Pioneer - the definition
Geoffrey Moore, in his book "Crossing the Chasm", has classified people
who contribute to success
of an organization into two kinds.
- The pioneers, who venture into the uncharted waters and
make the early achievements of the
organization happen. They put in place a framework, which may be
processes, sales channels, or
product architecture, as relevant to the core of the organization's
business. This framework enables
traction with the innovators and the early adopters.
- And the settlers, who are responsible for turning
this "core-framework" into a consistent, well-defined and
process-oriented "whole-offering", that applies to early and
late majority.
Pioneer - the problem
Pioneer and Settler are in fact different mindsets, and not aptitude-levels, and their relevance at various phases in an organization can not be denied.Ironically, the bulk of their respective contributions are often prominently visible in different halves of the bell-curve. And the chasm, dreaded by most organizations lies right in the middle.
In a growing organization, settlers grow with the organization, and pioneers are left with only two choices:
- Grow into a settler mindset
- Grow out of the organization
Unfortunately, none of them is a smooth process.
In most cases (though not all), first path results in slow death of one's inherent personality and in turn causes severe burn-out. And naturally, many are not inclined towards the other option, as it means an obvious denial to their "piece of the pie", in the value created together.
More often than not, during the chasm stage, most of these like-minded and equally frustrated individuals end up in a demotivated and less proactive group, that is bound by a strange invisible force. And this starts working against the organization's motivation to shift gears and cross the chasm.
Cost of this phenomenon is obviously huge and is almost never accounted for. Besides, at that stage most organizations do not quite have any bandwidth to address this issue categorically, given the state of rush they are in. And it wouldn't be too inappropriate to say that many organizations fall into the chasm, due to this.
Challenge Handshake - the platform
A few interesting practices exist in the industry, where "pioneer sales people" operate on a success-based paradigm with high-tech start ups, while the teams focusing on strategy and long-term objective continue to work with more commitment-based approach.
Challenge Handshake is a platform that establishes such practices for the techie pioneers, combining the much needed challenge that their natural appetite demands, with a business model that is palatable to everyone in the value-chain.
The "Personal" Business Model
Challenge Handshake business model will quench the thirst of the techie pioneer for challenges, and strip the buffers out of the way so that they get their due for whatever its worth.
It outlines the difference between a pioneer and an entrepreneur.
One is like Columbus, who finds joy in discovering new
worlds, but not really in the struggle to own them. And the other
is like
Alexander
who wants to
win the world, and manages to align many others to his vision. Both are
potentially "the Great" in their
own right. So, to be a restless explorer or to be (or be with) a
visionary
warrior?
No risk, no gain - there is no denying the fact. The decision is about one's "personal" business model. It is thousands-now-almost-certainly versus millions-later-may-be.
Challenge Handshake provides a platform to take that personal risk, and make that personal gain. It creates the same group of like minded people who have a great time working together, but unlike in the traditional models, not just their short-term reward but their very existence relies on their own immediate contribution.
Please write to pioneer@challengehandshake.com
for more details,
answers to your queries or any feedback.