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Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs
29.02.2008 ob 10:45Have you ever wondered what it is that makes a person a successful entrepreneur? What are such a person’s traits and habits? Are there instructions for success? How do we start on the right path? How do we even recognize that it is the right path?
A myriad of questions! So let us put on some mountaineering boots, grab some ice-picks and climb the path from its foothills.
Many entrepreneurs are very successful in the business domain, while in personal life, they struggle with internal hunger, a deep need for personal coherence and a healthy attitude towards fellow people that they find very difficult to nurture and develop in the grasp of the rough and competitive business world. Experts stress that business success is dependent on personal happiness, otherwise the period of stringing together successes is as short as an athletes run over 60 metres. For a career that is successful and as long as a marathon it is also necessary to be active in the development and enhancement of your personality or your self-image.
The great thinker Aristotle once said: "We are what we repeat. Excellence is therefore not an act but a habit."
Character is namely a sum of our habits. And habits are an influential factor in life. Because they are firm – often unconscious patterns – that continuously express our character on a daily basis and produce success or failure.
And what, according to experts, are the habits of successful people, namely successful entrepreneurs?
Being proactive is the first habit. Being proactive means taking responsibility for one’s life. Our behaviour is the result of our own decisions and not of circumstances. More is required than just taking the initiative; we should also take responsibility for the consequences of our actions.
The second habit is starting with a clear consideration, meaning starting with a clear understanding of the goal. It means knowing where you are headed, where you are at any moment, and that the steps you are taking are always in the right direction. You can very quickly get trapped by activity, become constantly busy in a vicious circle of searching for success that has neither the right beginning nor the right end and even lacks a pinnacle. It is possible to be busy, very busy, without simultaneously being successful.
Third habit: give precedence to the important things. This primarily involves time management in the sense of organisation and execution of tasks.
If you master the first three habits, you have won a personal victory. Only then will you experience victory in public, to which the following habits are inferior.
Fourth habit is thinking: win/ win, and represents the mood of the mind and heart which constantly endeavours for mutual profit in all human interactions. Win/ win means that the agreements and solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfactory. This manner of thinking namely sees business as an area where it is necessary to cooperate and not compete.
The fifth habit states that you should first try to understand and only then search for understanding. This principle is the key for successful interpersonal communication. The ability of successful communication is paramount for your success.
Sixth habit: act towards synergy. The term synergy stems from the Greek word synergos which means to act together. It pertains to the phenomenon when two or more causes or effects that act together and create an effect that is greater than the effect that we would predict if we only knew the effects of individual causes and effects. Synergy catalyses, unites and releases the greatest powers in people. This is why synergy in the business world is at the heart of leadership, focused on the principles and goals.
And the seventh habit is a habit that rounds off and enables the acceptance of the other six habits and is completely of a personal nature. It preserves and intensifies the greatest value that you have - you yourself. We call it a healthy and balanced life comprising: bodily, spiritual, mental and social /emotional value.
In short, everything is reflected from the inside out. No internal "fault" remains concealed in external actions. This is why it is necessary to change oneself first so as to be able to affect our surroundings positively, for our actions to be met with positive responses and for us to achieve the desired level of success. What you sow is namely what you will reap!
Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey, Založba Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana, 1994
translation by alkemist d.o.o.
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