I have observed in today’s culture that PROGRESS is valued over WISDOM. This makes me afraid there is no real chance to experience satisfaction. The recovery of wisdom in the life of a business is essential to the creation and sustainability of a healthy company!
The laws of nature govern the physical world. Providing the framework for the existence and interactions of plants and animals. In a similar vein, the world of business operates within a framework of principles.
This is how I see the comparison. The world of business is shaped by the dynamics of economics, commerce, and human behavior. It operates within a structured framework of laws, regulations, and market forces that influence the behavior of companies, entrepreneurs, and consumers.
Just as the laws of nature create the habitat for plants and animals, the principles of business create the environment in which businesses thrive or struggle. Factors such as supply and demand, competition, innovation, consumer preferences, government policies, and global economic trends, all of which play a role in shaping the business landscape.
Businesses operate within this ecosystem, just as plants and animals do in the natural world, to survive and prosper.
My five principles of business are:
- The principle of no shortcuts – Over the last 35 years as a business owner I have seen a tremendous amount of change in the particulars of how businesses operate. During this time period the internet, email, and texting all were invented and added to how businesses can sell and serve their customers. However these tools don’t change the relational work that happens between businesses and their customers.
- The principle of embracing failure – Most business leaders today do not share or value their failures. The admission to failure is looked upon as a weakness. The fact is most leaders stop at failure. The bootstrapping – American way has led to a place of self sufficiency, where leaders often can’t muster the courage to move beyond the setbacks.
- The principle of serving – “Whatever gets built with a mindset of self effort, must be sustained by self effort.” This thinking is a sure tell sign of selfish leadership. It leads to overworked business leaders, and likely a small and unproductive company. Ancient text says it this way; There is a way that seems right to leaders, but in the end it leads to death.
- The principle of operating in the present moment – Today’s world of to-dos, task lists, checkboxes, texts, phones, and video meetings has led to many ending off each work day feeling anxious! This anxiety comes in two forms, worry for the future, and regret for what could have been.
- The principle of speed (business and personal.) – Business today operates at an unprecedented pace. Technology makes people believe they can multitask and leverage time and energy at a pace and manner that is incomprehensible. The truth is, both time and money are finite. The reality is these resources function together. You can save on one by spending on the other.
When applied and lived out correctly these principles allow businesses to scale and grow in health. When applied poorly there is loss in every area of life.
For the next several newsletters I will break down each of these five principles into great detail in order to help you understand the effects these “laws of the universe” have on the success (or failure) of companies today.
If you would like to talk about these principles in the meantime, please click here to schedule a call with Claire, our VP of Sales