Green, Yellow or Red?

Every color is clearly represented at your company. Your job is to figure out who’s which color and then navigate your ideas accordingly.

There are the Green light people whom are always open to new ideas, looking for ways to keep things evolving and moving forward. These are certainly good people to present your ideas too, however depending on there credibility they might have the reputation of saying yes to everything and be less affective at helping you move your ideas forward than others.

Then you have the Yellow light people whom are cautious about anything you bring them.  The Yellow color people aren’t dangerous to you but they will question the things you bring them. These are actually very good people to bounce ideas off of because they can help prepare you for the objections you are going to see later from the Red color people.

The Red light people, just like the red stop light, seem to have an uncanny knack of putting a stop to ideas on a regular basis.

Now it would be easy to say just present your ideas to the Green light people and be done with it.  The problem is that most of the time you are going to need approval or at least support from all three, Green, Yellow and Red. Just like a traffic light your ideas success will be based on getting cohesive buy in from all three.  In fact if you can bring a representative from each of those three groups your idea will become more powerful than if its supported by just one faction.

Get moving now and get that project green lighted.

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A friend approached me the other day about starting a conference for entrepreneurs.  Certainly not an original idea but none the less I think the timing for something like this is very good.  As more and more people branch out and become entrepreneurs there certainly has to be an opportunity to learn from those who have been there before.  One of the traits that will make up successful entrepreneurs going forward is their ability to learn and share new ideas with and from each other. I can see a conference being the perfect opportunity to bring both successful and aspiring entrepreneurs together to dialogue on the latest trends, techniques and technologies.

Now I’ve been to a bunch of conferences in my time and we certainly don’t need something else to fill our time.  However for this I could see it being made up of a very small group of attendees and presenters.  Say 200 attendees and 10 presenters.  Each of the presenters would represent a different aspect of being an entrepreneur.  Things such as raising capital, utilizing the Internet, manufacturing and servicing, money management, creative thinking and leadership could all be topics of discussion.  Instead of presentations though I’d like to see that panel take real world examples from the attendees and see how they could help right there.  Perhaps other parts of the days would be filled with stories from successful entrepreneurs on how they made it.  Something to think about for sure.

Let me ask you, are there any existing entrepreneur conferences that you know of?

Any that you have been to and thought were good?

What types of things would you like to learn at one of these conferences?

Leave a comment below, who knows maybe we’ll take this idea and do something with it.

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The discussion of whether entrepreneurs are born or made is certainly an interesting one.  I believe they’re made and I believe anyone can be one. In fact if you have a job you’re already an entrepreneur and probably don’t even know it.

Let’s look at what you had to do in order to get the job you have.

First, you probably attended schooling of some sort, if not a college or technical school at the very least you received a high school degree.  From there you filled out applications, had interviews, met someone or were recruited to start working somewhere.  Now you may not see that as an entrepreneurial process but look closer.

You had to invest some capital to get started.  If  high school was as far as you got then the capital invested was your time, if you furthered your education then there was a monetary investment in your entrepreneurial venture.  From that point you had to engage in sales.  The product you were offering was yourself, your time, talents and more in exchange for compensation. The same as if you were selling a product or service, instead you were selling yourself.  After you got that job you had to maintain it, continue to prove your worth, in essence you are acting as after sales “service” in maintaining the product you’ve sold, which is yourself.

Many people associate being an entrepreneur with taking a product or service and creating a company around it.  The fact is if you have a job you have the basic fundamentals of being an entrepreneur.  The problem is that we’re conditioned from the time we are born that we can all go to school and get a job. Therefore it’s become second nature, just something that is “easy” to accomplish. What if we were conditioned to believe that becoming an entrepreneur was something just as “easy”, if becoming an entrepreneur was the normal path?

What do you think?

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A good article appeared over the weekend that analyzed over 500 entrepreneurs and in that study a consistent pattern appeared. Entrepreneurs are made not born.  It’s something I’ve been preaching for awhile.

If entrepreneurs are not born then how are they made?

“They simply got tired of working for others, had a great idea they wanted to commercialize, or woke up one day with an urgent desire to build wealth before they retired. So they took the big leap.”

It really is that simple.  At Lazzara Yachts we sell to very successful entrepreneurs and I make it a point to find out  how they got to where they are.  Nearly all of them have very humble backgrounds and quite frankly unremarkable stories as to how they were able to go from nothing to multi millions in a matter of years.  Now I say unremarkable with the utmost respect for what they have done, taking nothing away for their hard work, risk taking and vision needed to be as successful as they are.  The point is though that there isn’t a complex back story to their success.  They are generally as simple as, having an idea and moving on that idea.  For most they didn’t start out with clear visions of exactly how successful they would be, more a general idea that they had something that could work.

Everyone’s an entrepreneur is something I continue to say and while I realize not everyone will choose to be, I truly believe that everyone has the ability to be.  Whether you choose to exercise that ability or not is up to you.  Just know that you can be made into a successful entrepreneur you don’t have to be born “into it” .

What do you think? Leave a comment below and let me know?  Can anyone be made into an entrepreneur?

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People guard and protect the things they value most. The things we value less we give up without a fight. However what happens when you think about that in terms of your career.

Why do so many people continue to value complacency, fear and procrastination?

When the question is phrased like that it would seem ridiculous to think that people value those things.  Obviously those are things we all experience, but value?  The thing is that many submit to each of those without putting up a fight.  It’s easier to put it off until later than put up a fight and do it now.  It’s easier to be content with where you are than fight for where you want to be. It’s easier to produce all the reasons why you cant do something than bravely forge ahead with confidence.

