Friday, September 21, 2012

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

...or how to keep from spending your time chasing shiny objects down rabbit holes!

If you made it to the September Valley Business Network luncheon at the new Madison Holiday Inn Express, you heard me talk about Visioning Success. One of the keys to success it keeping a Singularly of Focus. As entrepreneurs, we generally have many opportunities to consider. I get asked to review business plans, look at ideas, get pitched on a plan or idea. It's usually very easy for me to take a pass at those opportunities because they don't seem viable, they require too much cash, or I don't understand the technology well.  Another reason I can easily pass on these opportunities is they typically just don't interest me. If you're going to start a business, you should have a little passion for the enterprise. It takes lots of time and energy to get a business off the ground, so it's nice if you actually have interest in the idea.

In all these cases, it's really easy for me to immediately say no. But in some cases, the idea is viable, the cash flow turns quickly, the technology is easily understood and I really like the idea. In those cases, I still need a filter for determining which ideas to dig into further, without wasting a huge amount of time chasing shiny objects down rabbit holes. That first filter I call my Rules for Success. I've written about this before, but since I spoke about this last week, I caused me to update my rules. I like to review my rules every couple of years to tweak my rules based on my new knowledge, where I am in my life and that sort of thing. Being on the downhill side a prostate cancer and recovery from surgery last October, I thought this was one of the 'where I am in my life' times that required a rule re-tweaking. Since I did that last week, I'm going to share my newly tweaked rules with your here.

Chris' Rules for Success


1.       Give glory to God in all you do.
2.       Never gamble with things you can’t afford to lose.
3.      Decide what’s really most important, and never lose sight of it.
4.      Define the end result. Make a plan and take action.
5.      How you think is everything.
6.      Don’t do business with dishonest or unpleasant people.
7.      Surround yourself with the best people and professionals.
8.      Create value for others in every relationship.
9.      Never quit learning.
10.   Remember The Golden Rule.


I review all opportunities based on my Rules and if it can't pass this test, I don't look back. The only way to do something that doesn't pass my rules is to change the rules, and I rarely do that. I tweak the words from time-to-time, but I don't really change the them hardly ever. 

Do you have rules for success? If so, why not share them here.



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