I meet with start-ups all the time. I am always inspired by them; their energy, enthusiasm and dedication to what they believe in is contagious. I call it the “collective mojo:” when a group of entrepreneurs band together and work endlessly, with the belief that they can create something amazing, powerful, disruptive and additive to humanity. According to Merriam-Webster’s, “mojo” means “a power that may seem magical and that allows someone to be very effective, successful, etc.” I want my mojo back.

But, the  question is: how do you maintain this drive and entrepreneurial spirit when you’re not a start-up any more? How do you keep your collective mojo?

iConstituent has been around for over ten years now. We have been through many ups and downs along the way. So, how do we get our collective mojo back? – the energy, enthusiasm, and passion to create something new, disruptive and amazing? How do we evolve beyond simple “profit and loss statements, balance sheets and statement of cash flows?”  Basic accounting is obviously important – but, how do we transcend simple dollars and cents, and focus on building great things that people will use and love? And, ultimately become wildly successful?

Regaining your collective mojo starts with the belief that your market (no mater what it is) WILL change. Someone is going to succeed. Why not YOU? Look at the hotel and taxi industry; I find myself using AirBnB and Uber these days – all the time. Twelve months ago, I was “old school,” and simply stayed at hotels or fought for cabs. The world is changing so quickly and so dramatically. These two companies have had such a profound impact on the world in such short periods of time. The government/public sector space will change, too. It has been slowly changing for years, and more rapidly so in recent months, thanks to forward thinking people like Vivek Kundra and many others.

So, how does a company get its collective mojo back? First, it starts with the belief that your  industry will rapidly change and that there remains an abundance of opportunity for those willing to take chances, think “out of the box.”  Who will be the next “Uber” in your space?  Next, you must invest in developing your staff and finding new talent. This is the most important step. By empowering and nurturing talent at iConstituent, and finding more talent to augment our already awesome team, our company will grow; the company’s collective mojo will only come through innovation, which is driven by talent.  Invest in talent, nurture talent, empower talent – and, you will get your mojo back. On this note, I am proud to announce that two of my staff  will take on more responsibility and be empowered to help drive growth at iConstituent: Greg Fickel was recently promoted to Chief Operating Officer and Derek Haller is our VP of Product.