CEOs need a Low-Pass Filter to Tune Out the Noise and Keep Pushing Forward

In electrical circuits, it's important to have buffers in place to ensure that your systems are focused on that strong, consistent signal, and not the temporary hyper-strong impulse or peak which quickly dissipates and falls away. In simple terms, it's a low-pass filter. Alowing low frequency signals to pass, and cutting off high-frequency inputs.

It helps make your electrical system more robust and reliable.

In SaaS, retail, or any business sometimes CEOs and Boards need the same filter.

If your valuation just got challenged, or you are trying to extend your runway, or your addressable market just shrank unexpectedly, it's tempting to lose hope and focus on the high-frequency, most recent signal. Which can lead you to spiral.

When instead, you should be focusing on the long-term trends. Here are a few questions to help you process what is happening:

* What are the underlying factors pushing for a long-term rise or drop in the market?

* Why did consumers come to me in the last year? What's changed now?

* Is it that my product is unimportant suddenly, or is it more likely that my company's services are just not the top priority for this particular prospect?

Lastly I would leave you with one point. We can often have a very successful business and kill it because of high expectations. If we don't meet those expectations, even a growing, profitable business can seem like a failure because it's "Not X enough." (replace X with fast, big, profitable, sexy, growth) -- take your pick.

Ask yourself if you have simply just got ahead of your skis on your growth projections, or something has really fundamentally changed about your business?

If customers still need what you offer, you are still profitable, and you are still growing, chances are you need to completely ignore any short-term softness and keep investing and improving your product.

Faster adoption will come, maybe just not on your internal (on your investors!) timeline.