Outsourcing principles

A lot of people ask me “how to outsource successfully.”

After many hundreds of consultations (and writing a 500-page book on the topic), I realize that the main principles of outsourcing are mostly identical to the core principles of running a business, employment, and HR.

To build a successful offshore team, you need to be able to build a team, hire the right people, train them and establish processes, offer career advancement, delegate effectively, communicate clearly, scale sustainably, and create and maintain a productive culture.

Sound familiar?

It’s just like running a traditional business in a conventional setting.

Sure, there are numerous individual differences with an offshore team, but none are individually profound.

There are certain things you have to adapt to – like interacting with people remotely instead of IRL, or learning to work effectively with people from different cultures.

Mastering these things just takes a little practice and conscious management.

How to run a business

As for simple, straightforward advice… unfortunately, there aren’t many black and white truths in business. I fact the business world is filled with far more contradictions, than clear truths. It seems there are many ways to skin a cat. Poor cat 🙁

Just take a look at some different approaches to business. All have worked, and all have their merits.

➤ Centralized or de-centralized management style
➤ Autocratic or democratic org structure
➤ Hands-on or hands-off leadership
➤ Micro-manager or laissez-faire
➤ Encouraging self-starters and self-directed work or very structured processes
➤ Scientific approach versus artistic and creative
➤ Move fast and break things versus slow, calculated, and steady
➤ High-octane VC-fuelled or slow organic growth
➤ Remote or office-based
➤ Hierarchical structure or flat
➤ Onshore versus offshore

TLDR takeaways

➤ Business is more art than science
➤ (However, science can be used to make better art)
➤ Running an offshore team is more similar to running a conventional team than it is different.

Wait, but…

There’s actually a lot to know about offshoring. It’s a simple concept, but in practice, all the little details matter – just as the details matter in traditional management. The devil is in the detail.

But this shouldn’t discourage you from getting started. Business itself is complicated. And it can take more than a lifetime to master its nuances – that’s why we love it. And there’s no better time to get started on that journey than now. You will never look back!

The question for your business

How do you run your business?