Posted by on Apr 19, 2018 in Business | 0 questions

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Running a a successful startup requires many significant human traits in spades, from empathy, to foresight, to bravery. But you wouldn’t consider paranoia to be one of them! But paranoia is something, when applied in healthy doses, that can give you a business the reinvigoration it needs. So, what can it actually help with?

It Makes You Think About Scenarios And Solutions

The overactive mind considers every possible scenario and solution. This is something that every business should embody as part of its ethos. Having a sense of what potential threats there are to your company, from the standard computer viruses, all the way through to financial concerns, by the way of employee problems, you can begin to create a healthy roster of solutions for each problem you consider. From hiring IT services that comprehensively protect your computers, to having a better understanding in how you look after your finances, and by implementing an open-door policy so you can listen to your employees’ concerns, they all have a positive bearing on your business. A lot of entrepreneurs, the most successful a business gets, become more complacent in their abilities. The fact is that no one is infallible, from the modest startup, all the way through to the mega multinational, we all have the potential to fall from grace. So by considering every possible scenario and solution available, it gives you many exit strategies. But it doesn’t have to be you that has to think about all this, and this is why we hire teams to come up with plans and processes that can help us in these grave circumstances.

It Keeps You On Your Toes

If you don’t use it, you lose it. Of course, this is referring to your brain! By having a healthy dose of paranoia as an entrepreneur, it keeps you looking outwards, to what threats there are. Not just in terms of what can infect your business, like viruses, but by looking at your immediate competitors, and other businesses that are in your peripheries, it keeps your mind fresh. Being dynamic, brave, and willing to embark down new avenues is what keeps every business, and entrepreneur, focused. The market changes so often now, that it feels like the ground moves beneath our feet, and this is why you need to have a sense of focus in what is going on out there. The big problem a lot of us have, when our business reaches its zenith, is that we can lose interest in every aspect. Because this belies a lack of knowledge about what is out there, by having this dose of paranoia, it shows you are emotionally invested in your business.

Paranoia doesn’t need to be a negative emotion, but it’s definitely something that can give you a jolt as far as considering new approaches to every part of your business. If you don’t find yourself challenged by your business anymore, you become complacent, and this is where competitors can leave you in the dirt. It’s at this point that you might develop this all-essential emotion to keep your business flying.