Do you ever ask yourself, 'Why do some businesses fail, while others succeed?' It's a complex question that begs many answers, and it's an answer I've been searching for since I began my business 16 years ago. In my search for knowledge and professional guidance, I have worked with and studied from hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and top level executives. The more time I spent getting to know these people the clearer it became that each one of them shared three common characteristics that ultimately defined their success: Focus, Faith & Effort (FFE).
My role as the leader of my company is to ensure that everyone - both our franchise partners and our head office team - understands what it takes to be successful. We are a company of leaders and I believe good leadership starts with defining a clear vision of success and then practicing a strong balance of Focus, Faith and Effort to get yourself and your team there.
Focus.
There is an amazing power in focus. Just think of a laser beam - a narrowly focused beam of light that is so powerful it can cut through steel. Focus in business has similar powers. What do we need to be focused on? Let's start with the entrepreneur. Few entrepreneurs have made it big by focusing on multiple industries or multiple products. We all have limited time and limited bandwidth. Dividing your energy amongst different businesses or different projects greatly reduces the momentum that we are capable of. Focus on customers. I see all too often in our business when a franchise partner thinks they will get better results trying to market to everyone, quickly. I teach our franchise partners to pick an audience - to narrow your focus. Will it be homeowners, property managers, realtors, or contractors? Pick one audience and own it. Some of our franchise partners who have really figured focus out will even take an audience and narrow their focus further. It's the classic 80/20 rule - 80% of the business comes from 20% of the target. Why go after all realtors if the top performing 20% will give you 80% of your business? Focus powers momentum.
Faith:
Without faith, you're finished before you start. First and foremost, people need to believe in themselves. If you don't believe in yourself, it's certain no one else ever will. You then need to have faith in a vision - a destination - a place to believe in. What is it that are you trying to build and why? Without a compelling vision, your team will have nothing to have faith in. Every exceptionally successful leader I have ever met or studied has had a crystal clear vision - whether they were an athlete, an entrepreneur, or a politician. Without a place to believe in - it becomes much harder to execute with focus and effort. As a leader, you also need faith in your team. I've met a few entrepreneurs who do nothing but complain about their team. When you've lost faith in your own team - I can guarantee they've lost faith in you. Faith doesn't stop with yourself and your team, you need to believe in your family, your mentors, your suppliers - virtually everyone around you. When you start to lose faith in yourself or your business model, it will be the people you surround yourself with who will help keep you going.
Effort.
This one's easy. Good old fashioned hard work. It doesn't matter how focused you are and how much you have faith in yourself, your vision and your team, you will not be successful without putting in the effort - and we're talking about consistent effort over time. We come from a society where we all want instant results. We can't buy a short cut on this one. It's like weight loss. If you really want to lose weight - if you are focused on the right exercises and proper diet and you believe you can do it - it still won't happen without hard work. We believe we can buy short cuts - but like a lot of the dot-coms at the turn of the century who tried to buy their way to quick success - it just doesn't work. We have a rule that we used in order to make sure we find team members and franchise partners who are strong in the area of effort - we hire motivated people. I don't believe leaders can motivate - they can inspire and empower - but motivation comes from within. I'll say it again - hire motivated people.
Success is a very personal thing and means different things to each and every one of us - however - every person that I've met - who considers themselves to be extremely successful is practicing a high level of focus, faith and effort. What you do is important, but I believe how you do it is even more important. Focus, Faith and Effort. Next time you meet someone who you believe is exceptionally successful - take a closer look at their approach. I'll bet they are making use of Focus, Faith and Effort - it works.
Focus Faith and Effort - To learn more about this author, visit Brian Scudamore's Website.
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Brian Scudamore
(Visit Brian's Website)
In 1996, seven years after founding a
small junk-removal business in Vancouver,
I set a goal to rapidly grow my business.
As a young entrepreneur, my biggest
challenge was learning how to achieve
this. In 1998, I renamed the company
1-800-GOT-JUNK? and started positioning
for nation-wide expansion. By 2004, our
system-wide revenue topped $38 million and
franchisee numbers reached 140 locations.
1-800-GOT-JUNK? is now poised to hit a
revenue goal of $100 million in 2006.
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