In every business there are a varying number of Board members. Some just have the founding entrepreneurs and others a more diverse board with variable skills and background. Whatever the composition they all have the three C's to juggle with. Each of them are very important, sometimes they create opposing views, sometimes they are in exciting harmony and other times they are so far apart that they cause everything to collapse. Creativity, Cash and Customers are normally the glue that keeps a business together. Treat them all with love and respect.
Every great business normally comes from some divine moment of inspiration. Why? What if? And normally as a result of some form of experience that sparks intrigue and gets the brain to go into overdrive. You get excited. You start to dream of what you can do to make life better for customers. Who can help with the journey, what will it take, when can I get started? Initial creative thinking can appear somewhat disorganized, sporadic and not joined up. Never discount it, write down those thoughts, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
Customers should be an obsession and the inspiration for your creativity. If what you are doing can make a positive difference to the lives of customers then you can become really successful. It is important though when you are being creative not to just accept your own feeling on everything, talk to customers and as many as physically possible to get their views. What is good, what is not? What would they like to see, what would they not like to see? What is simple, what is not? Customer's views, opinions, wants and needs are continuously evolving so never forget that.
You will have heard many times that cash is king. It is very very important but it is better described in my view as "cash is reality". I know it doesn't rhyme quite as well but there is one sure thing that is certain in business and that is that cash will always have an impact on the other two C's. If you don't have enough cash then it can have a major affect on creativity and if creativity is required to deliver for customers (which it is and always will be) then it will be an issue for your customers. Create a natural respect for cash because it will normally be those decisions to spend that are not thought through that stifle creativity and upset the service you can provide to customers.
The three C's will not always live in harmony. There will be tensions on occasion. The key is to keep sight of them all, have respect for them and know that they all need equal attention.