From start-up to exit – the life of a business Summing up 2014 –Part II

“The future is still under construction” – Ikutaro Kakehashi

Make your business stand out.

          You need to be different to increase your visibility, not just another face in the crowd. But this might be a trap. Don’t just make it look like you are different, be different! Going back to the idea that your business is your baby, if you want people to think your child is smart you don’t just make him wear glasses, you help him learn and be smart for real.

            Of course standing out can be done following different paths. You can have the best product, services, delivery, after sales and so on. What if there could be another way of standing out in the business world of our days? What if you could stand out having a good reputation, following the guidelines of ethics? In these days we are living I do believe that this is a rare bird and even if it will be hard work to be the only fair man at the table, in the long run you will stand out as that guy you can count on.

            Ethics is such a grand word with such a big impact on your life or business. Definition of ethics varies from “the science of the ideal human character” to “the science of moral duty” but we are actually talking about “a set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behavior helps or harms sentient creatures”. Yes, skills, techniques and innovation are important for your business but they tell a story about your product or services. It is more and more important in the business “jungle” the human to human relationship, and you are defined as a human by your character and reputation. Your character is defined by your actions, it is what you are, while your reputation is defined by a series of perceptions, it is what people think of you. For your partners (suppliers, business partners and customers) it is harder to identify quickly your character, so at the beginning of a partnership the main element in choosing you is your reputation.

Honesty is the best policy. When you plan a long term business that you want to grow and develop honesty is the cement in your foundation. You can only mislead a partner once, if you say that your product has some imaginary qualities he will see that as soon as he gets the product and he will never buy anything from you again.

Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching. Integrity means having a strong link between your words, thoughts and actions at all time. I made enemies and lost friends fighting for my beliefs. But when all is said and done we are the ones looking at our reflection in the mirror. I rather lose some projects or money than lose the trust and friendship of the person looking back at me from that mirror.

Promises are just words until they are fulfilled. You need to always respect your promises; promises should be immune to changing circumstances. Being true to your promise shows to your partners that they can be at ease while being involved in a project with you because they know you will deliver.

Loyalty is valuable inside the framework of the other principle of ethics. Loyalty means devotion, a sense of duty to a person, group or cause but this shouldn’t be a reason to break all other principles of ethics. Yes you show loyalty to your partners and don’t betray their trust but it doesn’t justify everything. And in order for loyalty to work it should be a two way street. Don’t make a priority of someone seeing you as an option.

Fairness. Fair play doesn’t mean lowering your standards to give others a chance, it means to ensure both of you play on the same field by the same rules to the best of your skill level. Fairness states that you should treat your partner, competitor or your employee the same way you would want to be treated “Being good is easy, what is difficult is being just.” – Victor Hugo

Caring. Demonstrate compassion and a genuine concern for the well-being of others. You must always have in mind the people affected by your business or financial actions and consider their interests before making those actions. Get involved in CSR programs as often as you can and focus on the new generation and help building a world in which you want your children to live in.

Treat everyone with respect. You should build your business so that you get the respect of your partners. And the first step in doing that is to respect them. Respect is an attitude of admiration and esteem, but respect should not be confused with tolerance. Alexander Dumas once said: “In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents”. The perfect answer to an aggressive and abusive conversation partner will be: “I will treat you as a gentleman not because you are one but because I am one”

Obey the law. This comes to strengthen the fairness principle. Laws are rules that everyone is supposed to respect, to go by.

Pursue excellence all the time in all things. Your goal should not only be building a successful business but also to become better and improve your products, services and yourself all the time. You have an obligation to others to try every day to improve what you offer to them and improve their lives to.

Leadership – Exemplify honor and ethics. Lead by example is the best way to make someone follow you. You worked so hard to make your company a role model in your industry and this is the time to influence others.

Eliminate prejudice. Decision must be made based on character and abilities, a moral business man doesn’t let prejudice cloud its mind and. It is unfair to judge a book by its covers.

Be accountable. The moral businessman is always prepared to assume responsibility for the actions they take or decisions they make. The only good way to handle a problem is to assume the outcome and be prepared to offer a solution.

Albert Einstein said “If people are good only because of fear of a punishment or because they hope for a reward then we are truly a pitiful bunch” The same thing should apply to your business, if you conduct your business with integrity and following ethical principles out of fear or only because you can make more money this way we are definitely on the wrong path

Be objective and analyze yourself.

          After a great start, being on your way and working for yourself could be tricky. The enthusiasm of starting on your own might make you lose sight of important things. Every now and then you should have a moment of insight and take a look at where you are and how you are really doing. “Even though you are on the right track – you will get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers

            If you identify in your analysis some of the following clues you might be better making a sharp turn.

Your decisions are not actually yours. Whenever you have to make a decision you tend to ask for someone’s help and forget what your idea was in the first place. The risk is that after a while you will be where your advisor wants and not where you want. Remember it is your business and if you fail you cannot blame someone else.

You only play it safe. When facing a tough call, do you take chances and assume risks or take the safe road? Playing safe will help you contain all perils and minimize losses, but in the long run your business will not be a profitable one. No pain no gain, and if after some time you don’t register the successes you desire, you have to change something.

You never follow through. If you find yourself in the situation when you are juggling with three or four projects, work for all of them and never see them finished you have a problem with your organizational skills. You don’t seem to find the motivation to follow through and you have to choose and focus.

You only see obstacles. When you walk down the road and it never feels like sunshine will never come out on your street but still go on, you should really check your bearings and admit you took a wrong turn somewhere down the road. You are not always a strong character if you fight all of the obstacles, sometimes you need to play smart, change the direction.

On the other hand, sometimes everything is just right.

You wake up in the morning eager to start working.  These are the moments everyone hopes to find. After only four hours of sleep you get up and while brewing your morning coffee you already plan your day, think about your meetings and you are fresh and focused.

 Failure only motivates you to try harder. You have a winner attitude, you know exactly what you want and you have a clear path drawn in front of you. There is nothing that can stop you from fulfilling your dream. And as long as you don’t make any compromises you should reach your goal.

People around you hope you will fail. It might be your best friend, or just a business partner, but when people start envying you, you know you are on the road to success. Envy is a natural feeling and it confirms you are doing something so good everyone wants that too.

 The majority of people disagree with you.  Do you know how many people fought Da Vinci’s ideas, or Tesla and the list can go on and on? If something is different and never before tried it doesn’t mean you should stop or change. Sometimes it is a clear sign you are actually right and should keep doing it.