BBIC Interview with Matt Harrison

This week we caught up with Matt Harrison – a Muscat-based marketing consulting. Matt’s a big supporter of the BBIC initiative and this is what he had to say on entrepreneurs, lack of sleep, Citigroup and Procter & Gamble, the importance of listening to young people and the advice he’d give his kids on setting-up a start-up.

Matt, what’s your interest in the BBIC?
Entrepreneurs drive the Omani economy, whether they’re a small family-run grocer shop, a smart graphic design firm or the next big Internet idea. It’s this zeal for creating something new and building something that we need to encourage and promote in Oman. In this regard, the TKM – Ernst & Young Big Business Idea Competition is an excellent initiative that can only help contribute to developing a stronger domestic entrepreneurial environment. We’ve got to be running these kinds of initiatives - they play an important social, economic and business role.

What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs? What's the most important thing they need to do to succeed?
Forget about sleeping or learn to need less sleep. Focus on doing a few things extremely well. Do everything with a vengeance. Make room in your business for all kinds of people. Plan to make lots of mistakes - make them, fix them and then forget them. Look forward not back.

I like that. On the flip side, what are some of the reasons you think entrepreneurs fail?
Entrepreneurs can sit on the accelerator for too long. They need to partner with a good finance guy to put the brake on their enthusiasm and excesses. Otherwise, one day they'll just slam into the wall. As they say: there are no skid marks in start-ups.

Some Oman-based business people believe that IT is a commodity - necessary for competitiveness but insufficient for advantage. What do you think about this?
Adopting IT is very much a part of the entrepreneurial process. In fact, recent research indicates that IT is more than a commodity, it’s a strategy and one that Oman-based companies need to capitalize on in order to survive.

Look at large multinationals like Citigroup and Procter & Gamble - all early IT adopters – they dominate their markets because of superior IT and a superior knowledge of how it impacts every segment of their business. It doesn't matter whether you’re in healthcare, manufacturing, banking, logistics or selling toothpaste in a local supermarket understanding how to use IT to design, organize and implement your business is key to survival.

Sticking with the IT theme, it’s probably safe to say that the very thought of the Internet and e-business strikes fear into the minds of many Oman-based executives. What do you make of this?
If your GM or CEO is frightened of the Internet and e-business, then your firm has got big problems. Fearing what’s quickly becoming a reality isn’t going to move your firm on and up, is it? While the Internet and its ability to transcend geographies is a huge threat to traditional, stagnant business models, it’s also one of the biggest opportunities Omani businesses have ever had. In today’s networked economy, progressive companies can take advantage of lower than ever transaction costs, global recruiting and sales, fast-track business models and an overall ability to make their businesses faster, stronger and more fluid.

What general words of business wisdom would you offer to entrepreneurs, managers and executives reading this BBIC interview?
I'd tell them…

Technology’s not a commodity - firms that treat it as such are doomed to mediocrity or worse.
Listen to young people - they represent your biggest consumer market and will increasingly become your most valuable human resource.
Look beyond your company’s walls. To succeed you need more than a solid business - you need an effective business web, so get out there and network, attend seminars, workshops and conferences.
Always make new mistakes - never old ones - and learn from them.
IT serves people and not the other way around.
Take great pleasure in what you do, or find something else to do.

Final question: You’ve got children - if one of them came home tonight and said they wanted to quit their job and start a company, what would you say?
I’d ask them three questions.

Is the product or service to be provided by the new company real? I mean, does it save time or money or increase productivity?
Is the problem they’re solving big enough to matter to a lot of people? You don't want to create the greatest gaming software never sold.
Are they starting a business or just creating a product or service that's an add-on or nice to have extension of things that are already offered by major players.

Then I'd ask how much they want to borrow from me!