Every company knows if it is providing a useful service, (according to a data-driven philosophy to create the highest value it can), and what makes a team and how it should be managed. But there is one question remaining: Is a data-driven philosophy enough to accomplish the vision, respecting the company values?
The answer is: No.
Since it could have multiple teams, a startup can develop its product, service, and external activities in many ways. By this time the correct choice is the data-driven philosophy. But this external philosophy or the company values are not enough to define the internal company
processes.
To sustain the company values, structure, and objectives an internal working philosophy must be defined. The best concept here is the project-driven company.
The project-driven philosophy is to consider everything the startup teams are working with as a project. So, every action taken internally is a project to accomplish or to help accomplish (with other company projects) the startup objectives.
It is a common mistake to focus on startup projects only in the product development phase. This philosophy considers everything in a project—e.g., the summer marketing campaign launch, hiring a new tech member, and the new product feature upgrade.
When we analyze how to properly define the company’s objectives and goals, we talk about different actions that must be taken to accomplish monthly objectives. These actions are the projects the company must develop to reach its monthly, annual, and final objectives.
There are many ways to create a project-driven company. Following this article, every project should be proposed for any startup member.
This proposal should be studied by the management and financial team. Its approval makes the project viable, and it is sent to the PMO (transversal company area that provides, controls, and maintains resources and results to every project in the startup)
How are these teams composed? As we have already discussed, with our team’s structures and processes the startup is ready to work internally in a project-driven way and following the intelligence of a data-driven development philosophy.
What is the master concept of this company development? Is it Agility? The master concept behind creating a startup is always Innovation.
Companies should think very carefully about innovation in a startup environment. Innovation is not about creating the most high-tech product and to sell it in your company. Several startups have become unicorns without having any patent or creating difficult engineering processes.
To innovate in a company is to re-think the way something is done and to adapt it to be more efficient, beneficial, sustainable, and scalable.
There is a well-known assumption that innovation requires a lot of financial investment, and this is not true.
Every company must innovate to remain competitive. The tough decision is to choose the right timing and type of innovation that a company needs in each moment.
Every innovation is developed by the company team, so, a good first step would be to promote the internal approval of them. However, there might be another step before the implantation of disruptive innovation in a company. It is very advisable to start with the people management or leadership. This is how a company culture can be implanted in their own teams before bigger steps are taken. It can be a cheaper way to innovate and to promote company branding without changing products or identity.
Let’s look at CHECKTOBUILD, Spanish Startup, as an example. They decided to face the COVID-19 situation with internal innovation at company management processes. Specifically, they identified the concept of Leadership as the most important one in the internal and external branding in crisis time and as a result, they have developed the following management process: PAIR LEADERSHIP
Pair Leadership is a management methodology that replicates the operative tasks of the “Pair programming” software development strategy (in the XP framework) in the management area.
Every area of the Company will be led by two people. When making decisions and taking on management responsibilities, the responsible human resource can take advice from an equal and objective observer for every decision.
These two roles in every department will be switched between the two people for every project. It will be their own decision, knowing their motivation for the project. An innovation like this creates value around the concept of Leadership, the last vital issue in an AGILE culture. Every new hire in abcompany area means that an experienced employee will be the leader of the new one in terms of Pair Leadership.
The company is as important as the service it provides; be AGILE, dynamic, willing to change… and create a strong identity through the current values of AGIL.
People are no longer resources; people are the key to the success of the company.
Article by:
C2B – Check To Build
By: Alejandro Ruiz Lara / CEO of CHECKTOBUILD
CHECKTOBUILD is a construction technology startup. Our mission is to innovate in construction management and inspection solutions by applying artificial intelligence and 3D models. We get the most out of your engineering and construction BIM projects so that you construction process are more efficient, intuitive, and sustainable.
Or visit our site www.checktobuild.com
