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There is no substitute to be where the business is. CEOs need to have first-hand experience of the market. It dramatically reduces the learning time. It also reduces some of the major risks that can lead to failures.
I stayed away from the US market that was to be our mainstay. I kept hoping my partners will learn to sell even though selling was my strength. Little did I realize that start-ups have little learning time. Getting off course by six months is equivalent to almost two years of a stable state company. It almost cost me my whole business.
Today businesses allow hardly any time to fix the problems of your customers. Start-ups get even less time since the customer is not so confident of the business’ ability to consistently deliver. Being located where your customer is enabled one to quickly identify, analyze and solve problems as they arise. It is also mandatory for you and your other leaders to be physically present with the customers when things are not going well. “A small company is imagined to be more fragile than a big one. Thus, the customer’s patience runs out much faster. That makes your runway to fix problems much shorter. I have found it difficult to make even senior managers who come from larger companies understand this basic fact since they are used to the luxury of much more time.
In conclusion, “be where your customer is, whether to create the first opportunity or to fix a problem !!!”
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