Michael Katz's E-Newsletter On E-Newsletters
March 17, 2006
Issue #148
The Road(s) To Success
I attended an evening business event last week, primarily because one of the featured speakers was my friend and fellow consultant, Steve. (Not his real name. His real name is Nick Miller, but Iím calling him Steve to protect his anonymity.)
Anyway, I went to see "Steve," and as always, he was impressive. Iíve seen him speak several times over the last few years, and every time I do, I walk out of the room newly energized and eager to jump back into my own work.
It wasnít always like that, however. In fact, I remember the very first time I saw Steve speak. It was February of 2001, and as was the case last week, Steve was the featured speaker and I was sitting in the audience.
I hung on every word, and I drove home that night with two very clear thoughts bouncing around inside my head:
-
I want to be that guy. A confident, successful, sole proprietor who had the audience laughing, learning and benefiting from his point of view. Watching Steve gave me my first clear vision of what I wanted to become as the owner of my own business.
- Iím in big trouble. The problem was that although I admired Steve, listening to him describe his systematic, targeted, "losing is not an option" approach to identifying and winning clients, gave me a distinctly sick feeling in my stomach. I wanted what he had, but the thought of doing what he did to get it, made me queasy:
Iím not a good planner; I thrive on random. I donít like calling people I donít know; Steveís approach seemed to involve a lot of this. I prefer working with small companies; Steveís clients were the 50 largest banks in the country. And on and on and on. By the time I pulled into my driveway 30 minutes later, I was well beyond self doubt, and now simply hoping that "extreme naivetÈ" would be considered a legitimate enough mental illness for my disability insurance to kick in.
Today, five years later, Iím happy to say that seeing Steve hardly ever makes me feel sick. And hereís why: Iíve realized that there are several ways for each of us to get to wherever it is we want to go. What works for Steve (or any other visibly successful person) is not necessarily (or probably) whatís going to work for you or for me.
The problem with listening to experts – whether a thriving sole proprietor or a world famous Fortune 500 CEO – is that the really good ones leave you with the distinct impression that theyíve "found the path." Theyíre very clear about how they do what they do and why it works, and they have all kinds of real world experience with which to back it up.
And if youíre in the early stages of developing your own approach (as I was back then), with no evidence to the contrary, itís natural – no, itís intelligent – to learn from somebody whoís been there.
Or maybe not. Because what Iíve discovered as Iíve listened to Steve and many other successful people talk about "what works," is that what theyíre really talking about is what works for them in particular – given who they are, how they view the world and what theyíre naturally good at. For me and Steve, the answers to those questions couldnít be more different.
Bottom Line: As far as I can tell, "success" – however you define it – is much more a function of knowing what works for you than knowing what works in general. And so while I strongly recommend listening, reading, watching and learning from as many experts as possible, donít let anybody else's "proven method" for reaching the top divert you from whatever path youíre already on. If somebody elseís advice strikes you as off target, it probably is (for you).
Addendum: When I showed him a preview of this newsletter, Steve suggested an alternative ending, which, as Iím sure you wonít be surprised to learn, I decided not to use. Still, I have to admit, that man knows his stuff. Hereís what he said:
"Listen to those people... but it's like picking clothes. People look at pictures of models and their outfits and say, ëI want that outfit.í What they're really saying is, ëI want to look like that.í Doesn't work like that. There's not a ëready madeí off the rack outfit for running a business. You have to make your own ëout fit.í You can't wear somebody else's clothes and expect them to fit.
"Part of the fun and challenge is learning what fits and makes you look good (and successful) and what doesn't. This idea fits me, this one doesn't. I like this color, I don't like that one. The basic principles of running a successful business are the same, just like the articles of clothing are the same – shoes, socks, shirts, dresses, etc. It's finding which styles, colors, and shapes of them work for you."
To subscribe to Steveís Weekly Sales Thought, follow this link.
Six Degrees of Dave Barry
Iím almost done writing a book filled with useful, interesting and occasionally witty advice for self-employed professionals. Although Iím sure Steve wonít like it, Iím hoping that some others feel differently.
In any case, Iíd like to invite noted humorist Dave Barry to write the forward for me. Rather than just attempt to contact him out of the blue however, it occurs to me that one of you may already know him and would be willing to make an introduction.
If it turns out heís your brother-in-law, college roommate or next door neighbor, or Dave, if you're already a subscriber to this newsletter, please give me a call!
About Blue Penguin Development, Inc.
Blue Penguin Development helps professional service firms get clients,
by showing them how to strengthen relationships with the people they already know.
I specialize in the development of electronic newsletters.
Click here for an overview of my services.
|
