QUESTION: I want to start my own company so that I do not have to be answerable to anyone.
REALITY: Each person, even the boss, is answerable to someone.
A few years into work, a person can feel fed up with responding to a manager’s never-ending questions; he may even start thinking about setting up his own company so that he won’t be answerable to anyone. But, as he gains experience in the workplace, such naive thoughts start` 6-ding away. There are lots of reasons for starting a company, but the issue of not being answerable to anyone is not one of them.
People feel that the top position gives them full freedom while a junior status limits it. The truth is quite the opposite. As one grows in an organization, the freedom gets much more restricted, The number of people whom one needs to provide with an answer increases with increased responsibility, due to the complex matrix nature of the organizational structure. So, one lands up in multiple conflicts with stakeholders on the different approaches towards a problem, options in choosing a solution, and on the priority accorded to a work item.
Every person is answerable to someone. People feel that’ a CEO—the most senior person in a company—can take any decision on a whim and is free from being questioned. They forget that there is a board of .directors or a chairperson to assist the CEO in driving the company; they advise, guide, and, in extreme circumstances, even ask the CEO to step down. Ultimately, all the employees of a company are answerable to shareholders; for example, in the case of a small business, its answerable to whoever has given it the loan—whether a bank or venture capitalists. All said, there’s no getting away from the fact that, even if you become the boss, you will still have to be answerable to someone.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? There has to be a valid reason to start. a company and not just that you aspire to a sense of freedom. You will be answerable to investors, customers and your colleagues even in your own venture. The right question that you can ask is: Am I in control of my destiny? If you are In control, then these issues—like, being answerable to someone—become secondary.
