[Legacy post: Small Business Talent] My guest on the podcast today, John Bell, spent 19 years as a self-employed global strategy consultant to some of the world’s most respected corporations. Before launching his consulting practice in 1994, John also served as CEO for a major consumer products company in Canada.
John is a prolific writer. His excellent articles on strategy, leadership, and branding have appeared in various marketing journals and business publications, including Fortune and Forbes.
John’s new book, Do Less Better: The Power of Strategic Sacrifice in a Complex World, has its roots in his early career. At that time, John and a young leadership team faced the daunting task of resurrecting a struggling company with a complex range of products. He and his team took steps that few business leaders do, setting aside their own egos and trimming down the product portfolio. The business that remained grew rapidly because they had fewer distractions and were able to focus on running it far more effectively.
The lessons John learned by facing down this kind of adversity served him well throughout his career as a CEO and then as a solo consultant. The bottom-line? He learned that “smart sacrifice” is the surprising secret to success.
So, are you ready for some no nonsense advice on how to take your business to the next level of achievement and personal fulfillment? If you said yes, then get ready to take some notes – this is a fascinating interview. Scroll down to the Podcast Player below and listen now!
Podcast Player:
How Smart Solo Professionals Make Their Own Luck
I’ve been fortunate enough to run a profitable solo consulting practice for over 14 years now. I’m also Irish-American. Does that mean I have the magical ability to make you lucky in business? No, not even on St. Patrick’s Day. But I do know how you can maximize your odds for success as a solo entrepreneur.
Here are four tips that will help you make your own luck:
Thoughtfully Define Your Ideal Client — Who are they and why are they ideal? How will you serve them and accomplish your revenue goals? Staying focused on the clients who are a great match for you may be the single most important thing you can do to create lasting business success and fulfillment. No business can succeed for long while serving the wrong people.
Commit to Specific Revenue Goals — This commitment requires creating a written plan that includes specific milestones for their achievement. By the way, if focusing on revenue goals and planning seems irrelevant, then you probably have a hobby, not a business. Every healthy business or solo practice is focused on achieving revenue growth – you’re either growing or dying.
Take Advantage of the 80/20 Rule — If you stay focused on the roughly 20% of activities that best support your ideal clients and the achievement of your revenue goals, then you’re almost guaranteed success. If you’re not sure how to identify the right actions to take, then ask yourself this question: “What’s the most important goal for me to focus on today, and what action can I take right now to make maximum progress toward achieving that goal?”
Stay Flexible in Your Approach — Doing business in the real world requires reevaluating your plan on an ongoing basis. Tracking your progress and making adjustments in response to the challenges and opportunities that come your way is essential to your success. As renowned business planning expert, Tim Berry, once said: “Planning is nine parts execution for every one part strategy. And execution means setting the right goals and then managing them, day by day.”
The bottom-line is simple. Making your own luck doesn’t require having Irish heritage (although that certainly doesn’t hurt). It just comes down to mastering a handful of fundamentals. The tips I’ve shared with you today may seem simple, but they’re also powerful. I hope that you’ll adapt them to your own unique needs.
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Dale Carnegie vs. The Marketing Gurus
I’ve heard quite a few marketing gurus talk about what they call “authenticity” and the importance of self-expression. They advise us to mix-in plenty of personal disclosure with our marketing communications (especially when we blog or use social media) to create a sense of familiarity and rapport.
I agree that most clients do want to understand where we’re coming from as people. But if we let a desire for self-expression shape the focus of our writing and our client conversations on a regular basis, then personal disclosure takes on a narcissistic quality. That’s a good way to turn people off.
In his classic book, How to Win Friends & Influence People, Dale Carnegie frames this issue in a different way. He writes: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” I think he understood a crucial key to building trust and creating great relationships.
Taking Mr. Carnegie’s advice to heart, I stay focused on my clients’ goals and challenges — and I listen to them as deeply as I can. I want to understand them and their world because my business is all about serving them exactly where they are today.
Can you relate to my perspective on the issue of authenticity and self-expression in business? If so, I’d appreciate you sharing this post on social media using the icons below. Thank you for spreading the word!
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