Do Business Well

Perhaps one of the best examples of caring for employees is Raymond Ackerman, who credits part of his success to his good relationship with them. He has always attempted to pay the highest wages and provide the best working conditions in the retail business. He celebrated his sixtieth birthday by sending cake to every one of Pick ‘n Pay’s 27 000 employees!

Keep out the red tape where possible - high achievers are intensely demotivated by it. If you nit-pick about unimportant aspects like taking leave you are on a losing wicket.

Develop yourself, your partners and employees. Your business can only grow if you, your partners and employees develop.

It is true that some of those you are trying to develop do not want it and will actually resent you for trying! Rather rid your business of such people. Your company, your people and you can’t grow if you and your people are not developing.

Some of those you have developed may even take advantage of you for short-term goals, but very often their growth slows the moment they leave you.

You must also develop yourself as Abraham Lincoln has. Horace Greeley said of Lincoln: “He was always open to all impressions and influences, and gladly profited by the teaching of events and circumstances, no matter how adverse or unwelcome. There was probably no year of his life when he was not a wiser, cooler, and better man than he had been the year preceding.”

Sell optimism. Do you feel good with pessimists around you? Of course not, and the same goes for your clients, your partners and your workers. They don’t want to hear how difficult the problems are - they want to hear that you are going to tackle them to the best of your ability.

I would like to quote successful Reg Lascaris on this: “There is too much pessimism around. If you sell optimism, people want to talk to you.”

Also, the world-famous author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie, said: “The first idiot to come along is able to criticize, condemn and complain: that’s exactly what all idiots do anyway”.

So, please don’t be an idiot or associate with them - the world belongs to the optimists, pessimists are always spectators!

Believe in what you are doing. Would you buy a product from someone who doesn’t have confidence in it? No, of course not. People want to hire, buy from, depend on, be friends with, invest in and trust people who have confidence in themselves and their products.

If anyone in your business doesn’t have faith in it, c_uthim or her out as quickly as possible to protect your partners, employees, your clients, yourself, your dream_sand even the person who doesn’t have the faith. It will be difficult, but it has to be done.

Victor Kiam, president of Remington said: “Going into a venture with large doubts is writing a script for failure. When the terrain gets rocky - and every entrepreneurial venture has its share of hard times - it’s not likely that you will give the project the support it requires if you don’t trust in its merits.”

Find a positive support group. Get involved with positive people outside your business and meet at least once a month.

One of the people who developed me, Gideon Greyvenstein, is such an enthusiastic person he makes me want to move mountains. A previous student of mine is in business with him and they are doing so well it inspires me.

Surround yourself with successful people. There is a wise saying: “The secret of having a happy marriage to mix with happily married people.” The business world is no different: the secret is to mix with successful business people. They always have good ideas for your business and will develop your personal and your finan- I cial well-being.

Even the secretary of Ray Kroc, the man who started McDonald’s, became a multimillionairess from the few shares he gave her in the beginning!

Minimise your contact with negative people. Sceptical 4 and cynical people get a thrill from breaking other people down. Avoid them like the plague.

Oscar Wilde once said of cynics: “A cynic is a man who knows the price of all things and the value of none.” So, rid yourself of their company! There are enough worries in running and expanding your business to waste your time with people whose negative attitudes undermine your morale.

If you have to deal with negative people, make a conscious effort not to let them influence you. I agree - it may not always be easy, but try nevertheless. Rather find new associates, employees or customers.

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