The Entrepreneurial Dilemma

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A Summer of Fears

It’s a time of apprehensive moments for the entrepreneur. Some many things happen during the summer that can cause the small businessman a lot of stress. As people vacation, they may be buying less of what you have to offer; unless of course your business revolves around tourism. You yourself may be contemplating time off. Holidays like July 4th in the U.S. almost force you to take time off. The stress from all of this for the entrepreneur is that so much of ourselves is wrapped up in our business that we hate to leave it for even one minute. Taking a whole day off is almost unheard of. And taking off a week? Forget it!

On a side note, I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am an entrepreneur. I didn’t see it that way for a while, I think mostly because I don’t sell products as much as I do services. The more I looked at it, however, the more I realized that I am still very much so in the entrepreneurial spirit. So, like others, I stress during this time of year.

Off to Camp

As I am preparing for the July 4th holiday, I am also preparing to leave this Saturday to take 19 Boy Scouts to Summer Camp at Camp Raven Knob in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Great camp! So extremely well run that after visiting last year we immediately voted to go again this year. As a leader within the troop, I must go to make sure there is appropriate adult supervision. Who’s going to supervise me, I don’t know. : )

This decision to go did not come easy. I worry that I should be working, generating income, developing new programs; all kinds of things that keep my business going. Lost productivity time. The expense of making the trip, especially critical in the face of unforeseen expenses in other areas this year. I toyed briefly with bowing out.

In the end, I decided to go. I don’t know if my reasoning will help you in your decisions or not, but here’s what I came up with. The value of what can come out of this camp for the boys and the influence I can have adding to that value in my opinion far outweigh potential losses. These opportunities are rare, particularly with my own children growing older. I also had my integrity to think of, both my integrity with others and with myself. I had made a commitment that others were counting on. It’s important, again both for myself and for what I teach the Scouts, to fulfill my commitment no matter the cost. If you don’t have trust, you have nothing. Even more so, I needed to trust myself. As an entrepreneur I decided that I simply needed to trust in my ability to produce, trust in what I have to offer, and in my resolve to survive and even thrive no matter what. It won’t be easy and it will mean a lot of hard work when I return, but I was planning to work hard and smart anyway.

So, breathe! Take a few moments and re-charge! Trust yourself and your abilities! Enjoy the moment!

P.S. I will confess that there is a Scoutmaster’s Hut there with wi-fi so I won’t be completely disconnected and I am going to take some time doing some necessary planning and working on my book; so the week won’t be a complete loss.

What about you? What fears are you facing this summer?

Why Your Dream Isn’t Reality

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Every one of us has a dream. Believe it or not, this is mine. Early on, I distinguished myself as a speaker and trainer. I also developed a passion for how people who become leaders, how groups work together, and how people grow. Combining those two into what I do now creates that perfect avenue for me. Am I totally there? No, but I am moving forward in that direction.

What about you? What’s your dream? What’s that thing you have always wanted to be or always wanted to do? What’s the thing that keeps you up at night with a vision of how things will be when you get there? Even more to the point, what are doing to get there? Do you have a plan in place?

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If you are like most people you are saying “Oh, yeah, I got it all right up here up in my head!” Unfortunately, that almost never works. You need to get it down on paper. A plan on paper has a higher level of commitment to it that just keeping it in your mind doesn’t have. In addition, putting your plan down in print (or web) gives you the opportunity to sort it out and arrange it. Your plan has more than just an idea, it has structure and a timeline and deadlines. Without that plan you are going to have a very hard time getting to where you want to go. Yeah, you are special and maybe you are that one in a million that will actually do it; but do you want to risk your dream on the extremely remote chance that you might become successful without a written plan?

The funny, almost ironic thing about it is that you will likely not reach that goal following that plan precisely. Things get in the way that make plans change. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said “plans are useless, but planning is essential!” So the plan changes, but your decision to get there never does. So your plan is going to change, it’s going to evolve. But it’s a start. So, you have to get that plan down on paper (or on the computer).

So how do you get there? How do you get that plan down on paper and get yourself that good start? Start by thinking backwards. Look forward to about 2-5 years from now. Where do you want to be, what do you want be, what do you want to be doing? Now backtrack from that. Where should you be four years from now to be on track. Three years from now? Two years from now? Within the next year? Backtrack all the way. And when you get down to a granular level, then you are looking at what you have to do on a weekly and daily basis to reach your goal. John Maxwell says that your real success will be found in your daily activities. Plan your daily activities to be working towards your goals and accept nothing less. And that’s how you plan out your success.

Remember to KISS

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I like the title here; not only because it is somewhat catchy, but also because this week Sherry and I celebrated 18 years of marriage. She has been a tremendous blessing in my life and has believed in me even when I have not always believed in myself (yes, it happens to everyone). So, certainly a kiss has been on my mind.

