Most new Business owners I know feel the challenges of not enough time, money, and resources, and see these as problems rather than a competitive advantage. In reality, based on my experience as a startup advisor and investor, these Constraints lead the best entrepreneurs to the most innovative solutions and new markets otherwise overlooked by their peers and competitors.

For example, the development of reusable rocket technology by SpaceX and Amazon, who could not match NASA supplier budgets, has opened huge new opportunities in space travel and exploration. Many are quick to call this innovation, but I believe it is often just the resourcefulness of a highly motivated owner and team, who never give up in the face of a survival challenge.

I’m often asked for the secret to this attribute in developing a team culture. I believe it all starts with you as a leadership role model, and the mindset and expectations you broadcast to your team. Here are a selection of the key elements that must be included in this mindset and delivery:

1. Incent rather than discourage a change mentality. The biggest constraint is most businesses is a “business as usual” culture. In an effort to stabilize the system and make processes repeatable, team members are often penalized for even suggesting changes. A great incentive is highlighting learning and praising change requests in front of peers.

   Another way of encouraging change is to give team members more autonomy to make their own decisions, without micromanagement by you or other managers. In fact, that feeling of autonomy makes everyone more productive, more loyal, and feel valued.

2. Position challenges as future growth opportunities. This requires reframing problems to motivate creative thinking and finding new approaches. People respond to positives, such as new growth, versus problems implying costs and loss of customers. Foster experiments that don’t require major investments, rather than “big bang” solutions.

   For yourself, be very sensitive to first impressions. These first impressions tend to highlight every challenge and constraint in a negative light, rather than something that can be in all cases a positive opportunity to learn, grow, improve, or adjust for the better.

3. Share constraint info and ask team to help. You won’t be doing anyone any favors by keeping resource challenges and reductions to yourself. Most teams I know will buckle down and get the problem solved and work done if they know you are all in it together. In my experience, too much money or time is a source of downfall of many new businesses.

   Also, being transparent in business and open with communication breeds trust. In every business, trust is the foundation of great teamwork, especially in dealing with constraints and challenges. This also applies to key customers as well as strategic partners.

4. Solicit partners with complementary strengths. Don’t hesitate to look for new business partners who can mitigate your constraints, including distributors, new channels, or even competitors with complementary products. I recommend playing to your strengths, and not trying to fix all your weaknesses without an outside alternative.

   Key to the right partnerships is maintaining a good relationship and collaborating. Real collaboration forces you to articulate and distill what you are great at, where you really need help with resources, and how you can make this a win-win relationship.

5. Adopt alternative business models to address challenges. Many companies these days start with a single online-only purchase model, but later move to providing subscription services and freemium alternatives. Others move to retail with distributors, or add licensing and franchise alternatives. Outsourcing of manufacturing is another option.

6. Expand your thinking to add additional solutions. Most businesses stay focused on their core solution until they face growth stagnation and competition. I encourage you to be proactive, even with constraints, in exploring variations on your base technology that can expand the market. Extend your reach globally with adaptations to new cultures.

With these strategies, it may actually be productive to take resources away from certain projects, to incent innovation and thinking outside the box. Certainly, if you sense that certain teams or members are stuck in the victim stage due to a scarcity of resources, it’s time to make some changes or look at where you are failing. In all cases, a “can-do” mindset is what you must have.

Today every business exists in a world-wide scope of ever-increasing needs and possibilities. How quickly and effectively you respond to these opportunities, despite your own constraints, will determine your survival and success in the increasingly competitive domain of business.

Marty Zwilling

*** First published on Inc.com on 09/19/2023 ***