Lesson #3: The Essential Lies in the Execution
Lesson #3: The Essential Lies in the Execution
Huizenga started off with a good idea, but what made it a great idea time and time again was how he implemented it, how he got it off the ground and running. “It’s like being the quarterback on the team or the head coach,” he says. “You pick your players, develop the game plan and together, you must execute.”
That, according to Huizenga, was the best part about being the boss. It was not the fact that he could tell others what to do. It was not the fact that he made the most money. For Huizenga, being a good boss meant working together with his staff – his team – to take his ideas from paper to practice. No one person was more important in that process than the other. What mattered was how they worked together. That was both the most enjoyable part of the process for Huizenga, and the most important for the success of his company.
That process began by finding a niche. Huizenga searched for what interested him and, when he found it, he did his homework. He looked for opportunities big and small, local and global, and set out to make them happen. And, he did not stop until it was done, until he had accomplished all he wanted to before moving on.
To that end, Huizenga became known for his fondness for using the word “we” around the office as much as possible. He understood that it was only with the support of others that success could be achieved.
So, too, did Huizenga want to develop a friendly and personal relationship with all of his clients and business partners. “I don't want to be just a voice on the phone,” he says. “I have to get to know these guys face-to-face and develop a sincere relationship. That way, if we run into problems in a deal, it doesn't get adversarial. We trust each other and have the confidence we can work things out.”
Huizenga was also known for using the word “next”. As determined and ambitious as he was, he was never so arrogant as to think he could not fail. Huizenga’s strength was precisely in knowing where his strengths lied. Where he was not seeing the success he wanted, and where he did not see a chance of that success, he was not afraid to drop the project and move on – on to the next one.
“Our philosophy has been to be fiscally conservative, so we can be operationally aggressive,” he says. “We're not using borrowed money to grow. So we'll put up a store just to get there before the competition. If it doesn't work, we'll close it and lose a little equity. It won't kill us.”
It was both his ability to lead a strong team, his knack for picking the right businesses for his skills, and his willingness to do whatever it took, that allowed Huizenga to become an entrepreneurial legend. It was why Huizenga was willing to venture out of the boardroom and onto the street, driving garbage trucks when the need arose. It was how his company of only 40 trucks acquired more than 150 local garbage companies and become the largest waste disposal company in the U.S.
Huizenga made a point of focusing on the process and the means rather than the end result. And, it paid off.
Lesson 3 The Essential Lies in the Execution
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When Huizenga was asked what he thought was more important in creating a successful company – the idea or the execution – he did not hesitate for a second to respond: “The execution, because there are many great ideas, but you must be able to execute to succeed.”
Huizenga started off with a good idea, but what made it a great idea time and time again was how he implemented it, how he got it off the ground and running. “It’s like being the quarterback on the team or the head coach,” he says. “You pick your players, develop the game plan and together, you must execute.”
That, according to Huizenga, was the best part about being the boss. It was not the fact that he could tell others what to do. It was not the fact that he made the most money. For Huizenga, being a good boss meant working together with his staff – his team – to take his ideas from paper to practice. No one person was more important in that process than the other. What mattered was how they worked together. That was both the most enjoyable part of the process for Huizenga, and the most important for the success of his company.
That process began by finding a niche. Huizenga searched for what interested him and, when he found it, he did his homework. He looked for opportunities big and small, local and global, and set out to make them happen. And, he did not stop until it was done, until he had accomplished all he wanted to before moving on.
To that end, Huizenga became known for his fondness for using the word “we” around the office as much as possible. He understood that it was only with the support of others that success could be achieved.
So, too, did Huizenga want to develop a friendly and personal relationship with all of his clients and business partners. “I don't want to be just a voice on the phone,” he says. “I have to get to know these guys face-to-face and develop a sincere relationship. That way, if we run into problems in a deal, it doesn't get adversarial. We trust each other and have the confidence we can work things out.”
Huizenga was also known for using the word “next”. As determined and ambitious as he was, he was never so arrogant as to think he could not fail. Huizenga’s strength was precisely in knowing where his strengths lied. Where he was not seeing the success he wanted, and where he did not see a chance of that success, he was not afraid to drop the project and move on – on to the next one.
“Our philosophy has been to be fiscally conservative, so we can be operationally aggressive,” he says. “We're not using borrowed money to grow. So we'll put up a store just to get there before the competition. If it doesn't work, we'll close it and lose a little equity. It won't kill us.”
It was both his ability to lead a strong team, his knack for picking the right businesses for his skills, and his willingness to do whatever it took, that allowed Huizenga to become an entrepreneurial legend. It was why Huizenga was willing to venture out of the boardroom and onto the street, driving garbage trucks when the need arose. It was how his company of only 40 trucks acquired more than 150 local garbage companies and become the largest waste disposal company in the U.S.
Huizenga made a point of focusing on the process and the means rather than the end result. And, it paid off.
Lesson 3 The Essential Lies in the Execution
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