5 Ways Founders Can Deal With Uncertainty
Compliments of Matteo De Felice
Founders are asking this question more often than usual with the current political climate: How are the changes after the election going to affect me? My startup? My potential investors? But this is nothing new, especially if you are a founder or a person dealing with any form of uncertainty-”that is life” as they say. Personally, with the media frenzy and the constant chaotic changes that have been occurring in the government, I allowed myself to go to a place of thinking of the worst of the potential impact that we can drive with and for our clients.
Will all the new changes make it more difficult to collaborate on those healthy living and impact driven world initiatives? Will there be more roadblocks? Will people be less inclined to continue to invest in their climate sustainability companies? Food equity and Femtech initiatives? There was a lot of doubt and “what ifs” in my mind, BUT as a founder and a person who chooses the most challenging course in life more often than not, I knew that this was a sign for me to do what I begrudgingly choose to do during times of uncertainty.
Top Ways to Deal with Uncertainty
The first approach is to start with what I know, and what is present. I try to not look and guess about what is going to happen in the future.
If we start with the facts, what do we know to be true this day, this minute, even when things change rapidly, we do not feel so out of control and unstable. There are still founders, investors and people who want to make a positive change in the world and are aligned with the ethos of Mind the Gap Services. If that assumption is correct, then MTGS has an opportunity to help startups and investors take their companies to the next level—expanding their reach beyond what they ever thought possible.
So, how do we know if it is a fact that is true? How are we certain? The podcast Instant Genius has an episode called “How to combat uncertainty in a post-truth world,” and in my quest to continue to understand how to gain more certainty without foreseeing the future, I recalled what my fantastic middle school teacher Mr. Craft would say, “Look to history to understand the patterns of the current day.” We should “look to history” to understand the current world and political climate as it has been proven that-history repeats itself. In the podcast, the host references the past with an example from President Lincoln. The intelligent Lincoln started studying the nature of proof beyond reasonable doubt, the basics of how triangles have certain properties, arming himself with a proven logic to pull apart and build logical steps. He was studying the proof by contradiction which is the mathematical idea: if you think something is true, assume it is not true and if that leads to two contradictory statements that have been proven; then therefore, your idea must not be true!
I know, it is difficult to follow, but basically if you feel so strongly your theory or worry is going to happen then you should find no more than two proven contradictions to your theory or worry. This is something that quite a few politicians, lawyers and marriage therapists advise to utilize when trying to understand the contradictory point of views or beliefs of others. If this method is good enough for President Lincoln to utilize when arguing slavery then I think it is worth a shot when dealing with our current uncertainties.
The second way that I find solace in combatting uncertainty is focusing on what I can control-myself. What can I do to continue pushing forward in what I know that is helpful and making a positive impact in the world? How do I control my thoughts and actions to get to my goals? Above all, know what you know-and know what you don't know. You can only control yourself.
The third way is to call out the uncertainty, and yes, there may be mistakes made, but it sure beats doing NOTHING and standing still and allowing oneself to be at the mercy of your surroundings (a reference to our blog post of the Cost of Inaction). Uncertainty is not shameful and should not sit and fester into a larger monster that can take over ideas and progress. Try to ponder - is it really better just to sit and accept the status quo, or can you make just one small step to what is deemed to be right or true-even with mishaps along the way.
A fourth process is to embrace the risks, not the uncertainty. In the article from Embroker, they describe risk vs uncertainty for business as, a risk can be measured with probabilities, and thus controlled through risk management and assessment techniques. Uncertainty, on the other hand, involves situations with unknown variables and outcomes that can’t be measured, and therefore hard to predict or control.
Most entrepreneurs are risk takers and being agile by assessing the risks and alternatives helps quiet the fear because one knows there are other options to work around the potential risks. This lessens the uncertainty and references back to the second point in this article, know what you can control and what is out of your control. When you eliminate what is truly a risk versus an uncertainty helps to give clarity in what you can decide upon and that which you cannot.
Finally, a fifth way to combat uncertainty is to remain positive. Positive thoughts quiet your fears and enable the brain to be able to manage those irrational thoughts, referenced in TalentSmartEQ.This is quite easy when things are going as planned and there is not unpredictability; however, it takes practice to control your brain muscle and to know how to maneuver to positivity when things are chaotic. A colleague once told me that on those days when you cannot find positivity refer to your personal positivity list. This list consists of compiled compliments or successes. Whenever someone gives you compliments or you accomplish a big goal or even when someone writes you a nice birthday card, set it aside, write it down on the positivity list to look back upon. Reflect on how far you have come to reach those milestones and goals, and I promise the positivity will flourish!
References:
Embroker Team, A Startup’s Guide: How To Navigate Business Uncertainty
Bradberry, Travis, Talent SmartEQ, 11 Ways Emotionally Intelligent People Overcome Uncertainty
Instant Genius, “How to combat uncertainty in a post-truth world”
