Baggage

It’s amazing what happens when you become open to the best ideas, rather than the most credentialed voices. - Morgan Housel

Dependencies appear in all aspects of life and business. Dependencies affect our decisions.

A common mistake that plagues many companies is hiring people who, on the surface, are pretty smart but also bring their own dependencies or baggage, which can be detrimental to growth.

Prior knowledge of how a marketing campaign should be launched or how a product should be developed is helpful, but often, our mindset can be closed to another way. It’s how we have done it before and become dependent on prior knowledge. It is safe to lean on past experiences instead of challenging the status quo. Why risk failure by experimenting with something new?

Dependencies creep into all aspects of business. Product development, tech stack, supply chain, providers, and vendors. All intertwined in a web of connections where if one area is cut, the cascading effects can be crippling.

The most damaging assumption many people make is to do what they have done before just because that’s how they know how to do it. We often rely on strategies and methodologies that have worked in the past due to fear of failure. Theoretically, it is simple to follow a previous playbook. However, what lurks underneath are complexities growing and waiting for the moment when it is too late.

Human behavior and dependencies on prior experiences play a significant role in shaping a startup's trajectory. While providing a safety net of known outcomes, these dependencies can also limit the potential for innovation and adaptation. Our risk aversion can inhibit the exploration of innovative approaches that could potentially achieve more significant results. Biases can also stifle innovation if we are more likely to stick with known pathways rather than explore new options.

Overcoming dependencies on past experiences requires cultural, strategic, and operational changes.

A culture that celebrates failures as learning opportunities will encourage open discussions about failures and what can be learned from them. Helping to reduce the stigma associated with trying new approaches.