度假，花了一個(gè)下午的時(shí)間坐在一起想公司的價(jià)值。這次感覺貌似很好的會議最后得出了一系列陳詞濫調(diào)，它們后來很快就被遺忘了。一直到我讀到凡爾納·哈尼什的《掌握洛克菲爾的習(xí)慣》時(shí)，我才真正理解了核心價(jià)值的力量與用途。

我想到了哪些東西在企業(yè)里對我最重要，然后想辦法讓大家理解我為什么要構(gòu)建它，從而催生出了一套重新定位的價(jià)值，它們在企業(yè)的戰(zhàn)略、產(chǎn)品、招聘和運(yùn)營決策中起了很大作用。這本書已經(jīng)成為企業(yè)最有價(jià)值的投入之一。

與沒有競爭關(guān)系的伙伴之間的關(guān)系可能是極為寶貴的

創(chuàng)業(yè)是一段孤獨(dú)的旅程，當(dāng)面臨一個(gè)新問題的時(shí)候，要找到見解并非總是那么容易。創(chuàng)業(yè)者可能會被財(cái)務(wù)、管理、戰(zhàn)略和士氣等各種問題包圍。你的親人、合作伙伴和朋友，很少能中立地看問題，他們通常迫切地想給你提建議，或者告訴你究竟應(yīng)該怎樣做。不負(fù)責(zé)任的建議是很容易給出的，尤其是在一些危險(xiǎn)的問題上。

我幸運(yùn)地發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)非盈利性學(xué)習(xí)組織——企業(yè)家組織（EO）。我通過EO認(rèn)識了整個(gè)論壇的所有創(chuàng)業(yè)者，我現(xiàn)在經(jīng)常和他們一起分享我的得失，從他們身上學(xué)習(xí)，根據(jù)他們衡量我的績效指標(biāo)。對我來說，它既可以釋放我的壓力，也給我提供了一個(gè)寶貴的學(xué)習(xí)和獲得靈感的資源。

沒有事先驗(yàn)證過的大規(guī)模產(chǎn)品投資往往容易出錯(cuò)

我曾花了100多萬美元建立一家公司，然而卻失敗了，因?yàn)槲移鸪鯖]有測試它的生錢能力。除此之外，還有一些更簡單的失誤也能導(dǎo)致企業(yè)損失大量寶貴的時(shí)間，其至可以拖慢企業(yè)的發(fā)展——比如幾乎沒有做測試，便一次性而不是一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)地更換一個(gè)重要的網(wǎng)站。我在商業(yè)上最成功的項(xiàng)目總是來自那些先花時(shí)間做出簡單原型產(chǎn)品的項(xiàng)目。

每次招聘都想招到完全適合的人是不可能的

心理學(xué)上的鄧寧—克魯格效應(yīng)指的是人們?nèi)狈ψ銐虻募寄芰私庾陨淼牟蛔恪Ｈ绻@個(gè)問題解決得太晚，那么對于員工、他們的同事以及整個(gè)公司都是不公平的，所以解決這個(gè)問題是很重要的。本·霍洛維茨的著作《創(chuàng)業(yè)維艱》為解決這個(gè)問題給出了很多有見解的思考。

在團(tuán)隊(duì)成長的過程中，我學(xué)到了兩個(gè)有用的技巧。首先是要盡可能多、盡可能快地對新招聘進(jìn)來的員工給予信任。新員工被招聘進(jìn)來后，我不會給他們簡單的任務(wù)，而是會分配給他們更富有挑戰(zhàn)性的任務(wù)，并且希望他們能從第一周就產(chǎn)生成果。這會使他們產(chǎn)生一種自主感和成熟感，同時(shí)會直接展示他們自身能力的不足。第二個(gè)技巧是，在員工進(jìn)步的每一個(gè)階段，都簡單地反思一下：現(xiàn)在我對他們已經(jīng)了解了這么多，我還會再次聘用那個(gè)人嗎？

除了以上建議，我的創(chuàng)業(yè)歷程還給我?guī)砹撕芏嗥渌匾慕?jīng)驗(yàn)，而且我相信，以后我也會總結(jié)出更多經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn)。創(chuàng)業(yè)最令人興奮的一點(diǎn)就是你未來還將學(xué)到很多東西——當(dāng)然同時(shí)也會帶來各種挑戰(zhàn)。我很期待學(xué)到新東西，也愿意將我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)分享給需要幫助的人。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

本文作者Aidan Fitzpatrick是Reincubate公司的創(chuàng)始人兼CEO，該公司是iOS、iCloud和應(yīng)用數(shù)據(jù)評估技術(shù)的市場領(lǐng)頭羊。他也是企業(yè)家組織（EO）的英國地區(qū)主席。

譯者：樸成奎

The Entrepreneur Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “What’s something you wish you knew before starting your business?” is written by Aidan Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of Reincubate.

