Jack Welch was once asked if he could do something differently what would it be. He replied that the hard decisions he would have done earlier and not waited as long as he did.
Do it earlier. I have learned it the hard way and I'm still in the learning curve. So what could be done earlier?
- selling your new product
- promoting your new venture
- starting your financial round
- penetrating new markets
- preparing for the strategic stretch
You don't need a ready product to approach your clients. Actually the earliest point I have been making a tour with potential customers was when I did have nothing but an idea. No business card or any reputation in that particular business field. But still the tour was worthwhile. People were helpful and I got confirmation of my business idea and great leads.
Being more willing. That's hard. Especially with hard decisions - cutting costs and loses. Still I prefer to do things almost too early than to figure out later that window of opportunity was missed due to slow decision-making. Right or wrong but just do it.