Daring To Grow Your Business & Crush Your Competition?
Earlier I wrote about the apparent contradictions in your personal, faith and business life and asked how you handle them.
Today I'll mention another to get your juices flowing (and because I like "kicking over ant hills" as my buddy Jordan is fond of saying):
To really grow you must be both Careful and Daring.
But, Wes, that makes no sense. How can I be careful and daring?That's like saying 'Be left handed and right handed,' or 'Be Liberal and Conservative,' or 'Be a Yankees and a Red Sox fan!' Make up your mind!"
My mind is made up.
Being confident in my decisions can only happen after taking a detailed survey of my surroundings, noting the peaks and valleys, the crossing points of the swift rivers, the potential rock slides, the predatory animals in the area, weather conditions and the best areas for both natural shelter and from which to defend myself should I encounter less-than-friendly creatures on my journey.
After doing all of the above in the arena of sales education and business growth I can advise you to be both careful and daring if you really want to grow your sales and know that I am not crazy.
Bold attorneys are told to "never ask a question to which you do not already know the answer." That means they can only be bold in court after conducting extensive, careful research into the case. They'll review case law, take depositions and perform intensive discovery to make sure the odds are stacked in their favor when the moment of truth arrives.
Bold athletes make great plays after both careful and tremendous physical preparation (in the weight room and practice facility) and mental preparation (studying game film of the opponent to be able to recognize their weaknesses) so they can make the move that ends up on ESPN and puts a ring on their finger and a trophy on the shelf.
Bold businessmen (a.k.a. The Donald/Mr. President, Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs) pour over the financials, market data, industry trends, hire great people, hold them accountable, expect and demand more from them and then do not hesitate to pull the trigger. And that applies to getting into a deal and recognizing their losses and pulling the trigger to get out of a deal if circumstances warrant such action.
How are you preparing to take bold action? I know Zen masters and followers of Buddha are quick to tell you to "go with the flow" but have you ever heard Donald Trump say "It's OK my little Apprentice wannabe's. Don't make any waves. Just sit back and take what the business world gives you. I love you and I'll hire you any way."
When studying Meteorology at Texas A&M (Whoop!) we got deep into the first and second law of thermodynamics because we had to understand how heat transfers from one parcel of air to the next and how that contributed to the movement of air, which is vital in forecasting the weather.
A key component of the second law of thermodynamics is that of entropy.
Simply stated, entropy is defined as the nature of all things to tend towards disorder or break down. That's why mountains eventually erode, your roof needs repairing and 6 kids will tear up a house within 7 minutes of the departure of your cleaner.
"Going with the flow" is entropy personified in business. Sure, there are times you must rest and sharpen the saw but only for the sole purpose of giving you the energy, the focus, and the ability to take a big bold swing at the tree that you need to build your home or a new piece of furniture, which you will either sell or sit at to sign another humongous deal that buries your competitor.
So if you've been overly cautious I encourage you to take bold, daring action today. If you've been burned a few times too many; if you're smarting from a recently lost sale you thought was in the bag; take some time to reevaluate your path and make sure you are equipped for the journey.
Market like you mean it. Now go sell something.,
