Steering the Ship: Navigating Funding and Vision in Business Strategy

Alright, let’s crack into one of the big questions about running a business: What are the major hurdles when you’re setting up your company’s vision, mission, and strategic direction? Now, from my seat at the table, where I’ve been steering the ship through calm and stormy seas, the biggest beast to wrestle down is funding—good old cash flow. You’ve heard the saying “cash is king,” right? Well, in the world of business, it’s more like “cash flow is more important than your mother.”

“It’s one thing to have an objective like flying to the moon, but you’ve got to pay for it.” John Puttick

Let me paint you a picture. Imagine you’ve got this grand plan, maybe something as bold as a moonshot. You’re all fired up, ready to go, but then there’s this little thing about needing to pay for it. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Your beautiful vision needs a solid business model to fuel it, a strategy to sustain it financially without running your tanks dry.

Here’s where the CEO really has to shine—balancing that fine line between visionary and the guy who has to make sure the lights stay on. You need a model that not only funds the journey but also includes enough wiggle room for when things don’t go exactly as planned (because, let’s face it, they rarely do).

And this isn’t just about having enough cash to push through; it’s about ensuring that your business model is robust enough to support your ambitions. It’s like planning an expedition; you’ve got to have enough supplies to reach your destination and handle whatever the wild throws at you..

Now, setting a lofty goal is fantastic, but the real trick is making sure you can fund that journey. Whether that’s through existing business operations, pulling in capital, or maybe even pivoting part of your old business to fund the new direction. It’s a complex dance of maintaining your current operations while convincing your customers that your new direction is worth their investment.

So, you see, it’s a loop. The goal defines the strategy, the strategy defines the funding, and the funding circles back to support the goal. And throughout this entire process, you’ve got to keep your customers engaged and on board. Because at the end of the day, if you can’t convince them to follow where you’re leading, all the cash flow in the world won’t save a sinking ship.

And that’s the crux of it. It’s not just about having a grand vision; it’s about having a practical plan to bring that vision to life—a plan that’s well-funded, well-supported, and well-loved by those who matter most: your customers. That’s the art and science of steering a business towards a bright future.

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John Puttick( Industry Professor )

John Puttick significantly shaped Australia’s IT sector by founding GBST Holdings, which processes about half of the Australian Stock Exchange transactions. He pioneered key enterprise system development techniques and project management methods. As an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland and Chair of QUT’s Faculty Development Committee, he has influenced academic programs and IT education. His career blends intense business involvement with substantial contributions to community and education

John Puttick has made a distinguished contribution to the field of IT in Australia through pioneering many techniques for the successful development of large scale enterprise systems including rigorous project management. John Puttick established Star Systems, now GBST Holdings, which went on to become a leading provider of ICT solutions to stockbrokers and banks. In the process GBST Holdings helped establish world standard solutions which are used by both global and local companies, and has resulted in the company’s platform processing approximately half of all the transactions on the Australian Stock Exchange.As Adjunct Professor with the University of Queensland John Puttick has provided advice on course and product development helping to guide the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture to a premier position in computer science. Australian Computer Society | Hall of Fame | 2017 As Chair of the QUT’s Faculty Development Committee, John Puttick has helped its transition from a department to a school and now a faculty with a first class reputation for providing IT graduates. John Puttick has successfully combined a demanding business career with extensive community involvement and along the way made major contributions to Australian business by harnessing IT to produce realised benefits for enterprises.