Four lessons startup CEOs should steal from brides-to-be planning weddings

I’m fresh back from a two-week vacation, during which I happened to get married. So far, being married is awesome. Planning the wedding however? Well, that was certainly a learning experience. One I’m sure any entrepreneur worth her salt would take a lot of lessons from.  Here are four that can help those of you crazy enough to hitch yourself to a fledgling enterprise.

1) Give yourself cushion time for each milestone. The details take more time than you think they will.

I know what you are thinking: I have a friend or a surefire plan or I will work harder than everyone else or have never had a major funding or technical issue and I’ve led X amount of companies. Other people may need extra time, but I don’t.

Yes, you do. Chances are you are just excited and driven (both great qualities!). To avoid spending six weeks deciding on doilies, I planned my wedding in three months. During this rapid-fire taffetta gauntlet, each day required me to meet some odd, unexpected, ridiculous milestone (fold 75 paper bands and glue them around the invitations, try 15 cake samples–life is hard).

But, unlike what Say Yes to the Dress   had led me to believe, all major issues aren’t resolved in 30 minutes. At the last minute of my wedding R&D, someone near and dear decided we needed to handmake 150 napkin rings. Otherwise the wedding would not be enjoyable. She was sure it would only take a few hours.

It took three days.

Me? I was just trying to feed people after I made them watch me walk in a straight line in a big poofy dress. If you’re a medtech startup CEO, chances are your goals are much loftier than that: anything from changing the standard of care in surgery to curing cancer to helping patients monitor their health remotely. It’s more heartening to move faster than the original plan than to slow down or halt at a road block (see FDA approval process, unexpected product changes based on in-man trials, funding drought, etc.). It also looks better to investors to beat expectations than to lag behind deadlines.

 

2) Listen. The people most integral to your business are going to be difficult. You are difficult, too.

Who has two thumbs and a Type A personality? Most brides and most startup CEOs.

Chances are when you picked your team, you chose the most talented, most energetic and most creative bunch you could attract. (Or, in the case of many engaged folks–hey, at least he/she’s good looking, right?) But if your startup’s seeking perfection, it’s likely emotions can run a bit high. If you’ve ever said, “Is that too much to ask?” you were probably being a bit difficult.

During my wedding planning, I had a bit of a diva dip when I realized it would be nigh on impossible to serve fried chicken at a humid Kentucky summer outdoor affair. I kept repeating how I wanted the wedding to be “relaxed.” Yes, ironic, I realize now.

But as my dad said during his toast, if you go into a marriage (erm, business) only willing to give your half, you’re bound to fail. While we often say at startups we each give 110 percent, it’s not true–and not just because of the math. As a team though, maybe we can reach that goal.

When dealing with the people closest to us at home and at work, give them the benefit of the doubt. Hear other people out (especially caterers and your regulatory team). You picked your team (or spouse-to-be) because they’re bright.

If there really is a personality conflict, talk it out. You might come up with a great idea in the process. Bourbon-glazed chicken, anyone?

Perhaps this skill, stepping back and listening, is one of the best pieces of strategy CEOs can learn from high-strung bridezillas.

 

3) Just focus on one step at a time.

If you’re a physician entrepreneur, you likely already know this. Just to resuscitate someone can require 273 actions in just several minutes. Focusing on everything at once could be paralyzing to the practitioner and life-ending to a patient.

Checklists are great and all, but popular wedding site The Knot’s million-task to-do list sends brides-to-be screaming into the night. Making a plan is one thing. Gulping and going forward is another, and requires steely nerves.

You can really only accomplish one task at a time, especially if you’re starting off alone. You can’t build a sufficient prototype without market research and some intensive time at the drawing board. When you do feel overwhelmed (and without champagne I’m sure you will), ask for help. Friends, potential mentors, heck–even kind souls on social media will offer you their expertise (often in 140 characters or less).

 

4) Finally, enjoy the ride.

I hate to get all Ferris Bueller on you, but it’s true: Life moves pretty fast. Soon enough, people will be asking you about your company’s exit strategy and trying to give you pre-emptive baby quilts at Christmas.

You left that easy, if mind-numbing, job for a good reason. You want to innovate and try new things. You took a big leap in starting your own company or deciding to lead an existing startup (or picking a person to do dishes with the rest of your life). The uncertainty–What flavor will the cake be? Will this be the big investor?–and the chaos are the fun.

 

So, here’s to you, startup CEOs: may each day be better than the day you decided to tie the knot with your big idea.