What is responsible for your greatest challenges? Your job? Your boss? Your business? Your team? How do you get these t
hings to change? To get your answer, really think about it and maybe it’s good to include the image in the mirror.
Perhaps you’ve read the writings of Dave Ramsey. And if you haven’t yet, his latest book … EntreLeadership … is a great place to start. In it, he shares his best “practical business wisdom” he’s learned “from the trenches.” Big Ideas include understanding that you are the obstacle as well as the path around it to your own success. Here is a quote from his book:
“So the problem with my company then and now is me. The problem with your company is not the economy, it is not the lack of opportunity, it is not your team. The problem is you. That is the bad news. The good news is, if you’re the problem, you’re also the solution. You’re the one person you can change the easiest. You can decide to grow. Grow your abilities, your character, your education, and your capacity. You can decide who you want to be and get about the business of becoming that person.”
This is intriguing. I watched a video in which Brian Johnson (Philosopher’sNotes.tv) summarized author Ramsey’s points of EntreLeadership in a clear, straight-forward and easy to grasp manner. It’s definitely worth the time investment to see and, I believe, a very meaningful and worthwhile focus for this blog.
The word EntreLeadership is a combination of an entrepreneur (one who takes risks) and a Leader (one who guides people or even themselves). To Ramsey, this is the ideal in an organization, for having only one or the other doesn’t bring the best results. To master EntreLeadership means we focus on 5 basic ingredients as follows:
- Manage Activities
Process is primary! In order to achieve results we want, the focus needs to be on the various activities that will get us to the results. So often we verbalize where we are headed and become satisfied that we have that vision. But wait. We’ve not gone far enough. What is required is that we manage the activities that will lead to the results for our activities are the very things that we can control. Do it right and the desired results will follow.
- Pull Together
It’s the synergistic approach. It makes little difference if you are a part of a team or work basically in your own business … there are times when you are required to interface with others to achieve your goal. The adage of 1 plus 1 equals 3 is proven time and time again. And … if you actually learn and train together, the 3 has the real potential of going higher.
- Visioneering
Share your vision no less than 21 times before people really begin listening and hearing. It becomes engrained within us and each time it becomes more refined, goes a little bit deeper and becomes a bit more sophisticated.
- Decide
Ready ~ Fire ~ Aim is the motto to be followed here. Too often, if going the direction of ready, aim, fire … we get stuck at the point of aim and never get to the action step. We often know that as analysis paralysis. Ramsey encourages us to fire after ‘ready’ and if we’re slightly off, make adjustments. At least we won’t find ourselves stuck and unable to act.
- 15 years = Overnight Success
When we ‘arrive’ and receive some award or the praise of others for how successful we are it’s often acknowledged as something we just fell into. However, in fact, it is often the culmination of many tireless hours to days to years of pushing forward and thus the redefinition of ‘success’.
I know this philosophy is not limited to just bosses or entire companies or teams. It has the same application to how we approach our own individual jobs. Thinking back over 12 years and all of the businesses and people with whom I have worked as a coach I can’t think of one situation that wouldn’t benefit from adopting Ramsey’s approach … the one that allows us to embrace the belief that we are all our own problem and our solution. If you’re intrigued now, watch the video here and I know you’ll find yourself sold and on the way! I’d really love to hear your reactions.
Mike Dorman