Starting a couple of my own companies over the years has set me on a challenging, but deeply rewarding journey, and I’ve learned a handful of hard-won lessons along the way. Advice for entrepreneurs is often reduced to absolute statements and black-and-white “do’s” and “don’ts,” but I’ve found the truth is more nuanced. Some fundamentals—such as values—are critical, yet often overlooked. Here are the lessons that have meant the most to me on my entrepreneurial journey:

Advice can be unhelpful

There are thousands of incredible books and blogs on the many aspects of building a business, and while it can be tempting to shortcut learning on your own by asking other entrepreneurs what to do, their advice might not always fit. After all, learning on your own is more valuable in the long run.

A number of large companies have programs offering advice from their staffs directly to startups. But processes that work well in one company may not work in another, especially one that’s at a different stage. I have found value in seeking out stories of others’ experiences, as well as sharing my own, rather than looking for explicit answers.

Entrepreneurs aren’t a different breed

I’m not an “intuitive maverick,” born with “the entrepreneur gene.” Like many business owners I’ve met, I used to think that entrepreneurship was for other people. I thought that business owners were domineering personalities. (Perhaps I watched too much TV.) I now believe that many future entrepreneurs don’t yet know their own potential, but understanding that anyone can become an entrepreneur can help you realize what you’re capable of.

Focus is one of the hardest disciplines

As a founder, the role one must carry out in a company changes as the company grows. One of the best phrases I’ve read on the subject was the value of working “on” rather than “in” the business. At the start, it can be important to work on delivery, but to grow to the next stage, an entrepreneur typically has to focus on the business itself. Jim Collins’ book Good to Great illustrates a number of these on-the-business characteristics.

Entrepreneurship has gained increasing profile over recent decades and has come to be celebrated as something of a lifestyle. It’s hard not to get distracted by the fear of missing out. For example, you might know someone who’s involved in the glitziest startup clubs, raising investment from the most popular firms, and connected to the splashiest founders. But as with time spent chasing competitors, time spent getting into a scene is time lost from building a product and a business. That’s what you should fear missing out on.

Values—surfaced well—are a huge help to building an organization

Fairly early on in the journey of building Reincubate, we took the entire team abroad on a company holiday and spent an afternoon coming up with company values. This feel-?good session produced a set of platitudes, which were quickly forgotten. It was only upon reading Verne Harnish’s Mastering the Rockefeller Habits that I came to truly understand the power and utility of core values.

I surfaced what mattered most to me in the business, and worked to understand and communicate more readily why I was building it. This led to a refocused set of values, which have been instrumental in decision-?making around strategy, product, recruitment, and operations. That book has been one of the most valuable inputs for the business.

Relationships with non?competing peers can be incredibly valuable

Entrepreneurship is a lonely journey, and it isn’t always easy to find perspective when faced with a new problem. Entrepreneurs can be beset with challenges around finance, management, strategy, and morale. Family, partners, or friends are rarely neutral, and they’re often eager to advise or tell one exactly what to do. Advice is easy to give without accountability, especially on loaded topics.

I was fortunate to find the nonprofit learning group, Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO). From EO, I gained a forum of peers who I now share my ups and downs with, learn from, and benchmark performance against. For me, this has been both a critical release and a valuable source of learning and inspiration.

Big, unprovable product investments tend to go wrong

I spent over $1 million trying to build a company that failed. I didn’t test its ability to monetize early enough. Even simpler missteps—such as replacing an important website all at once with little testing, rather than bit by bit—can cost valuable time and can set back a company’s progress. My most commercially successful projects have always sprung from the back of simple prototypes, assembled in a few days.

Getting a perfect “fit” with each new hire is impossible

The Dunning-?Kruger effect describes a cognitive bias where individuals lack the skills to understand that they are out of their depth. Addressing this too late is unfair to the employee, their colleagues, and the company, so it’s important to tackle it. Ben Horowitz’s book, The Hard Thing about Hard Things, has a number of insightful reflections on getting this right.

I’ve learned two useful techniques to follow as the team grows. The first is to award new hires with as much trust as possible and as rapidly as possible. Rather than giving them simple tasks, I set more challenging ones and expect them to deliver in their first week. This gives them a sense of autonomy and mastery (two of the three attributes illustrated in Dan Pink’s book, Drive) and gives a real demonstration as to the current limit of their capabilities. The second technique is a simple reflection at each stage as they progress: Would I hire that person again, knowing what I know now?

Aside from these, there have been many other important lessons for me, and I am sure there are more to come. That promise of future learning—and the challenges that will come with it—is one of the most exciting parts of entrepreneurship. I’m looking forward to that learning, and to sharing my experiences with others where I can help them in turn.

Aidan Fitzpatrick is the founder and CEO ofReincubate, the market leader in iOS, iCloud, and app data access technology. He is UK President of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO).