Every entrepreneur has something they believe in. Something that keeps them on track even when things go wrong while doing business. Running or starting a business is not an easy job, as it involves so many challenges; those that can be predicted and those that can never be predicted including but not limited to failing to meet the company target, losing confidential information, making losses, political attacks from colleagues, and many more other challenges.
However, there are certain things, let us call them principles or characters every entrepreneur ought to know and learn so as to move on with progress amidst all those challenges they face. Every entrepreneur should learn to move forward at all costs. All you have to do is learn the following;
Learn How to Make Fast Decisions . . . and Reverse them if there is New Information.
Have a Good Team Around.
Know that information Is Key.
Have a Sense of Humor.
Always Be Moving.
Learning How to Make Fast Decisions . . . and Reversing them if there is New Information.
Every single one of the successful entrepreneurs I have met is in that seat because he or she is a good decision maker. This is probably one of the most important skills any good leader possesses. Equally important is knowing when a decision you’ve made, based on new information, is bad and reversing it just as quickly. This is where people tend to get in trouble. Their egos get wrapped up in a decision and reversing it makes the person feel weak and vulnerable. It’s tough to admit when you’re wrong. Clearly you want to have more right than wrong decisions, but a hallmark of good leadership is also all about knowing when something is not working and changing course. This skill is ideal for any entrepreneur.
Have a Good Team Around.
Every entrepreneur has a close group of people around them, such as their senior management team, friends, or mentors. Being an entrepreneur is a lonely job but it’s not a job that should be conducted in isolation. It’s important as you develop your career that you have a team of people you trust and are looking out for you. They don’t necessarily have to be at your company and most times, they are not. They’re not always senior to you and they may even be outside your own profession. They may not necessarily be more successful than you but they possess certain skills or knowledge you don’t have.
Information Is Key.
This is not about hoarding information. It’s about being a voracious consumer of information. This is easy for me to say because I am in the business of information as well. We exchange and report on information all the time. Part of my job is to read everything and stay well informed. A person can sit in office for hours reading annual reports and financial documents. I have a friend who walks around with a briefcase always brimming with research reports he wants to read. Every time he sits down in the office chair with me he’s got piles of papers around him, ready for referral. I start my day reading three to four newspapers online or offline. I am constantly spreading that character in all my employees at YOUNG AND FREE INTERNATIONAL because information is key.
Have a Sense of Humor.
If I’m asked to give a talk or emcee an event, the first thing I think of is: Who is the audience and what jokes am I going to tell? Some entrepreneurs possess a great sense of humor, some funnier than others. The cleverest entrepreneurs understand that an element in developing a relationship is laughing together. I have a very difficult time connecting myself to someone who can’t get a joke. I try to relate to an audience by telling a few opening lines. If I can’t come up with many on my own, I’d rather borrow.
Always Be Moving.
Perhaps the single biggest difference between those who make it to the very top and those who languish is that the former are always moving. They don’t stop. When I say moving, I don’t necessarily mean physically, although you do have to actually be doing things.
I’ll give an example but I won’t use this person’s name.
A senior executive I know left his job. The people he knew whispered about him, said he wasn’t ready to leave yet, and that he hadn’t prepared well. It was going to be difficult for him to start another business. I talked to him occasionally and every time I did, he mentioned this or that meeting he was attending, this or that discussion, this or that place he was flying off to. For obvious reasons, he couldn’t disclose details. I got the sense he was spending his days talking to people, meeting, exchanging ideas, just moving around a lot to figure out the next step. It was hard to tell if he was making progress or running around in circles. A few months later, he landed a big job and he sounded relieved on the phone. You could tell he felt he had something to prove and he proved it. Even at the stage when you’re at the top, when you believe you’ve made it, you’re still hustling. That never stops so long as you want to stay in the game. As long as you’re moving, you’re going somewhere. Once you stop, you stay.
Learning to move forward is what every brilliant entrepreneur should do by default. Most successful entrepreneurs have always moved forward despite the challenges they have always faced in their journeys. Not even their fears stop them from moving forward. Be moving.
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