It’s time to start fighting for the things you value most in your career.  That idea you have, the dream of launching that business, the goal of becoming an entrepreneur, all of them are worth fighting for.

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You’ve probably never heard of Robel Telkemariam. I know I hadn’t.  However if you haven’t heard his story your missing out on not only a great story but a perfect example of overcoming obstacles.  Robel is an Ethiopian competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics.  As a cross country skier he qualified as one of the 95 Olympians that competed just recently.   Needless to say Ethiopia and skiing don’t go together but he still made it.  As entrepreneurs the lessons from his story should inspire us to overcome the obstacles we face.

What do you do when you face seemingly insurmountable obstacles?

1) You Invent - How does one train for cross country skiing in Ethiopia?  By developing a custom set of roller blade type skis (seen here) that allowed him to train without snow.

2) You Lead -  The number of Ethiopians that have made it to the Winter Olympics is zero!  In order to over come major obstacles be prepared to be the first. Not just prepared but ready to embrace it.

3) You Create – There was no Winter Olympic committee even in Ethiopia so Robel had to spend nearly a year lobbying for one before he could even have a chance of representing his country in the games.

4) You Desire – The trail that has been blazed for future Ethiopians to enter the Winter Olympics has been created by Robel.  The fuel that set the blaze on fire was his desire.  When you couple desire with vision the results can change history.

We all face obstacles.  Some are real while others are perceived.  The next time you face one just think about the Ethiopian Winter Olympic skier, Robel Telkermariam and don’t quit.

Ask any sniper, combat pilot, or solider what’s most important to hitting their target and they will tell you a clear line of sight. It’s  obvious when using a combat analogy that a clear line of sight is of utmost importance to hitting a target and reaching a goal, however what about targets or goals that you have? What are the things that are getting in the way of your target?

Maintaining a clear line of sight when it comes to reaching your goals is critical. For many the distractions of life seem to impair our vision.  Things that “have” to be done, enemies like procrastination and blinders like distraction,  all move in to block our sight on the ultimate target.  You need to be proactive in navigating around and through those things that get in the way between you and your goals.  Make it a point to keep a clear line of sight on your goals.

What’s Your Target?

Having said that, what needs to come first is a clear vision, a target, a goal.  For many they get hung up on what the goal will accomplish and not the goal itself. For instance is that entrepreneurial idea you have the thing you focus most on or is it the lifestyle you hope it will afford you?  The later blocks your clear line of sight.

Is it the idea of freedom from your current job that fills your head or the idea itself?   The point is that it’s easy to allow things, even good things, to block our line of sight on the ultimate target.

Maintaining a clear line of sight is critical to your success.  Whether it be on a project, goal or idea, don’t allow things to get between you and the target.

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I heard someone say this the other day in reference to giving money to a charity. His point was we need to do more.  It got me thinking about doing more with dreams.

Essentially it paints a perfect picture of exactly what many people do.  Each day they go through the motions of life and work, never giving it their all, just giving enough.  It’s as if your dropping nickels worth of effort in all that you do.  To compound the issue not only are you dropping little nickel amounts of effort, you’re dropping them into others dreams.  Think about it, its a lose – lose situation.

What if we approached effort and dreams differently?

Dropping Everything On Others Dreams

What would happen if you approached everything as if it was your last task?  What would happen if you were guaranteed that the harder the effort the better the results?  What dreams that others have can you meet with all that you have?  As an entrepreneur you have the opportunity to create something that can contribute to others dreams.

Sometimes when the word dreams is mentioned it is associated with a lofty goal but what about breaking it down to the day to day. Dreams can also be our expectations and as an entrepreneur how are you meeting others expectations?  By doing just enough or going over and beyond.  Is your product so exceptional it exceeds expectations?  Is your service so remarkable it’s memorable?  Are you going to offer your customers nickels, dollars or everything?

Dropping Everything On Your Dreams

Certainly being focused on others is important, however what about your dreams?  Putting things off, giving them effort whenever you get around to it, making excuses to delay your dreams, these are all examples of dropping nickels.  What would happen if you started dropping some big money on your dreams?  One things for sure, if you don’t others wont, so it’s up to you.

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So I’ve returned from a week at an industry trade show, the Miami Boat Show to be exact.  Anyone who’s ever been involved in trade shows knows that while business is certainly the main agenda for most there are still underlying motives of others.  It’s incredible to hear the buzz of negativity blossom each and every time. One prospect I talked to told me, “I was just down at your competition and the salesman said watch out for Lazzara Yachts they are having tough times.” to which that person said “So is that your sales presentation?”

Why do others feel the need to get involved in mud slinging against the competition?

It’s not just unique to my industry, it’s prevalent throughout the business (and blogging) world. However, the reaction from that incident was just a great reminder that you need to be focused on doing what you do and letting the work speak for itself.  Letting your work speak for itself is a key characteristic that I see among great entrepreneurs and something we should all strive for.  Sure pointing out that what you do or what you make does x to your competitions y is part of selling, but really does anyone think that mud slinging works these days?

Since you can’t sling mud without getting dirty don’t even bother.

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It’s not a matter of if you have an idea, but when, what will you do with it.

It’s not a matter of if you have the talent, but when, how will you use it.

It’s not a matter of if you have the determination, but when, will you act on it.

It’s not a matter of if you have an opportunity, but when, can you recognize it.

The problem with many is that we get hung up on the if and miss the when.