El dar sin esperar nada a cambio frente al dar - pedir - exigir

Al aterrizar en una de las más reputadas aceleradoras del panorama nacional, Lanzadera, el primer mensaje que te inoculan en las sesiones de mentoring es: dar, pedir y exigir  a todas las partes de interés. Pero, ¿y si fuera acompañado de algo más?

El mismo recado para todas y cada una de las start ups. Siendo bien cierto, junto con los de facturación, sistematización, y escalabilidad, hay también otros conceptos más etéreos pero no menos importantes que deben ser tomados en consideración: en particular, hablamos de dar sin esperar nada a cambio - primero como aprendizaje y luego como la herencia que vamos a dejar a nuestro pequeño gran ecosistema. 

Pero primero, el famoso lema de Juan Roig ... Dar Pedir Exigir. Mercadona pivota el argumentario en torno al concepto de reciprocidad. Esto es, primero dar, para satisfacer las necesidades de las personas. Segundo pedir lo que se necesita de esas personas y, por último, exigir si no me dan lo comprometido.

Para emprender en particular y para vivir en general, se llega motivado de casa y con las ideas bien claras. Y en Lanzadera se obstinan en tatuar este mensaje en la mente de los emprendedores. Queda claro y no cabe la más mínima duda al respecto. Pero, ¿y si antes pasamos por un estadio anterior? ¿y si complementamos este mensaje con el de, por qué no, el propósito y el legado?.

El propósito porque nuestras actuaciones, en el ámbito empresarial, deben honrar una visión que trasciende los muros de la empresa y los límites mentales de sus fundadores, llegando por transitividad no ya a los empleados, si no a las partes de interés que comentábamos al principio. 

El legado porque toda decisión que tomamos tiene, seamos o no conscientes, un impacto de medio y largo plazo en nuestro entorno personal y como comunidad: ¡alimenta al espíritu y la mente!. El legado lo tenemos que ir escribiendo poco a poco, no transciende al principio y sin embargo hace cayo y es capilar, por lo que debe estar presente desde que tenemos consciencia como seres humanos - algo que por desgracia ignoramos pues nunca nos informaron de ello. 

El concepto de dar sin esperar nada a cambio evoluciona constantemente a lo largo de nuestra vida:

• cuando eres un niño, ni lo entiendes. ¡Nos están educando!
• cuando eres adolescente, la práctica forjará amistades duraderas y nos proyectará como personas.
• cuando alcanzas la mediana edad, empiezas a adquirir consciencia del asunto y, quizás, se pone en práctica. Nada más gratificante que devolverlo a los que una vez cuidaron de nosotros. 
• en la tercera edad, si quedan fuerzas y vitalidad, entran las prisas e incluso nos preguntamos: ¿por qué no lo hice antes?. 

Línea de fondo: piensa, desde ya, en tu propósito y tu legado: es transversal y atemporal. Impactar positivamente alimenta el alma y complementa nuestro propósito empresarial. Al fin y al cabo, se trata de dejar un mundo mejor que el que nos encontramos al nacer.

The Uberization of Technology: Opportunity or Drama

Out these two alternatives in your city, which one would you choose if you need a lift from A to B?:

• Option 1, Taxi: you go down to the street, look for it, wait till one that is free, you do not know what is going to cost you, and the car is five years old or more.
• Option 2, Uber: by means of an APP you have the taxi under your house at the agreed time, you know in advance what it will cost you, they serve you water, and is a Brand new car.

Probably, and unless somebody has a particular interest, we would all choose option 2. Being said that, something similar may be happening with the technology: imagine you work for a big company and you need to find a partner to help you launch a project that you are not able to do in-house for whatever reason. What would you prefer?:

• Option 1: the large company (Tesco, British Airways, Ford, VW), contracts a global consultancy services provider to carry out the specific project in question. The services concludes being too slow, not customized and too expensive.
• Option 2: the large company contacts a small start-up that offers a disruptive, fast, flexible and cheap technology, especially in comparison with the Global Services Consultancy. On top of that, they are able to adapt to your company's systems, synchronize them and create an ad-hoc tool.

I imagine that the vast majority would decide to go again for option 2. Although both cases are a simplification of the reality, what I am describing is really happening and is real and happening in each and every sector and business: option 2 is gaining more and more followers. The big companies are realizing how complicated it is to innovate within their organizations, think outside the box and attract talent from outside, due to the high inefficiencies they have internally, lack of cross-functional processes and departments working in silos. And the Global Consultants do not solve the problem because they suffer from similar dynamics and their structures are rigid as well, ending up in a situation where they look for solutions outside to charge the end customer around 40%.

So, how to access this option 2 (disruptive technology and at a convenient price)? These are the existing trends:

• Alternative 1, screen yourself the market in search of those companies that can solve the problem: it has several drawbacks, among them the lack of experience and knowledge in the technology to be discussed, the lack of empowerment, and the lack of accountability by the
  people doing this research.
• Alternative 2, create an acceleration program internally (see example of SEAT): it requires your staff to have the necessary experience to mentor the start up. As an advantage, you have total control of the situation as well as the outcome of the activity.
• Alternative 3, count on specialized companies that capture this talent: in this regards, incubators and accelerators are targeting with specific programs big companies that need to solve complex problems that they are not able to solve, or cover the existing gap between the big company and the technological start-ups, 

Without falling into the precarious work that the uberization of the economy is bringing, the uberization of technology eliminates intermediaries, customizes the product and reduces costs ostensibly. There is no doubt that it is a stage that more than one large company will go through, and that we are heading into this direction.

In addition to this, another incentive: SMEs can also benefit terribly from this trend: fortunately for them, the uberization of technology has allowed them to gain access to this technology that was previously reserved only for large corporations. 

Being said that, it is important to keep in mind the following: as of today, technology and therefore the society, go much faster than the laws. And this is the paradigm that we are currently living: the massive amount of information we have, the immediacy of it, provokes the States not to be prepared and a late and incoherent legislation generating frustration among citizens.

Therefore, nowadays, more than ever, it is essential to have governors who have a precise vision of where we are heading to.