The Small Business Conundrum why so many do it why so many fail Or Christopher Columbus secret weapon
The Small Business Conundrum why so many do it why so many fail Or Christopher Columbus secret weapon
Are we drawn, like lemmings, to a glowing false future which consumes and destroys us? Or do most of us just stumble our way to failure?
About 50 years ago, JFK commented on the economy: "A rising tide floats all boats." Right now the tide is out - and yet the enthusiasm for starting new businesses seems to be growing! Are we nuts?
As someone who's started 7 small businesses, and who teaches the process at the Learning Annex and elsewhere, I think I know. I believe I know what went wrong with some of my efforts and right with others. As someone who works full-time now as a small-business coach, I think I can see something clearly missing.
What's missing is a durable, persistent inspiration! You and I must create a star to follow. If you're an entrepreneur, or planning to be one, I've come to believe you must assume responsibility for your own inspiration - and not only must you maintain it, but it must be catching! Consider that inspiration is the single most difficult process for the small businessperson to generate and maintain around his/her business - even harder than raising capital or quitting his/he present job.
When you first start a business, or join in one, what's possible is hugely exciting! Whether you're going to make the world a better place, learn new and valuable skills or just cash-in big time, the future appears bright and motivating. The details may be a bit fuzzy, but the possibilities are compelling. Now fast-forward 1 year. As the owner, you grumble "You can't get good help these days!" As the worker, you're the person the owner's talking about - while you observe that your own dreams are dimming or unfulfilled.
Too often, the owner's now in the ridiculous posture of head-down, tail-up, working in his business, not on it. Is it surprising he can't see that bright star anymore? Is it surprising that he's working twice as hard, making half as much, and is totally separated from fun?
What's not visible- a powerful mission, a motivating vision. In its place we have endless urgent to-dos, forest fires, crises. If the mission and vision once existed, they've been relegated to the world of the "Important - do when get time." How successful can a small business be when it focuses on the urgent, and ignores what's important? Does this sound familiar to you?
It reminds us of the conversation between Queen Isabella of Spain and one ship-captain, Christopher Columbus, only 500 years ago. (Recently discovered in a stack of old EyeWitness News tapes found in a Spanish basement.)
"Captain Columbus," Isabella says, "I'm not going to hock one jewel unless you provide me with a righteous mission statement and vision statement."
Columbus grumbles under his breath "I'm a ship-captain, not a Harvard MBA!" but he hears money talking and he buckles down to work. After extensive consultation with his coach he returns:
"Ahem. A mission is a clear description of what we expect to accomplish and the benefits associated with it. My mission - er, our mission is to find a new route to the riches of the East so that we, er, our nation will profit and the English, Italians and French will be left tossing in our wake!"
Isabella smiles and claps her hands. "Bravo, Captain - and the vision?"
Columbus surreptitiously crosses his fingers behind him, and speaks out. "A vision is a picture of what might be possible as a consequence of fulfilling our mission. It's frequently seen as ridiculous and absurd by those who don't share it, but it's tremendously inspiring to those who do. I've recently discovered that the earth is round rather than flat. My vision is that we can accomplish our mission to get to the east by sailing west, as ridiculous as that may sound to your Royal Highness."
"Not ridiculous at all, Captain," she cried. "I'm inspired enough to cash in these baubles" she giggled in her jewels, "their value is as naught compared to what we may be able to accomplish together! And I rather suspect both you and your men will find this inspiration valuable when you are far out at sea in a small boat!"
The rest, as they say, is history!
This fanciful fable underscores what I believe is the root cause of small-business failure - the missing of vision and mission. Where can they be found? Ironically, both mission and vision are located somewhere between your left and right ear. They are hugely suppressed by doubt, conventional wisdom, and "reality." They can be evoked, with substantial diligence. And they are powerfully transformational. They will help you, and the rest of the people in your business, to row all in the same direction (rather than rocking the boat!)
The Small Business Conundrum why so many do it why so many fail Or Christopher Columbus secret weapon - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Jennings's Website.
