|
"Failure should be our teacher, not
our undertaker.
Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not
a dead end.
Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing
nothing, and being nothing." |
 The Four Emotions that Can Lead to Life
Change
You Can Stop the “Normal Aging” Live
Longer, Better, Wiser!
10 Lessons From 'Rich
Dad's
Before You Quit Your Job'
Mary Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com
If
you've ever toyed with the idea of starting your own company, what the heck is
stopping you? The possibility of failure? Zero job security? The potential of
going into debt? Lack of funding? Cluelessness about running a business? Sure,
those are valid fears. But self-employment is always going to have its risks.
You might believe you just weren't born
to be the Henry Ford of your time, but the truth is that anyone can be an
entrepreneur, according to Robert T. Kiyosaki, author of 'Rich Dad's Before You
Quit Your Job: 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About
Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business' (Warner Business).
Given that Kiyosaki believes that
everyone has the potential to create a thriving organization, it may seem
ironic that one of the major motifs of his book is 'failure.' Failure, however,
is part and parcel to becoming a successful entrepreneur, ("Humans are designed
to learn by making mistakes," he writes) and only those willing to risk failure
should attempt to create their own industries.
To help determine whether you should try
to become an entrepreneur, he offers 10 lessons he learned on his journey to
becoming one himself:
Lesson 1: A Successful Business Is
Created Before There Is a Business
All too often, new entrepreneurs get
so excited about a new product or opportunity that they forget to invest the
time designing the operation around the product or opportunity. Before you quit
your job, study the lives of industrialists and the different types of
companies they created, Kiyosaki advises. Better yet, keep your daytime job
while starting a part-time business -- for the experience. "Not only will you
learn about business, you will learn a lot about yourself," he says.
Lesson 2: Learn How to Turn Bad
Luck
Into Good Luck Rather than wallowing in the anger or sadness of
making a mistake, take the opportunity to learn something new from that mistake
and turn a bad experience into a good one.
Lesson 3: Know the Difference Between
Your Job and Your Work
Work is what you do to prepare for your job, and
doesn't necessarily mean getting paid. "Do your homework," Kiyosaki stresses
repeatedly. Creating a lucrative enterprise entails five jobs: delivering a
good product, knowing your legal rights, establishing a system, establishing
communications and managing cash flow. If you aren't qualified to do all of
these jobs, be prepared to work until you are or hire others -- such as an
accountant and a lawyer -- who are.
Lesson 4: Success Reveals Your
Failures
"Before quitting your job, know that your most important job
is to develop yourself," Kiyosaki says. A business that is initially booming is
still inclined to fail if the company does not continue to develop. It's not
enough to cover every aspect of launching a business; you must constantly
strengthen those elements in order to maintain the prosperity of that
undertaking.
Lesson 5: The Process Is More
Important Than the Goal
If you approach a business venture as a learning
experience, rather than a get-rich-quick scheme, it will be that much easier to
bounce back from mistakes and achieve long-term success. "High expenses are an
everyday challenge in business," Kiyosaki says. Consult an experienced
accountant before you begin to help you anticipate how much money you will need
to both support production and cover additional expenses. If you're not willing
to face these challenges, you should not become an entrepreneur.
Lesson 6: The Best Answers Are Found
in Your Heart ... Not Your Head
Make it your company's mission to work
for others, not just itself. Working towards a mission that goes beyond simply
making money will ensure the best quality of work and greater likelihood of
success. "If it had been just about the money, there are easier things the
three of us [himself, wife Kim, and Sharon Lecter, the founders of The Rich Dad
Company] could have done," he says.
Lesson 7: The Scope of the Mission
Determines the Product
While designing your business, determine how big
you want it to be. Deciding whether you want to own a small business or a big
corporation will set the stage for how you produce and market your product.
Lesson 8: Design a Business That Can
Do Something That No Other Business Can Do
"Simply put, focus all your
efforts on your core strength, your unique product," Kiyosaki writes. Kiyosaki
uses Domino's Pizza as an example of a business designed around a unique
tactical advantage: offering a pizza in 30 minutes or less. By offering
something no other pizza vendor did, Domino's immediately began taking market
share from its competitors.
Lesson 9: Don't Fight for the Bargain
Basement
"Ultimately, the most important job of an entrepreneur is to be
first in the mind of your customers," Kiyosaki writes. While almost everyone
knows that Lindbergh was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic,
almost no one remembers who flew second. Market your product as No. 1. "If you
are not first in your category, then invent a new category you can be the first
in."
Lesson 10: Know When to
Quit
Sometimes it is best to cut your losses. Not everyone should be an
entrepreneur, and only those who love it and accept it as an educational
process should do so. Understand that becoming an entrepreneur is a process
that involves failing. Certainly, Kiyosaki's mission in writing this book is to
prevent others from making all the same mistakes he did, but there will be
times when quitting will seem like the easiest and best thing to do.
Rally Company Performance
One
Employee at a Time
While everyone welcomes a pay increase,
in some workplaces, an annual performance review is anticipated with the same
enthusiasm reserved for a root canal. There is, however, an employee review
process that fosters team building, focuses on productivity instead of
personalities and positions the business owner as coach instead of therapist.
This process is known as Goal Centered
Management, and it has received rave reviews from businesses across the
country. This ongoing series of one-on-one meetings between a manager and an
employee establishes goals for improving job performance and contributing to
the company’s strategic objective. In this process, goals are created and
monitored by the employee with the assistance and oversight of the manager.
Here is how the simple four-step system works:
Produce the Goals: In a highly
focused 30-minute meeting, a manager and an employee work together to develop
specific, realistic goals. While the tone of the meeting is collaborative, the
employee is the one who develops his or her specific goals. The manager should
lead with questions designed to open possibilities, such as: “In your
position, where could we be doing better? What are we missing? How could we be
more efficient? Where are we dropping the ball?” To maximize the impact
and increase employee engagement, ask these questions with genuine interest and
curiosity.
Commit to the Goals: From this
initial meeting, a realistic number of goals are developed; typically, no more
than three are set. The goals are put in writing and usually are targeted for
completion or progress in 90 days. While the employee commits to achieving the
goals, the manager provides the employee with the necessary resources and
training to support success. Commitment is a two-way proposition.
Follow-up and Follow Through:
This initial meeting is followed up with a series of weekly or biweekly,
10-minute laser meetings where employees monitor their process. This follow-up
is critical to the success of the program. If an owner is not willing to make
these meetings a priority, the process will not work; it is likely to fade into
the back ground as “more pressing” issues (i.e., day-to-day
firefighting) take over.
Complete, Assess and Recreate: At
the end of 90 days, a final meeting is held. If the intended results were
produced, then the goal was reached. If they were not, find out what was
learned and what could be improved upon. Explore what else could be tried to
produce the results. Do not berate or belittle. It is time to regroup and try
it again. These “failures” are often just precursors to future
success – as long as the manager continues to encourage and support the
employee. Remember, make the employees accountable to themselves, not to the
manager.
The simple reason this system has proven
to be successful for so many is because achievement motivates. Given the right
environment, support and tools to succeed, employees are eager to participate
in the growth and development of the company. This is especially true if the
goals will make for a better work environment, solve employee frustrations,
improve time efficiency, reduce stress and make work more enjoyable.
 Contact us for more
information
|
