Leadership will set the strategy. That's the hard part. With that strategy in hand, what are the tools the company/team will need to get the work done? That's on you.
The question has a lot of dependencies: Who will be using the tool? Will they need training? Will the tool be reusable for other projects? What's our budget? Is it a must have, or a nice to have?
They're all important questions, but this is how we start to operate. Many start-ups have limited budgets and big important goals, goals that determine whether or not the next round of funding will make it through the door. How can someone in an operations capacity impact the destiny of this emerging new enterprise? Ask the questions no one else is thinking about.
This, by the way, will not win you awards of gallantry or even pats on the back. It's your job to ask these questions. When you discover that the tool is a must-have, but the dollars aren't there, it is your job to find a solution--And remember, we're in start-up mode, so there's not a lot of time to waste.
Let's try an example:
I had to let this ruminate for a while. What's important to one start-up may not carry the same weight in another--so bear that in mind with the following:
You are in charge of making things work in a biotech-start-up. The crew needs a way to track the lot numbers and details used for a series of experiments while they develop an assay. Had your company chose to invest early on in an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) solution, you're in good shape and should have the tools you need. But say that $150k quote provided enough sticker-shock to convenience leadership that old-school paper notebooks would be a sufficient start. Now you're six months in, trying to develop an assay and are using excel sheets across multiple groups to track these details. You've already run into version control issues and want to solve this problem before it gets any worse.
You have the expired quote for an ELN in your files, but remember hearing about a lengthy implementation process. Six months is no-way soon enough. So you plan on developing your own solution based on an MS Access or File Maker platform. You poll the key users, define all the fields they need to track and find that excel system is even missing some important information. Right, now you have all you need. You put other projects on the back-burner to devote significant hours building this solution in 3 weeks time. You test it with the key users, iron out any kinks and launch your database within a month of the original panic.
Success! Right? Well, for now, but if you're not putting the ELN on a budget for next year, you'll be buried in maintenance and upkeep in another 6 months. And solving a problem for now or "band-aiding" an issue can instill false security in your leadership. Prepare first yourself, but soon after, your leadership when you're solving a need in a tentative sense; yes, you are a rock star and can make it run, but your genius cannot replace a $150k solution.
Even in my new role, I still have this note on my workstation: Provide the tools needed to ensure success. If you are able to look forward in your operations role and see how one decision may impact future decisions, you're well on your way to not only making it run, but keeping it running!