Think like an entrepreneur
Brian Tracy advises the development of the habit of thinking like an entrepreneur. “An entrepreneur is like a guerilla fighter in the world of capitalism.” The entrepreneur has several qualities that enable them to start and grow a successful business against entrenched competition. Perhaps the two most important habits you can develop in entrepreneurial thinking are those of speed and flexibility.
Develop the habit of moving quickly on opportunities or problems, and of doing things quickly that satisfy your customers. Large companies tend to move slowly, but entrepreneurs have the advantage of speed. Time is a critical element of decision making in buying any product or service. The faster you can serve your customers, the more valuable and attractive they will consider you to be. Develop the habit of moving fast in selling and serving customers and you will gain an edge in any market.
In addition, entrepreneurial thinking requires the habit of flexibility. Remember that most things that you try in business will not succeed the first time, or even the second or third time. The more different things you try, and the faster you try them, the more likely it is that you will discover the right method or process to make the sales and achieve the goals that you set for yourself.
Most entrepreneurial businesses eventually succeed by doing something different from what they first started. They succeed by offering different products and services to different customers than they initially planned when the business began. “One of the marks of successful businesspeople is that they remain open to new ideas. They accept feedback and make quick course corrections when they find that something is not working as they expected.”
Seven habits for business success
There are seven key habits that you must develop for business success. The absence of any one of these habits can be costly, if not fatal to your business. When you become competent and capable in each of these areas, you will be able to accomplish extraordinary results, far faster and easier than your competitors.
The first requirement for business success is the habit of planning. The better, more thoroughly and more detailed that you plan your activities in advance, the faster and easier it will be for you to carry out your plans and get the results you desire once you start to work.
There is a “Six P” acronym that says, “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” Very often, the first 20 per cent of the time that you spend developing complete plans will save you 80 per cent of the time later in achieving the business goals that you have set.
The next stage of planning is for you to set specific targets for sales and profitability. You must determine the exact people, money, advertising, marketing, distribution, administration and service people and facilities you will require in order to achieve your goals. The more thoroughly you plan out each stage of your business activities, before you begin, the greater will be the probability that you will succeed once you commence operations.
Get organised before you get started
Once you have developed a complete plan for your business, you must then develop the habit of organising the people and resources you need before you begin. In organising, you bring together all the resources that you have determined that you will require in the planning process. In the military, there is a saying, “amateurs talk strategy, but professionals talk logistics.” It is absolutely essential that you determine every ingredient that you will need before you begin business operations, and bring them together so that they are ready to go when you open your doors, or begin your project. The failure to provide even one important ingredient in advance can lead to the failure of the entire enterprise.
Find the right people
The third habit you must develop is the habit of hiring the right people to help you to achieve your goals. Fully 95 per cent of your success as an entrepreneur or executive will be determined by the quality of the people that you recruit to work with you, or to work on your team. The fact is that the best companies have the best people. The second best companies have the second best people. The third best companies have the average or mediocre people, and they are on their way out of business.
The habit of delegation
The fourth habit you need to develop for business success is the habit of proper delegation. You must develop the ability to delegate the right task, to the right person, in the right way. The inability to delegate effectively can be the cause of failure or underperformance of the individual, and even bring about failure of the business.
When people start in business, they usually do everything themselves. As they grow and expand, the job becomes too large for one person, so they hire someone to do a part of it. However, if they are not careful, they try to retain control of the task, and never fully hand over both authority and responsibility to the other person.
Frequently, executives and entrepreneurs learn to identify the two or three things that they do that contribute the most value to their companies, and then delegate the rest. You must do the same thing. You must learn to think in terms of “getting things done through others” rather than trying to do them yourself. “It is the only way you can leverage and multiply your special skills and abilities.”
Inspect what you expect
The fifth requirement for business success is for you to develop the habit of proper supervision. You must set up a system to monitor the task and make sure that it is being done as agreed upon. The rule is, “inspect what you expect.” Once you have delegated a task to the right person in the right way, it is essential that you monitor the performance of the task, and make sure that it is done on schedule, and to the required level of quality. Remember, “delegation is not abdication.” You are still responsible for the ultimate results of the delegated tasks. The more important the job, the more often you should check on progress.
What gets measured gets done
The sixth practice of successful entrepreneurs and executives is the habit of measuring performance. You must set specific, measurable standards and score cards for the results that you require. You have to set specific time lines and deadlines to make sure that you “make your numbers” on schedule. Everyone who is expected to carry out a task must know with complete clarity the targets that they are aiming at, how successful performance will be measured, and when the expected results are due.
It is important to select and define specific goals, measures and activities that are then used as benchmarks for performance. Jim Collins, in his book, ‘From Good to Great’, refers to the importance of selecting the “economic denominator” for a company, and for individual goals and objectives within that company. Whichever number you choose, it must be clear to everyone, and it must be monitored continually to make sure that everyone is on track.
Keep people informed
The seventh habit for businesspeople is the habit of reporting results regularly and accurately. People around you need to know what is going on. Your bankers need to know your financial results. Your staff need to know the status and the situation of your company. Your key people, at all levels, need to know what results are being achieved.
In a study on workplace motivation, several thousand employees said that the most important factor leading to job satisfaction was, “being in the know.” People in an organisation have a deep need to know and understand what is going on around them in relation to their work. The more thoroughly and accurately you report to people the details and situation of your business, the happier they will be, and the better results they will get.
BY CAPT. SAM ADDAIH
(RTD)
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