Find Your 9others

It’s easy to get seduced by the success, scale and indeed money being achieved elsewhere, but you need to remember that each of those is the product (by and large) of a business having its own clear mission and sticking to it. It is the product of the founders having a clear mission for themselves that they can achieve through the business. You can

Respond quickly to people you care about. The aim should be immediately, the default within 24 hours.

Why am I doing what I’m doing? Ask yourself this and, when you have an answer, ask yourself ‘why’ again. Several times if needed. Ask ‘why’ until you can’t ask ‘why’ anymore. What you will find at the end of that journey will be a clear mission.

It’s all an incremental process. You start with what you can handle given the time and resources available to you, and you slowly grow, develop and evolve. The startups that succeed begin by serving one small group of people and then working out their next valuable move. It’s true for niche businesses that service a delighted, core audience, but it

Building and maintaining a great network for me requires three key things: authenticity, engagement and a genuine interest in the other person. Starting with authenticity, this requires me bringing my whole self to conversations, moving away from transactional relationships and really connecting with people.

Unreasonable success and how to achieve it: Unlocking the nine secrets of people who changed the world by Richard Koch (2022)

Question one, to go with nine others: you need to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Not only will it help you focus on what you should do but also recognize what you shouldn’t.

What do I expect of others around me on a regular basis? It might be similar to the previous answer, or it might be very different. Thinking about this question and clearly articulating an answer will make it much easier to bring others with you and help avoid frustration.

‘Doing stuff’ is what it’s really all about. ‘Perfect is the enemy of good’, as they say, and indeed, as Hector notes above, ‘the enemy of growth’. Trying to achieve perfection simply delays you in getting out there to talk to people, test your solutions and make deals or build your team.