Behind every successful business is a story of how it got there, and Cranbury-based software company Infragistics is no exception. Also not unique is Infragistics’ nonlinear trajectory from small start-up to global player in user interface and user experience tools.
Dean Guida, the founder and CEO of Infragistics, uses a low point in his company’s history as the launching point for his book, “When Grit Is Not Enough: An Entrepreneur’s Playbook for Taking Your Business to the Next Level,” published earlier this year by An Inc. Original, a publishing imprint of Inc. Business Media that produces books for and by business leaders. That moment — as the company was rapidly losing money and on the brink of going out of business following a merger with a competitor — forced Guida to reinvent the way Infragistics operated.
The result, as Guida describes in his introduction, was the transformation of Infragistics into a “vNext Business”:
“What do I mean by vNext? vNext is a software idea I have adapted to describe my belief that a company is like an organic being, endlessly needing to adapt and change. It must continually create the next version of itself, adapting at a relentless pace to survive and prosper.
“At each stage of your business growth, you will have to adapt, learn, and improve your operations to grow and be profitable. I wrote this book to give you actionable information to improve and create resilience in your business.
“And a vNext Business is what you need to build if you want to thrive and win in the next era of business.”
The book’s 17 chapters go on to describe in detail the practices and processes Guida developed that he believes can set any business on a path toward sustainable success.
The first chapter covers culture, an area Guida says leaders err by seeing it as a “fluffy” topic not worthy of significant effort when, in fact, research has shown that companies with stronger cultures also deliver better value to shareholders.
In the case of Infragistics, Guide writes, “Culture is how we get projects done and how we work and behave with each other. Specifically, we created spaces — interpersonal and physical — and processes that allowed us to leverage everyone’s excellence to achieve our goals.”
Achieving this, he explains, relies on a clear definition of a company’s values, purpose, and mission; and hiring and nurturing a staff that is open-minded, willing to learn, and equipped with the tools and direction needed to achieve the firm’s goals.
Next is trust, a “magic glue” that, Guida writes, “enables two-way communication and knits together individuals with different approaches to work and problem-solving to form a cohesive, strong company fabric.” He advocates adhering to many of the principles outlined in Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” about being authentic, taking genuine interest in others, and favoring praise over criticism.
Chapter 3 addresses goals and OKRs (objective and key results), ways of ensuring that everyone from the executives down to the new hires knows what they’re working toward and the metrics that will define success.
In chapters 4 and 5, Guida discusses applying the scientific method to business and the importance of using data to drive decisions. When receiving data from markets and customers, business leaders need to ask “why,” form hypotheses as to possible explanations, then run experiments to test those hypotheses. Having the data to execute this is the topic of chapter 5, where Guida underscores the importance of a data-driven culture.
As he notes, “Finding the why of any business situation is very difficult. You have to have the right data and the right amount of data to do any effective analysis. But even with those conditions satisfied, understanding cause and effect is hard because we exist in a world of constant market change and uncertain economic conditions,” but the effort is worth the reward.
That same volatility that can make it challenging to accurately parse the data your company is receiving is the impetus behind chapter 6, “Learning Organizations.” This trait, Guida explains, must be a foundational part of a company’s culture and is defined as “being agile enough to respond to increased competition or the disruptive effects of new technologies.” Establishing this relies on many of the principles addressed in previous chapters: hiring inquisitive people; learning from data; and always asking “why.”
For companies that are growing and changing with the times, alignment — chapter 7 — is key. Essentially, this is ensuring that everyone is on the same page regarding goals and priorities, across different teams, offices, and projects.
Chapter 8 delves further into the all-important practice of hiring, which both underpins and reflects many of the practices already discussed. Managers, recruiters, and human resources staff need to be in alignment on the job description, and the ideal candidate embodies the ideals of the company’s culture. It’s not all on the new hire, though: the company has a continuing goal to make them feel welcome and ensure expectations are set for the first few months on the job.
The flip side of this is “Tough Conversations,” covered in chapter 9. Correcting bad or unproductive behavior is an important part of a manager’s role and is in itself a skill that requires practice. Guida advises giving such feedback as soon as possible after the offending incident and in a one-on-one setting, following the SBI method: “a manager captures and clarifies the situation, describes the specific behaviors observed, and explains the impact the person’s behavior is having on the manager and other members of a team.”
To this, Guida adds that the manager also needs to listen to the other party, in case a situation has been misinterpreted, and that the conversation needs to end with a resolution, mutual agreement between the parties.
Chapter 10 addresses leadership styles. When you’re a leader, people are always watching and listening. Guida advises that leaders strive to be authentic while being mindful of their body language, tone, and presence in meetings and other communications.
Everyone in a company, from the top down, needs to be receptive to feedback and coaching, which is covered in chapter 11. But effective coaching, Guida writes, “isn’t just about providing feedback to employees. It offers the level of support needed to develop the professional and personal habits that help employees become more focused, more efficient, and more productive.” Investing in your employees’ continued learning and development pays off.
Chapter 12 covers meetings. As Guida notes, “Meetings can be a powerful tool for accomplishing goals and implementing projects, or they can be a complete waste of time, leading to organizational breakdowns and creating hostility among team members.” To make a meeting successful, Guida’s tips include ensuring the meeting space is welcoming and comfortable; having a set agenda that includes the amount of time to be spent on each section; and pre-designating a facilitator and a note-taker for the meeting.
“Rhythm of the Business” is chapter 13. “This rhythm runs the business,” Guida writes, “it is how we organize, act, and execute as a team. Without a consistent, known rhythm, no business can succeed. In a profitable, agile business, creating an RoB enables a regular series of data-driven conversations, decisions, and actions.”
The following three chapters cover three types of plan: strategic, annual, and go-to-market, which each have a role to play in creating alignment within the company.
Chapter 14 discusses the importance of a business having a strategic plan — a framework that ensures a company is not simply flying blind. Guida elaborates on numerous benefits of operating with a strategic plan, including proving a focus, guiding resource allocation, driving decision making, improving communication, and creating a learning culture.
Chapter 15, “Annual Plans,” is the logical follow-up to a strategic plan; the art of distilling a long-term vision into a plan for what is to be accomplished within the next year and offering the opportunity to refine goals moving forward.
And the “Go-to-Market Plan,” chapter 16, organizes individual teams around a central strategy. Within smaller organizations, such as ones offering a single product or service, this may be covered as part of a strategic or annual plan, but, as Guida notes, “a GTM is vital if you have regional divisions in other countries or more than one product line. A GTM for each country helps account for the way different national identities and cultures may affect how customers buy, how they make decisions, and how you market to them.”
The final chapter covers “Recovery and Self-Care,” a reminder that you can’t share from an empty cup and insights into managing stress, practicing mindfulness, and remembering to take time for yourself for sleep, exercise, and vacations.
When Grit Is Not Enough, by Dean Guida. Published by An Inc. Original. Available on Amazon.com.
