Monthly Archives: February 2022

The Failed and Defeated Entrepreneur

Posted on by
1

What two words in the English language couldn’t be further apart in their meaning, but are often intertwined for entrepreneurs? The first word by itself is part of the everyday life of an entrepreneur – and every other person in the world as well. This word is relatively innocuous. But when connected with the second word it’s like adding the primer to dynamite. The resulting explosion can have all sorts of detrimental effects on our lives.

That first word is “failure.” Many entrepreneurs (and others) fear failure. But successful entrepreneurs have almost always experienced failure in different ways and multiple times. They use their failure to recalibrate or pivot and find a new way to make something work. David H. McConnell was a door-to-door book salesman who offered a little gift of perfume to female customers. Selling the books didn’t work out so well, but there was great demand for the perfume. So, McConnell ditched the books and turned the perfume concept into what is now known as Avon. Ever heard of Traf-O-Data? It was a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen for the purpose of developing reports from traffic counters for traffic engineers. The business was not a success. But Gates went on to launch another venture called . . . Microsoft. And then there’s the famous story about a man named Fred Smith who wrote a paper for his Yale University economics class involving overnight parcel deliveries. The professor wasn’t impressed and gave him what Smith recalls was a C. Undaunted, Smith pursued the idea which today is known as Federal Express.

This brings us to the second word. The word is toxic to entrepreneurs for it can easily become a mindset. The word . . . “defeat.” Failure is part of a process of experimentation and discovery. Defeat is the end. Once defeat is admitted, there’s nothing more to be done. I knew a man who worked for someone else for several decades. Then he decided to spread his entrepreneurial wings and bought a business. He labored mightily but eventually had to close his doors. But rather than lean into the experience and use it as a steppingstone to success, he withdrew. His confidence was shaken, and he began making unhealthy choices. He tried working for someone else again but eventually ended up driving a taxi. Now there’s nothing wrong with driving a taxi if it’s for the right reason. But in this case, it was his way of curling up in the fetal position and saying, “I can’t.”

I think that it boils down to whether we have a “die trying” mentality. It boils down to whether we have a positive image of ourselves. It boils down to moving as fast as we can to kill our own bad ideas so we can make room for the good ones! When we are afraid to fail, we are setting ourselves up for defeat. One of the most important things about failure is making certain that it’s not so monumental that we can’t right our ship. A mindset of defeat occurs when we are convinced, we’ve lost it all – forever.

Here’s what I’ve learned. I don’t set out to fail at anything but accept the fact that I will, and I must, if only to find the good ideas that work. I always make sure there’s enough of a margin of safety that my failures aren’t going to “kill” me. This leaves room for a pivot or a more significant shift. Regardless of my failures I will always remain positive and optimistic. Sometimes this can be very hard but it’s fundamental to avoiding defeat. When I do fail, I look for what can be salvaged from the experience to bolt onto the next iteration of whatever I’m doing. And finally, I know that I’m a step closer to success by eliminating a step in the process that didn’t work.

Failure and defeat are not connected in any way, shape, or form. Great opportunity and great success can rise from failure. Nothing good comes from defeat.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

The Self-Defeating Entrepreneur

Posted on by
Reply

My beloved Kansas City Chiefs NFL football team did not go to the Super Bowl on February 13, 2022. They were maddening to watch during the season and through the playoffs. The talent on the team is off-the-charts incredible. For four straight seasons, they played in the AFC Championship Game, two Super Bowls, winning one. Why didn’t they advance to the Big Game in 2022? Very simply – they beat themselves. They lost several games during the regular season by beating themselves. But the AFC Championship Game versus the Cincinnati Bengals was the ultimate demonstration of this self-defeating notion.

