As mentioned previously, it’s sometimes “good to be the king” provided you focus on, and wisely implement, the key strategies for small business success. Last week we touched upon the first four keys. Here are brief explanations of the remaining three.
5. PERSPIRE: To get to a position of authority, you have to pay your dues. To stay in a position of authority, you have to keep paying your dues. ..but in a different way. I was never able to establish an engine that was able to run on its own. Perpetual motion is something science has yet to invent. Nobody ever promised you tomorrow. Your business is only as good as yesterday, and will only perform so long as you keep your foot on the accelerator. It doesn’t get easier. Winning is a goal that you can never totally achieve because every hurdle you overcome opens the door to other hurdles. Losing is something you need to learn to tolerate, because great lessons are learned with each loss. By not repeating your mistakes, you are partially provided with a formula for success. When you think it is getting easier, you’re about to learn that it’s about to get harder. When you’re no longer willing to “sweat the big stuff,” you need to refer to the next key.
6. PREPARE TO RETIRE: As a child I was horrified to watch Joe Louis, the greatest boxer of his time, get knocked out of the ring by Rocky Mariano only to return a few months later as a wrestler. He was so desperate to make a living, pay his tax bill, and remain in the limelight, that he had no choice but to swallow his pride. As I approached my prime, I watched Mohammed Ali, perhaps the greatest athlete of all time, turn his back for mercy as Larry Holmes refused to throw any more punches at his legendary, helpless target. Great athletes and great business models are doomed to eventual failure. The trick is to continuously upgrade and change your business model, and in knowing when to get out of the way to let others take on more responsibility. Your goal should be to continue to draw a healthy bit of compensation, while simultaneously delegating more and more responsibility to others. You should start striving to put yourself in a position to do what you want, when you want, while allowing yourself to pursue your passions outside of the business. We refer to this as the CEO Emeritus Program.
7. LIGHT YOUR FIRE: Most of us got where we are today by being fiercely independent. That can be both an asset and a liability. Take it from T. Harv Eker from his great book, “Secrets of a Millionaire Mind:” “You can be RICH or You can be Right. You need a priest to confide in, complain to, consult with, and with whom you can brainstorm.” Find yourself your priest and/or board of priests who will serve as mentors, make you accountable, and provide you with access to best practices as well as methodologies to continuously sharpen your saw.
This concludes my brief introduction to the key strategies. In coming weeks, I’ll go more in-depth into each of these strategies.
Barry Sea Siegel has over 35 years’ entrepreneurial experience in both large corporate and small business environments. He is President of Houston based Barry Siegel LLC as well as CEO Focus of Greater Houston, which provides peer advisory groups for small business leaders. Barry can be reached at barrys@ceofocus.com
