Flywheel
The last few weeks I’ve focused on struggles I’ve had since I’ve left the comfy slippers of my corporate career – Imposter syndrome, (lack of) Focus and Risk. Now I want to share a few concepts that are helping me with this leap into the unknown. I hope they will help you too.
The theory
Starting with the Flywheel. An engineering concept that’s been hijacked by the world of business, especially startups; one which was helpful to me at bp and continues to help me as I build my own business.
A flywheel has extraordinary power once it gains momentum. At first it’s hard to move, battling inertia and friction, but gradually it moves faster and becomes easier – through a series of small pushes, rather than one single slog. It brings all the benefits of compounding for less and less effort.
Jim Collins explains it better:
And here’s one of Jim’s examples for Vanguard asset management:
At bp
When I was at bp I had five years in the wilderness known as Finance. I landed there as a “development opportunity” in one of bp’s many reorganisations. From planning and performance, I found myself submitting tax returns and posting journal entries and accruals.
And even though I loathed it, I became quite good at it. The trouble was I had to work so blinking hard to be good at it I was burning out. Meanwhile, others around me were flying, naturally, without much effort.
Eventually I got back into marketing and once more I flew. Life again became easier, I worked less hard to deliver good work – and I loved it and learnt loads. That was when I realised:
Post bp
Since I’ve left bp I’ve thought a lot about my flywheel outside of the corporate – and particularly whether I can build a flywheel for Familiarize.
One of the coolest things that distinguishes successful businesses like Google, Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, Slack etc is their network effects which create their flywheels. Following Metcalfe’s Law, the power and value of the network increases each time a new node or user is added.
Forcing me to create network effects for Familiarize is a great challenge; there are more than ten different types from physical (unlikely for Familiarize) to bandwagon (more likely for Familiarize), though the former has stronger network effects than the latter.
But there’s more. I believe the flywheel is also a good concept for us personally – particularly when we’re going through significant change, leaving behind a world we know well and embarking on something new.
You know those days (or even weeks and months) when everything seems hard, a slog. Like you’re pushing and friction after friction seems to block you. It feels cumulative. That’s the flywheel too. But without forward motion. You’re standing still. And it’s exhausting.
Understanding this is key to change.
I think the flywheel can probably only start to move when three things are in place:
The flywheel is a metaphor for how we succeed – as people and as businesses. See if any of these tips help you use it:
Draw your own personal flywheel. I am going to have a go this week. Understand each element and what it needs in order to create forward motion.
Look at the people around you - who helps move your flywheel? We all need help, especially to get going. Knowing who motivates you is important, but maybe more important is understanding what they say or do, as this might be an element in your flywheel – something you can scale and begin to do for yourself.
Look back at times when you didn’t feel your best. What were the frictions that slowed your flywheel? For me it’s being knocked back, retreating into myself and dropping things. Look at the elements in your flywheel, do some seem to take more effort than others?
Read up on network effects and how you can design them into your business to grow faster (and cheaper) and protect your business. See nfx.com for great material.
Share your flywheel – it could help people understand how they can help you sustain momentum and grow. Your business flywheel might be sensitive, but share it with select audiences who are helping you deliver your mission – investors, prospective talent, partners. Encourage them to challenge you to become even better.
Take some time to define your flywheel – one for yourself and one for your business. It’s simply common-sense to work on things you’re driven to progress – because of enjoyment, talent, purpose – you’ll find life and your new venture become easier and more rewarding.
I’m fascinated to see how you get on developing your own flywheels. I’ll share mine on Instagram this week; I’d love to see yours!