Want to See Farther? Stand on Shoulders of Mentors
Nanos gigantium humeris insidentes: -Bernard of Chartres.
A familiar expression in English: If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants: -Sir Isaac Newton, 1676:
What do you do when you are really, really stuck? When you have spent inordinate amounts of energy, pulled some amazing rabbits out of the hat, done everything, tried all possibilities but now your wagon is stuck? It doesn’t go forward, and it won’t go back.
The Background: Keith had seen thousands and thousands of burnt-out tube lights stored in a warehouse for a long time. Stored!!! Why store tube lights, especially if they are burnt out? Digging in, he found that the mercury in the tube lights prevented them from being landfilled, and (at that time) no viable method existed for their alternative disposal.
He saw a clear opportunity if only he could come up with a solution. His most thorough research led to nascent technology-based equipment in Europe that had remarkable results of extracting mercury. Based on the technology's successful application, one Scandinavian country had made the recycling of burnt-out tube light mandatory. Would the company that had developed the technology license it to him for installation in the US?
Several rounds of difficult negotiations led to the extraction of some tremendous concessions:
- The licensor agreed to an exclusive for the technology in a five-state area.
- Keith even obtained first rights for any future installations, which tantamount to nationwide exclusivity.
- The licensor agreed to buy back the equipment at a fixed, depreciated price in one year. That meant Keith had to raise an investment equal to only the first-year depreciation amount, a fraction of the total cost. The downside risk was contained.
With months of hard work, his plans were all in place, and raising the money looked like a no brainer. He raised 50 percent of the requisite amount in no time from people who were impressed with his tenacity and confident that Keith could pull it all off.
Problem: That is when it became a nightmare. Try as hard as he may; he could not raise any more money. Push, push, no movement. His wagon was stuck—the frustration of having to abandon after all this creative accomplishment was written all over his face.
The Suggestion: I suggested that he go to all the investors who had already committed their money to double up — I believe that those investors were as invested in the project as he was and would be just as dejected if the project did not go forward.
The Outcome: Keith did just that. To his surprise, all of them doubled up.
Moral of the Story: Sometimes, despite your relentless efforts, you cannot see how to proceed. That is when you have to stand on the shoulders of someone with experience to see much further and over the obstacle.
Epilog: Keith’s company was successfully launched, and several years later, after successful growth, his company was sold to a much bigger player in the industry.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Dr. Rajiv Tandon is an Entrepreneur, Educator, and Mentor. He facilitates peer groups for CEOs of fast-growing companies in Minnesota.
