#step1. As a #businessowner behave to #makeadifference, instead of just making a living or a #profit. It was in 2010 that I verified from analysing my case load of 20 beta clients that the key ingredient for success was clearly PASSION. Not as I had thought since I started in 2008 with them having 7 key Entrepreneurial Attitudes, or increased levels of knowledge and skill. The most successful quartile of them had no other attributes in common other than that. Each one of them were leading their business to make a difference and not just a living or a profit. So it was not down to their background, education, finance, selling or expertise in management. This high level of passion and drive meant they engaged fully not only with my coaching but learning in general. That level of engagement lead to them changing their behaviour quickly and very effectively. The others left me exhausted in terms of trying to pull and push them to change. The most frustrating areas were of course finance, selling and personal leadership. As those that did not have passion blocked any behaviour that led them to using and producing their numbers ,willingly selling and being self accountable. This conclusion compared exactly with a number of successful entrepreneurs I had studied. They all spoke of passion and drive. On deeper analysis these to me and now several others derive from what is known as the entrepreneurs wound. This usually equates to some sort of trauma in their formative years in life or in business. Something that hurt them so deep they are passionately running away from it by being successful. Such great examples as James Dyson, Alan Sugar, Duncan Bannitynne and Richard Branson reach from these types of experiences for their passion and drive. My first reaction to the above was to use Positive Psychology as my base of looking for a solution. Because not everybody has an entrepreneurs wound-fortunately. So I concluded that it was helping an individual to establish their own meaningful vision first. So this vision was about the difference they would make as opposed to the tangible things, like wealth they would have. That soon proved floored as without a tangible way of delivering that meaning the vision was hardly likely to be the driver I wanted. As it needed a totally creative type of thinking not at all prevalent in most people leading small businesses. Then In August 2013 I came across a video from a guy called Simon Sinek. This video was based on a book he had written called Start with why. One I quickly devoured and started sharing with others. If you have not come across it I would strongly advise you to study it for your self. In it the key premise is that all successful people but particularly entrepreneurs do it because of their own WHY. Once you have that then the what and how of your business or life is so much easier to know. His evidence is based in biology. He maintains that that is how we as humans make decisions that lead to actions we commit to completely-without being told too. This began to fuse with two other areas of research I had come across and studied at length. The first was routed in Positive Psychology and I felt for me amplified Abraham Maslows hierarchy of human needs. Specifically the top one of self actualisation. A state of extreme well being in a human, currently coined as FLOURISHING. As I currently understand it to have an ultimate state of well being and thereby flourish you have to have meaning and achievement in your life. The definition of meaning intrigued me in terms it had to be about making a difference and not oneself. The second area I came across was through Daniel Kehnman, author of the best selling book Think fast, think slow. It is called behavioural science. In my terms it relates to the two different parts of the brain. The old limbic part of the brain and the new executive part of the brain. In the limbic part of the brain is a very intriguing thing called the Amygdala. This seems to me to be like the soul, in other words it does everything emotionally. Daniel Kehnman and his colleagues state that these two parts of the brains do not always work together. Something I cover under the next step as it can have dire consequences. However I do believe that they seem to work together more regularly if the Amygdala is focused on others and not self. My conclusion is that the outcome, goal, or vision that you are leading too as an entrepreneur is to be in a state of self actualisation or ultimate well being. Because you have made a difference to the world or village of your choice through in our case enterprise. It is something that will not by defined by the riches you have accumulated and things you own, or size of business(empire) you have created. A behaviour that of course leads naturally to more riches and things anyway. Ones that you dont feel guilty of having. In effect a state of being that could be described as “Entrepreneurial Bliss” To add to this Simon Sinek has gone on to explore in his latest book Leaders eat first the significance of a chemical hormone called Oxytocin. A stress hormone that is prevalent in the brain when somebody does something for somebody else, with no thought of return. According to his research and others when this is prevalent in a humans brain they behave more effectively. Interestingly they are also naturally more attractive and inspiring to others. Finally in context to why I have to draw us back to the statistics on small businesses in the UK. In numerous studies and surveys they seem to me to paint the same picture. A dire number of small businesses never make it to their tenth year of trading. Although as I write this book more are being started. It was Michael Gerber who in 1986 first identified in his book The E-Myth this problem to be connected with behaviour. A behaviour that he determined to be that of the technician. A behaviour related to the fact that most people go self employed out of necessity. The necessity to create the job they really want or was not available. One without the grind of answering to others and doing it in a way that was satisfying. So therefore the majority of small business owners did not behave like entrepreneurs, hence the title of the book. In more recent studies this behaviour has been coined as that of the artisan, who interestingly might become a muddler, hero or meddler when he or she employs others. Now Michael Gerber and many others like Brad Sugars have logically pointed this out to be the problem for some 30 years now. They have created and sold learning processes, systems and products to try and rectify this problem. Based on the premise of knowledge transfer. The knowledge supposedly of how to lead a small business successfully. Governments have done their bit. However the problem remains the same-so few either survive or even flourish. Almost with an acceptance that most will fail. So therefore current Government policy and support is in my opinion being funneled at the few that would make it anyway. Cynically suggesting that creating more fodder heightens the odds of this policy working. All be it with some blood along the way. There is a picture starting to emerge for me from data from a worldwide body called the Entrepreneurship Global Monitor. As up to now the only reliable data was of course coming from the developed countries like ours and the USA. This body is made of some 200 academic bodies from across the world. In 2007 after 10 years of collating the data, they deemed a definition of small businesses. Those borne out of necessity as opposed to out of opportunity. An opportunity to exploit a gap in the market and make a difference. These businesses since then have shown to not only be more sustainable but have a bigger effect on the hole economy. Suffice to say the lowest number of these types seem to be in this country. I strongly believe to overcome the problem of small business failure we have to radically change the behaviour of those going into business or in business for themselves. As setting your sights at just making a living, profit or even a fortune is not good enough. Because and this is my fundamental point the credit crunch in 2008 changed the world for ever. It was the easy access to credit that fueled demand up until then. So existing and in effect thriving in this enviroment was easy for the majority of businesses. If your offer to the market does not make a difference and add real value then you will not be there. Unfortunately as I go out networking I do not see behaviour from small business owners that reflects this dramatic change. As one very cute but not directly involved friend of mine from the charity sector said recently they all seem to still think this is the 80s. So wake up guys and realise that type over abundance and self interest is over! I also belief personally that what I have laid out above is what my faith in Jesus Christ is based on. That it is his key and new commandment that I should Love God above everything and my nieghbour before self. Of course in the context of the Greek definition of that love being Agape and certainly not Eros. So perhaps this is the way I can do my bit to channel his peace to those that do make a difference not just a profit.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 10:22:18 +0000
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