Do Business Well

Sometimes, you have to be a clown

Sometimes, it pays to be a clown. It pays to do things that make your people and your customers laugh. Remember the power of the Court Jester: in the Middle Ages, the jester was the second most powerful person in the kingdom after the king because he made people laugh while he was telling the truth. If you truly want to capture the attention of others, make sure you amuse and entertain them. But do it in a way that is respectful and appropriate.

This point is especially appropriate to those people who have a great sense of humour. If you have this skill, use it to its maximum. If you haven’t, try to develop it. But don’t force it.

And by the way, have you noticed how we always seem to be able to laugh at misfortune after the event. We look back at the incident and smile. Our question to you is: Why wait? Laugh about it now!

The marketplace is not a charity organization: you have to be strong for others

The marketplace is not the SPCA, it’s not the YMCA and it’s not the Red Cross. The marketplace doesn‘t care about your personal problems. It doesn‘t care about your marital hassles, your overdraft or your losses on the stock exchange. Your customers and employees don’t care about your problems, they expect you to solve their problems.

So here’s an important rule in the game called Success: Don’t burden others with your troubles. Don’t moan about how tough things are. Don’t give your customers excuses why you didn’t meet your promises. They don’t care and, what’s more, your excuses will only make them angry.

We meet so many mediocre operators who are continually complaining about how tough their life is. The moment we hear the complaints start, we know this operator will never get into The High Performance Zone. Mentally, we shut down and we look for somebody who is rising to the challenge with guts and enthusiasm.

If you are going to succeed, you need to play a number of roles. You are not just an entrepreneur, you are a social worker, a psychologist, a marriage counselor, a big brother or sister, a best friend or soulmate, a father confessor, a shoulder to cry on or just someone to lean on when your associates are not strong.

Inother words, you have to be a social chameleon. You have to play whatever role the situation calls for. Some roles will come easier to you than others. But just because playing a certain role doesn‘t come easily to you, it doesn‘t mean you can afford not to play it. Obviously there may be times when you have to call in a professional but remember the triple A’s of the entrepreneur: Adapt, Adjust, Advance.

Surround yourself with people who will recharge your batteries

Being an entrepreneur is an emotionally, intellectually and physically exhausting existence. You have to keep giving to the people around you without expecting the favour to be returned. However, you are human. We are human. We all need someone to help us help others.

So here’s our advice: surround yourself with a handful of people who will recharge your batteries. These are the people with whom you can share your real problems. These are the people who love you just the way you are. They don’t judge you. They have your best interests at heart. They love to help you because it gives them pleasure.

If you’re really lucky, you have a spouse that can also play this role with you. Or you may already have a few very good friends who will be there for you. However, we recommend that you expand this group. Search out the best of the best and connect with them. Establish your own personal board of directors. And, most importantly, ensure that you always give the people around you more than you take from them.

And that’s one of the reasons I wrote this. We both have separate strengths. But we decided to pool our talents and fire off each other’s energy and ideas. This isn’t Eric’s way and it’s not Mike’s way, it’s a higher way paved with the synergy of two champions playing together.

Being an entrepreneur is a paradox. On the one hand, you have to fly solo. You are on your own, taking leaps of faith without a safety net. It’s a lonely existence because you are the boss. You have to make the decisions. You have to lead others. You are responsible. You are accountable.

On the other hand, you need the cross-pollination of other people’s ideas. You need the inspiration and insight of quality people from inside your industry and out. You need the moral support of likeminded champions facing similar challenges. In other words, you need to create a web of human resources that you can draw on when you need it most. So right now, begin contacting the people you want to align yourself with, attend industry functions where you can meet the people you need. Decide what you’re going to give to others as part of the “talent trade”.

Finally, Find the Applause Within

At the end of 1997, Mike attended a marvelous program at the Disney University in Orlando, Florida. The program was called “The Disney Approach to People Management” and it lasted three days. During this program, Mike was exposed to how Disney runs its theme parks and achieves such high levels of customer delight.

At one of the workshops, the facilitator told the delegates that at Disney, the real heroes of customer service “find the applause within”. In other words, they don’t need other people to tell them how good they are for them to feel good about themselves. They are constantly praising themselves and celebrating their own victories and successes.

So here’s our point: take time to congratulate yourself; become your own biggest fan; celebrate all your successes, no matter how small; give yourself credit when credit is due; and forgive yourself immediately for mistakes.

Here are five unquestionable truths of an entrepreneur:

• If you don’t praise yourself, you’ll end up praising no-one.
• If you don’t forgive yourself, you’ll end up forgiving no-one.
• If you don’t love what you see in the mirror, you’ll end up loving no-one.
• If you don’t say nice things to yourself, you’ll end up saying nothing nice to anyone.
• If you’re not comfortable with yourself, you’ll end up being uncomfortable with everyone.

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