Climbing the good ol’ corporate ladder is a tried, true, relatively predictable, yet slow way to reach the top. Heeding the speed limit and traversing the dotted lines can get frustrating, as there is no magical formula for ascension. And cracking the office politics and favoritism codes can be a mystery.
This is a reason you may have pursued your own venture: so you could declare yourself the boss. Good luck with that! Sure the org chart will be leaner than in a corporation, but you are never actually your own boss. You are actually reporting to your customers, vendors, suppliers and your investors. They drive and dictate your promotions, pay raises, perks, annual leave, and responsibility. Welcome to your organization. It’s the flip version of the corporate org chart. You are barely hanging on, as it grows larger above you. Be ready to draw it as you go.
Kriti Vichare is a marketer, entrepreneur, and cartoonist. She is the illustrator and co-founder of #entrepreneurfail, a web comic about the ironies of starting a company. Sign up to get exclusive never-before-published comics. Kriti is also the founder of IdeaKube, a company that facilitates brainstorming through ‘ideation parties’. Kriti was a former marketer at PepsiCo and Kraft Foods. You can contact her at http://about.me/kritivichare.
