As much as
everyone dislikes growing old, there are some advantages to advanced age for
people who go through life with their eyes wide open and who are determined to
learn from their experiences. David Brooks, of the Brookings Institute, who’s
normally perceptive articles I like to read, pointed this out when he wrote in
an April 1, 2014 column in the New York Times: “Some virtues only ripen over time: other-centeredness, having a sense
for how events will flow, being able to discern what’s right in the absence of
external affirmation. These virtues usually come with experience, after a
person has taken time off to raise children, been fired or learned to cope with
having a cruel boss.”
I can
identify with all of that, except taking time off. In my final address to the
annual meeting of the company (PrimeraTurf, Inc.) from which I retired as CEO,
I offered my audience the following rules for success in business (all of which
I had filtered out after a lifetime in business at both sides of the Atlantic):
·
Don’t burn
any bridges
·
Control
the things you can control and don’t waste any time worrying about things you
can’t control, including your competition
·
Know what
you’re in business for (your mission) and make sure everyone around you knows
it as well
·
Make sure
your organization runs on all cylinders
·
Know who
your stakeholders are and never deceive them
·
You can’t
save your way to prosperity; entrepreneurship is all about putting capital at
risk
·
Know at
all times if, when, and where you are making money (or not)
·
Judge
people by what they bring to the table, not by the hours they spend on the job
·
There is
always more than one way to skin the cat
·
When in
doubt say no before you say yes; you can always reverse a decision but you
can’t renege on a promise
·
Simplify
your life and your business; cut through the clutter and get rid of
distractions.
I like to zoom in on the skinning of
the cat. What I mean with that is that I have found that there is almost always
more than one way out of a predicament, more than one way to build and grow a
business and more than one way to lead a purposeful life. That may sound
self-evident, but in reality I have found that many people with a leadership
position in business are so convinced that they are on the right track and that
they have all the right answers that they are impervious to outside counsel and
blind to the quickly changing external environment that should cause them to
pause from time to time and reconsider their options and alternatives.
Awareness that there is always more
than one way to skin the cat is an aspect of a positive corporate culture.
Without it, there is not much room for meaningful input from team members,
other stakeholders or outside counsel. If the message is: “I know what I’m
doing and you just do what I tell you”; or, “I know what you’re saying, but
this is the way we do business”, you will quickly find yourself surrounded by
“yes-men” and discourage your customers, your suppliers and other stakeholders
to engage with you in an effort to build a strong and durable supply chain.
The mindset that comes with or from
this awareness causes a business leader to always think in terms of options and
alternatives, which, in turn, invites input and scrutiny from third parties who
may be affected by the ultimate decision about how to skin the cat. No single
person ever has all the right answers. And the prospects for a thriving and
sustainable business are slim if the person in charge claims to already know
how to skin the cat before he or she has heard from stakeholders in the
decision and solicited the presentation of alternative courses of action.
The rule that there is always more
than one way… also applies to the business model you chose. Don’t be misled by
the fact that in a certain field of business or industry things are typically
done in a certain way. A contrarian approach can pay off big dividends,
particularly when the old business model is getting a little old and tired.
Customers may be ready for an innovative approach. Can you imagine how
successful a company could be if it finds a way to break through the awful
practice of bundling cable communication services? I can’t wait to see it
happen now that the proposed merger between Comcast and Time-Warner is putting
the screws on. It is tough to go against the grain, as Tesla is finding out in
its quest for a new distribution model for its cars. But for the truly
innovative entrepreneurs who find a way to break the mold, the pay-out is
likely to be huge.
The bottom line is that the cat does not want to be skinned at all, but if it has to
be done, then there is always more than one way to do it and do it with the
desired outcome in mind.