It’s also an acronym, of course, for Keep It Simple, Silly, the admonition originating with either the Navy or Lockheed’s Skunkworks depending on who you believe. It’s a reminder for me at least that in the midst of complexity I need to fall back on simplicity. Especially when I communicate, I need to keep it simple. As a speaker, there is a tendency to want to create complex, intricate phrases and flowery statements because it is important that we sound like we know what we are talking about. But my objective isn’t to boost my reputation, it’s to communicate something I believe is important enough to share. Therefore, I need to keep my message simple.

I have been participating in a discussion on LinkedIn with other professional speakers about whether you should memorize your speech and just get the main points down in a outline and speak off the cuff. Naturally, it is a polarizing topic for those who care about those kinds of details. The pro-memorize people believe it helps you sound more professional and polished. The pro-outline people believe it makes you sound less rehearsed and you speak more from the heart.

For me, I have a hard time writing it down unless it comes from my heart. And I can’t possibly do an outline, it’s just not the way I think. And I think it misses the point. The point is to communicate with your audience; not just spew information, but communicate. To communicate, you have to first connect with the person or audience to whom you are speaking. Without that connection, your words fall basically on deaf ears. You may get nods of acknowledgement, but you won’t get action and you certainly won’t get any commitment. And this is true whether it is a speech before a large audience, addressing a board of directors, one-on-one with an employee or boss, or speaking to your best friend or your spouse or child.

Here’s the thing: no one connects precisely the same way as someone else. And this is where the discussion on LinkedIn goes awry. For some, the only way they can have the opportunity to effectively connect with someone is if they feel secure in the words and expression and may only get that from memorization and rehearsal. Others may feel uncomfortable delivering by rote and if you are uncomfortable then there is no way you can make anyone else comfortable; therefore you won’t make a connection. So those people work best by speaking from the heart, letting the words flow as they may. So the point is don’t worry about choosing this way or that way; let your mind and heart get together and create the flow. And don’t forget the most critical way you communicate: LISTEN!

Think of someone you have needed to communicate with for a long time. Make that today.

Leaders Lead Simply

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On May 10, I helped sponsor (as a vendor) and attended Chik-fil-A Leadercast this year. Leadercast is an annual event where top leaders in business, education, politics, sports, and other areas speak on ways to strengthen your leadership. It is held live in Atlanta and simulcast to locations around the world. I was at Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Lake Nona area of Orlando.

Now, imagine being able to glean wisdom from the likes of John Maxwell, Andy Stanley, Coach K, Jack Welch, David Allen, Condolezza Rice, and others all in one day for one small investment! It was a tremendous experience and I highly recommend you plan to attend it next year.

Here is some of my takeaways from the speakers this year:

Overall Theme: Simply Lead

Andy Stanley (Author, Pastor, Founder of Northpoint Ministries)

Be okay with not being the best person in the room. Just lead.
Growth and complexity are intertwined. Leaders provide clarity in growth to offset it.
To find clarity, ask yourself “what am I doing? Why? Where do I fit into the big picture with my clients?”

David Allen (Author of Getting Things Done)

Find your serenity in a crisis in simplicity
Give yourself freedom to make a mess
Pay attention to what has your attention
Get things off your mind and on paper
Define it, refine it, date it, map it
Make your mind like water, flowing into and filling the gaps and adapting to your container

Sanya Richards Ross (Olympic Champion)

Focus on who and what you are
Henry Cloud (Author of Boundaries and Necessary Endings)
Don’t be afraid to get outside help to do what you must when you ain’t
Leaders bring necessary endings in situations both good and bad
Prune away what isn’t core to your purpose and vision
Who’s your monkey? Monkeys cling to and support one another when things are not well. Who is your monkey you can depend on

John C. Maxwell (Leadership Guru and Author of over 70 books)

As communicators we try to complicate things, but need to keep it simple
Move people from simplistic to complex to simple
Do your math:
- add value to someone everyday
- subtract your leadership landmines
- multiply your strengths by developing them
- divide your weaknesses by delegating them

Mike Krzyzewski (Coach of Duke Men’s Basketball Team and Team USA)

Leaders bring out the best in the team

Condolezza Rice (former Secretary of State, College Professor)

The key in complexity is to see simplicity
Beware enabling condition
Lead where you are

Jack Welch (former CEO of GE, author)

Go after your passion with everything you got
You have no right to be called a manager if your employees don’t know where they stand
Develop the generosity gene
Move with self-confidence, simplicity, and speed
Fear but go for it
No amount of productivity overcomes the wrong attitude, so prune away those whose attitudes are not consistent with company culture and values
Over-deliver always