The Chiefs were ahead 21-3 well into the first half and clearly were stronger and faster than the Bengals. The game should have been a blowout for the Chiefs playing in front of their home crowd in the loudest stadium in the world. And yet, they lost by a field goal in overtime. How did this happen? At the end of the first half, it was first and goal on the one-yard line. Rather than bulldoze the ball into the end zone, they misfired a couple times and used their last timeout. On third down, the quarterback swung a pass to a receiver who was well-covered and tackled behind the line of scrimmage as the clock ran out. All the QB had to do was throw the ball away and bring on the kicker for a last second field goal. Instead, the momentum swung away, and the team was shell-shocked coming out of the locker room at halftime. In the second half, the Bengals dropped eight men in coverage and rushed three defenders. Rather than take advantage of this situation by running the ball, the Chiefs proceeded to continue passing – unsuccessfully – resulting in multiple punts and interceptions. Cincinnati grabbed the momentum and ended up winning the game and going to the Super Bowl. Had Kansas City made slight adjustments and played its game, there is no question that they would have won in decisive fashion.

What transpired at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on January 30, 2022, was a classic case of Self Defeat. And this is something that some entrepreneurs tend to do every day. We go on a winning streak for a while and think we have it all figured out. Then we get cute and cocky one day, or we shortcut the basics and fundamentals, and voilà – we hit the wall. This may be followed by “locker kicking” or rants about how the deck was stacked against us, or a competitor played dirty pool. But in the end, we beat ourselves. Had we followed our game plan and made the adjustments necessary we would likely have continued to win.

How do we avoid the Self Defeat Trap? We must never take our success for granted. We work hard to succeed and just when we believe that it is going to be easy, we stub our toe. Perhaps we made it a practice to regularly write notes of gratitude to our key customers and check in with them by phone periodically. Then things seem to be going well and we stop sending the notes and making the calls. The next thing we know, a major customer has walked out the door – not necessarily because we stopped with the notes and the calls, but because we stopped paying attention and missed signs of dissatisfaction. We must reinforce the basics and fundamentals that led to our success and always keep them front and center.

Then, we must look for how and when we need to adjust our approach. If we simply continue to power along the way every day, we may beat ourselves because we missed subtle signals that would have told us an adjustment was in order if only we had watched for them. Back to the previous example. Maybe the notes of gratitude and the check-in calls worked just fine for several years. But on one such call the customer mentioned that he’d love to see us in person someday. The smart entrepreneur gets on an airplane and goes to visit the customer in-person. The Self-Defeating entrepreneur doesn’t pay attention to what the customer said and continues sending notes and making phone calls. Then a competitor waltzes in to see the customer in-person and the rest is history.

We entrepreneurs can stop beating ourselves if we avoid taking our success for granted, maintaining a disciplined approach to the basics and fundamentals that have enabled us to win, and paying attention to the signals that tell when to adjust our strategy and tactics. If we do this, our chances of winning our own Super Bowl will increase exponentially.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

The Difference-Making Entrepreneur

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s an obvious statement – entrepreneurs want to build successful businesses. But there’s something more that drives many of us. In some cases, this objective is just as important as building the business itself. It’s a notion that invokes strong emotions and can be a driving force. Yes, many entrepreneurs want to make a difference in the world. They want to help change lives in a positive way. This is especially true of the millennial generation but also strikes a multi-generational chord for many.

While making a difference sounds great, how do we go about creating a company that does good work? A strong set of core values and a vision that embraces changing the world are critical factors. But to truly move forward to effectively and sustainably implement this concept we must start . . . with ourselves. Making a difference must become a mindset and a lifestyle. Think about it this way. If we want to lose weight permanently, we don’t go on a diet, we change our lifestyle. It works the same way when we want to make a difference – we must change our lifestyle.

There is a simple yet powerful method that will help us move in the direction we desire. It revolves around a daily journal that we keep in which we record each attempt we make to do something that positively impacts one or more people. Here’s something else to think about. Making a difference doesn’t have to involve massive sweeping changes in the world. It starts with a lot of little steps that eventually have a cumulative effect. One of the mistakes that lead to frustration for entrepreneurs is believing that they can be the catalyst for major transformations overnight. Sure, once in a while this can happen. But shooting for the stars without enough fuel is certainly going to end up in a fizzling disappointment.

What sort of baby steps should we be taking to develop a difference-making lifestyle and mindset? Look at all the opportunities we have to make a positive impact on the lives of others every single day. In the restaurant where we are having breakfast or lunch, we can compliment our waitperson on providing excellent service. We can hold the door open so that another person can enter or exit. Perhaps we even anonymously pay for someone else’s meal in that restaurant from time-to-time. Maybe we handwrite a thank-you note to someone who has done something nice for us. Or we call a person with best wishes for their birthday. Do we always remember to acknowledge others with a smile and a warm greeting when we see them? Are our “please” and “thank you” manners always on display?

