The Resilient Entrepreneur, Edition #67
Hi there
I hope you had a great week!
Here are the topics in today's edition:
- Don’t Tell Me What Doesn’t Work, Build Simple Solutions That Work
- 3 Books Every Leader Should Read: Lessons from History, War, and the Mountains
Please reach out if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for articles!
Talk soon 👋
Tom
LEADERSHIP FOR RESILIENT ENTREPRENEURS
Don’t Tell Me What Doesn’t Work, Build Simple Solutions That Work
Entrepreneurship is about making things possible, not discussing limitations. Focus on simple solutions that work and you will be fine.
“I’m afraid that is against our compliance regulations.”
“That’s a dealbreaker for us. We can’t overrule our internal processes.”
“I know the process is tedious and doesn’t add any value, but it’s required by law.”
“We agree with everything you say but need an additional clause in the contract.”
You probably have heard most of these sentences before if you are an entrepreneur. But let’s be clear: Entrepreneurship is about creating what is possible, not about discussing what is not possible.
As the Founder & CEO of Yonder, a B2B SaaS company, I am trapped between both worlds: We try to make stuff possible, but we work with organizations that are trapped by way too many guidelines: Enterprise customers, partners, authorities, and investors.
I don’t think we need to look into any specific examples — if we would, this would be a very long (and boring) article. Instead, let’s focus on a couple of approaches to get back onto a constructive path.
Solution 1: Remove Overdetermination
We all know it, yet we still do it: The more guidelines and requirements there are, the higher the chance that those guidelines and requirements contradict each other.
With a growing number of guidelines and requirements, solutions become complex and unclear. This increases the probability that their implementation will run into problems or even failure. Because it’s an evil and messy world out there. We call this phenomenon overdetermination. If a system is overdetermined, it will never reach a stable state. As a consequence, overdetermination needs to be removed.
Every military officer learns very early on that in war, only simple solutions will work. Somehow that lesson is often forgotten in business life. Serving as an active reserve officer who returns to the military regularly is just one of the benefits of the active reserve system.
Removing overdetermination and creating simple solutions that work is not a one-off activity, it is a constant task for all leaders and entrepreneurs.
Solution 2: One For All, All For One
If you’re not a prepper or a solopreneur, you will have to deal with other people in your life. By nature, different people have different interests, so it’s normal that those interests clash from time to time.
It’s fair to insist on your interests. It’s fair to draw a few red lines to defend your reputation and your values.
On the other hand, think about most conflicts of interest. Are they really worth a fight? Can you really not live with that one clause in the contract the other party insists on? Does that one internal process step really move the needle?
Business is always about win-win, and petty things should not dominate the key elements to win-win. And in case of a dispute over a petty thing, somebody needs to show largesse in the view of the common good.
One for all, all for one.
That’s the motto that’s engraved in the ceiling of the Swiss parliamentary building. Nothing represents the role of the constructive entrepreneur better than this motto.
INSPIRATION FOR RESILIENT ENTREPRENEURS
3 Books Every Leader Should Read: Lessons from History, War, and the Mountains
Discover three books that inspired me last month — from Swissair’s wartime survival to Civil War reconciliation and mountain life simplicity.
Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, and it fuels my thinking as an entrepreneur. Besides reading magazines, I try to read books on various topics as often as I can.
Here are the books I read last month.
1. An Airline During World War II
Swissair 1939–1945 by Alfred Muser tells the story of Switzerland’s national airline during World War II. Although Switzerland was spared from the war, Swissair fought for its existence during this period.
When I read the book, I saw many parallels between the era of World War II and our current times: A collapsing market and huge uncertainty are poisonous to any business. As the Founder & CEO of Yonder, a B2B SaaS company serving the aviation market, I had many déjà-vus when reading this book: It reminded me of our struggle during COVID-19, and of the current geopolitical uncertainties induced by Donald Trump’s trade war.
On the other hand, this book is a great reminder that earlier generations were facing much harder times than we are and that they were still able to find good solutions in very desperate situations.
In good times, focus is key for all entrepreneurs. In dire times, however, a good solution can be to lose focus a little bit and muddle through on revenues earned by activities that aren’t core business. That’s exactly what Swissair did during World War II — they muddled through by fixing planes and other machinery with the remainder of their workforce that wasn’t on active military duty.
2. The Growing Up of A Statesman
Flegeljahre by Carlo von Ah tells the story of Emil Frey (1838–1922), the son of a magistrate and a troublemaker. He would later participate in the American Civil War before returning to Switzerland, his home country, to become a magistrate himself.
The 19th century was a very turbulent epoch for both Switzerland and the United States. Just like the book on Swissair, the story of Emil Frey shows striking parallels to our current times.
What stands out much more in this book is the way defeated enemies were treated in the 19th century.
During Switzerland’s Sonderbund War, General Dufour treated the defeated regions with such dignity that the Confederation was able to reunite after the war.
In the American Civil War, too, the defeated Southerners were treated in such a way that the Union could continue to exist.
Besides the epoch’s world events, Emil Frey also struggled with various conflicts within his own family and with family members who had fallen out of favor. In these conflicts, too, Emil Frey created a setting for reconciliation — at least in this historical novel.
Shouldn’t we rethink how we treat “defeated” opponents? History is once again an instructive guide.
3. The Simple Life of 1900
Last month, I spent three days in Zermatt cut off from the outside world, half of that time without electricity.
I took advantage of the enforced break to read the biography of Ulrich Inderbinen, a famous mountain guide who hailed from Zermatt.
The book gives an impressive account of the simple, hard life of the Zermatt mountain farmers at the beginning of the 20th century.
One quote from Ulrich Inderbinen stands out in particular:
“Life used to be hard, but beautiful. Everyone had little, and everyone helped each other.”
This solidarity was noticeable in Zermatt during the blackout: the good cooperation between the authorities, tourism organizations, hotels, and the population made things far less tragic than if everyone had just cared for themselves.
One for all, all for one.
About Me
Growing a company 📈 in uncertain times 🔥🧨 is like running a marathon — it demands grit, strategy, and resilience.
As a tech entrepreneur 💻, active reserve officer 🪖, and father of three 👩👦👦, I share practical insights and write about my experience in entrepreneurship, leadership, and crisis management.
When I’m not solving problems, I recharge and find inspiration in the breathtaking mountains 🏔️ around Zermatt 🇨🇭.
Like what I write? Here are your options:
📌 Share my newsletter with your friends if you like it!
📌 Buy me a coffee if you want to support me!
📌 Check out my eBooks if you want deeper insights!
📌 Check out my blog for all my writing!
