If you want to change a business, change management, and then implement your changes immediately. No delays. People accept change when the regime changes.
Your problems will be rare problems
Being an entrepreneur means you’ve chosen the path less travelled. Your journey will bring you to situations that very few people face. Your problems will be rare problems. Embrace it. You’re lucky! You’ve chosen this path.
Small problems left unattended become crises
It’s easy to avoid conflict. To turn a blind eye to lurking issues. To a financial director that is ethically weak. To a CEO that is a bully. To a billing system that is jittery. But these small problems compound over time. The ethical boundary becomes fuzzy. What is acceptable becomes blurred. Before you know…
You are not that man
Don’t be tempted to the dark side. Just because your opposition does it, doesn’t mean you have to do it do. What you do is who you are. The man who does dirty deeds may be your enemy. But you are not that man.
Business is rough and tumble
Ideally, your entrepreneurial life will be smooth and easy. But the world is not ideal. Especially the business world. There are fights and messy messes and unexpected pitfalls. You’ll get the odd bruise, take the odd tumble. It’s ok. Embrace it. Business is rough and tumble.
Don’t be afraid to change your mind
Things change. New information presents itself. Yesterday’s decision is wrong. It’s ok, there no shame in changing your mind. So long as you keep moving forward. It’s indecision you have to watch out for. Indecision freezes business. No decision = no action. Better to make the wrong decision and change your mind after. Don’t be…
Pessimists sound smarter
Pessimistic opinions are more plausible than rosy thinking. Pessimists just sound smarter. But you’re not in business to sound smart, or impress people. You’re in business to make money. Pessimists don’t make money, because no one can make money on a worldview that everything is going down the tubes. Only optimists can make money, because…
Hang out with people that believe in you
You get to choose who you spend your time with. People that believe in you, or people that don’t. The former will build your confidence. The latter will break your confidence. No confidence = no success. Hang out with people that believe in you.
Success will seduce you into thinking you can’t lose
Even the smartest people can be seduced. Resist it. You CAN lose. No matter how many wins you’ve had in your life, failure is always possible. Especially if you think you can’t lose.
As a shareholder, your most important relationship is with the CEO
And vice versa. Don’t ignore your CEO. Don’t ignore your shareholders.
Don’t make decisions in the luminal
The “luminal” is the zone between the death of the old and the birth of the new. Eg: After you’ve come out of a long relationship but before you find a new partner. Or after you’ve sold your business but before you start a new one. Your decision-making in this period will be fraught with…
There is no map
It’s not easy being an entrepreneur. Sometimes you just wish someone would make a map that you could follow. Bad news. By the time the map is ready it will be out of date. The world is changing every minute. Don’t wait for a map. Don’t make a map. Dive in with courage and fearlessness.