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Better than half our gross national product is the output of Small Business, yet most of them don't last very long! Why?
Are we drawn, like lemmings, to a glowing false future which consumes and destroys us? Or do most of us just stumble our way to failure?
About 50 years ago, JFK commented on the economy: "A rising tide floats all boats." Right now the tide is out - and yet the enthusiasm for starting new businesses seems to be growing! Are we nuts?
As someone who's started 7 small businesses, and who teaches the process at the Learning Annex and elsewhere, I think I know. I believe I know what went wrong with some of my efforts and right with others. As someone who works full-time now as a small-business coach, I think I can see something clearly missing.
What's missing is a durable, persistent inspiration! You and I must create a star to follow. If you're an entrepreneur, or planning to be one, I've come to believe you must assume responsibility for your own inspiration - and not only must you maintain it, but it must be catching! Consider that inspiration is the single most difficult process for the small businessperson to generate and maintain around his/her business - even harder than raising capital or quitting his/he present job.
When you first start a business, or join in one, what's possible is hugely exciting! Whether you're going to make the world a better place, learn new and valuable skills or just cash-in big time, the future appears bright and motivating. The details may be a bit fuzzy, but the possibilities are compelling. Now fast-forward 1 year. As the owner, you grumble "You can't get good help these days!" As the worker, you're the person the owner's talking about - while you observe that your own dreams are dimming or unfulfilled.
Too often, the owner's now in the ridiculous posture of head-down, tail-up, working in his business, not on it. Is it surprising he can't see that bright star anymore? Is it surprising that he's working twice as hard, making half as much, and is totally separated from fun?
What's not visible- a powerful mission, a motivating vision. In its place we have endless urgent to-dos, forest fires, crises. If the mission and vision once existed, they've been relegated to the world of the "Important - do when get time." How successful can a small business be when it focuses on the urgent, and ignores what's important? Does this sound familiar to you?
It reminds us of the conversation between Queen Isabella of Spain and one ship-captain, Christopher Columbus, only 500 years ago. (Recently discovered in a stack of old EyeWitness News tapes found in a Spanish basement.)
"Captain Columbus," Isabella says, "I'm not going to hock one jewel unless you provide me with a righteous mission statement and vision statement."
Columbus grumbles under his breath "I'm a ship-captain, not a Harvard MBA!" but he hears money talking and he buckles down to work. After extensive consultation with his coach he returns:
"Ahem. A mission is a clear description of what we expect to accomplish and the benefits associated with it. My mission - er, our mission is to find a new route to the riches of the East so that we, er, our nation will profit and the English, Italians and French will be left tossing in our wake!"
Isabella smiles and claps her hands. "Bravo, Captain - and the vision?"
Columbus surreptitiously crosses his fingers behind him, and speaks out. "A vision is a picture of what might be possible as a consequence of fulfilling our mission. It's frequently seen as ridiculous and absurd by those who don't share it, but it's tremendously inspiring to those who do. I've recently discovered that the earth is round rather than flat. My vision is that we can accomplish our mission to get to the east by sailing west, as ridiculous as that may sound to your Royal Highness."
"Not ridiculous at all, Captain," she cried. "I'm inspired enough to cash in these baubles" she giggled in her jewels, "their value is as naught compared to what we may be able to accomplish together! And I rather suspect both you and your men will find this inspiration valuable when you are far out at sea in a small boat!"
The rest, as they say, is history!
This fanciful fable underscores what I believe is the root cause of small-business failure - the missing of vision and mission. Where can they be found? Ironically, both mission and vision are located somewhere between your left and right ear. They are hugely suppressed by doubt, conventional wisdom, and "reality." They can be evoked, with substantial diligence. And they are powerfully transformational. They will help you, and the rest of the people in your business, to row all in the same direction (rather than rocking the boat!)
The Small Business Conundrum why so many do it why so many fail Or Christopher Columbus secret weapon - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Jennings's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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