Are You Playing to Win, Or Just Not to Lose?

Sitting here watching football has me thinking of the “prevent
defense”. John Madden once described it as only preventing the team
that deploys it from winning, though lots of teams still use it.

There’s a startup version of the prevent defense: “playing not to
lose.” Second guessing your thinking, constantly waiting for more
feedback, another customer input, the next build, the next release.
You’re trying not to burn through your venture capital too quickly.
You’re trying to bring in the right folks, but not hire too soon. You
want to avoid the PR spotlight until after you’ve got all your
messaging and customer testimonials all locked down. It’s the “prevent
defense” of building a company.

I’m not suggesting a return to the spend like a drunken sailor models
of earlier startup eras I’m saying playing not to lose is a strategy
that will kill a company. Everyone — the team, the investors and the
customers — need to be energized and excited and playing not to lose
doesn’t do that. It’s an easy trap to fall into as you try to find the
right, best, unique plan for your company.

So if playing not to lose is bad, what’s playing to win? It’s shipping
quickly and often, even if releases aren’t perfect. It’s hiring the
right team instead of trying to keep staff you have that aren’t the
best fit. It’s finding ways to rise above the PR noise and be talked
about despite a story that may be changing as you adapt to the market.
It’s believing that you’re working every day to win a customer, not
placate investors.

Screw the prevent defense. Do what works. Play to win. And if you
lose, you lose. If you are afraid of losing then don’t play in the
first place.