The little every-day habits we develop to brighten the day of another individual are foundational toward taking bigger steps. Suppose one of our team members is apparently in distress. We can lend a sympathetic ear. Volunteering is a terrific way to make a positive difference in the lives we touch and can run the gamut of activities. Helping at a homeless shelter, mentoring other entrepreneurs, reading to sick kids in a children’s hospital and providing assistance to scouting organizations are examples of such bigger steps.

To keep ourselves on track, we utilize the Daily Difference Journal to record what we have done each day toward our lifestyle change. While it may seem trite to make an entry like, “told Olivia that her smile brightened the day,” the act of keeping such a tally reinforces the intentionality of our desire to do good things for our world. Repeating this process day-in and day-out helps set the pattern that we desire. Initially it pushes us to remember to look for opportunities to say and do things that create a positive experience for others. Eventually it becomes second nature, and we don’t have to remember anything. We simply live each day looking for ways to make others happy and live better lives.

Making a difference in the world is a terrific benefit of being an entrepreneur. A Daily Difference Journal puts us on the path to accomplishing this with gusto!

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

The Customer-Obsessed Entrepreneur

Posted on by
Reply

Calvin Klein has a women’s fragrance called Obsession Perfume. It’s relatively inexpensive – around 25 bucks or so for a 3.4-ounce spray bottle. This blog is not about the perfume, but it is about a particular type of “obsession;” one that is worth far more than 25 bucks.

What dominates our thoughts as entrepreneurs? Is it cash flow? How about the competition? Maybe it’s growth or perhaps it’s market share. Most of these aspects aren’t worth becoming obsessions. In fact, there is very little that rises to the level of importance to be worthy of obsession. Yet, there is one element that is so fundamental to the success of our businesses that it should be front and center as a focal point. You might say it’s the “Obsession on a Pedestal.” Everyone throughout the organization starting with the CEO should be obsessed about . . . the Customer.

Well of course, you say, it’s obvious that the Customer is important. No, I’m talking about something more intense than “important.” Customer Obsession takes many forms. There are certain business establishments – stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc., where I enter the restroom and am amazed at how sparkling clean they are. And they even smell good! That’s Customer Obsession. There are certain business establishments where I am called by name when I walk in the door. That’s Customer Obsession. Or take the case of a regular customer of a resort who developed a fondness for a particular type of clock radio. She looked high and low trying to purchase one but to no avail. She messaged the resort staff to see if they could point her in the right direction but was told that the clock was not commercially available. She was pleasantly surprised on her next visit to find a clock radio waiting for her as a gift upon her arrival. That’s Customer Obsession.

Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could create a culture where everyone is equally obsessive about the Customer? This utopia would have every member of the team smile and greet a Customer in a friendly manner when in his or her presence. This utopia would be a flurry of random thank-you notes, thank-you calls and other forms of true expressions of gratitude to our Customers. When a mistake occurs involving a Customer, our culture encourages a quick, heartfelt apology and a genuine attempt to make amends.

When I think about Customer Obsession, I want to know exactly what the Customer needs and wants. This requires a deep dive into data and other methods to understand what makes the Customer tick. And I want to go way beyond understanding what the Customer currently needs and wants. I must determine what his/her future needs and wants are going to be. I want my Customers to seek me out and tell me that they aren’t just satisfied. No, I want them to tell me that they are fulfilled beyond their wildest dreams.

I want to know when a Customer quits and why; and then I want to make a supreme effort to save that Customer and regain his or her trust. I want to talk directly to our Customers on a regular basis to understand as much as I can about the experience we have provided them. I realize that the cash flow, the competition, the growth, and the market share are all secondary to Customer Obsession. Those aspects of our business will be fine if we have an ever-expanding base of Customers for whom we are fanatical about making ecstatically happy. Finally, I want to constantly innovate with an eye on how to better serve the Customer. Running in place is not an option. We can and must always do better for the Customer’s sake.

Many obsessions aren’t necessarily healthy. However, obsessing about our Customers will help ensure that our business is healthy and prosperous for years to come.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.