15 Business (and Life?) Takeaways So far… (Let’s be Real, I’m 35.)

I like lists.  In no particular order: 

CHANGE.

It was the first lecture of Strategic Management during my MBA and the professor began by silently writing “CHANGE” on the dry erase board.  He then proceeded to talk about the concept of change for the next two hours as it relates to business and personal life.  I was 22 years old at the time and didn’t realize how impactful those words would be looking in the rearview.  CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT.  The better you can accept and digest it and the faster you can adapt to it the more effective you will be.  If you can anticipate it, you are really money.

            “Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the face” – Mike Tyson

Cash is King.

Cash is King.  Another Financial Analysis 101 lecture.  It’s something I used to love to ask CEOs about – working capital, inventory, short term assets, CASH FLOW– when I was a 20 something hedge fund investor.  I’m so grateful they didn’t slap the words out of my mouth.  Woof, looking back on that I would have.  Financial Analysis and questioning Balance Sheets in theory/academia vs Cash Management when you are running a business and cutting the checks are like night and day.  As a founder, keep control of your books and management of your bank accounts daily for as long as possible before turning it fully over to an accountant or bookkeeper.  You will have a much better handle of your business.

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable.

Take up a fitness practice where you can choose to push yourself into physical discomfort.  Do it regularly.  Make it a part of your routine.  Lean into it.  Practice being uncomfortable.  It’s a skill.  Sit in it, Feel it.  Get comfortable with it.  Scream if you like.  It will help you manage mental and emotional discomfort in daily life and business.  It will make you stronger on multiple levels.  It’s therapy.  And cheap.

*Pro Tip:  Add loud music.  My genre of choice is hip hop.

The Importance of the Team.

My definition of Team Work is not necessarily what most might think.  I hated the much subscribed to business school theories of ‘group work’ (shout out to my Mcgill crew!).  We were constantly being grouped together to complete big final projects – even as finance majors.  There was no accountability, little leadership or delegation within the group – mainly a free for all with little direction from the professor.  It resulted it many wasted (literally?) hours of get togethers (which actually just turned out to be fun social calls) where we didn’t get much done and then someone (lots of times me haha) would cobble together a presentation alone at the last minute and get the job done for all.  I don’t understand what the academic lesson was in all of this.  I’m sure we have all experienced this to some degree in the real world as well.

What they should have been teaching us in school was effective team work which is what likely occurs in highly functioning large organizations (I know it works on the small scale in my professional experience).  This is where the leader (Founder/CEO) is self aware enough to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and then finds the best available talent to fill in the gaps that turn their weaknesses into strengths.  The key to executing this successfully is not just finding the right people, but developing trust to give them autonomy to make decisions for the whole where their expertise lies.  And then holding them accountable for those decisions.  “You are nothing without your people.”  Own it.

            Lead the team.  Be the Cheerleader.  You simply cannot get all the way alone.

Power of No.

Don’t be afraid to say no.  Most of us Type A’s should do it more often.  Turn your boss down when he or she is being unreasonable, don’t get taken advantage of.  Turn new business down if it isn’t profitable or if you can’t effectively take it on at the moment.  Say no to the personal social call when you need time to chill and take care of yourself.

Passion is Contagious.

Passion is a natural byproduct of doing some you love and whole heartedly believe in.  When your heart is all in, passion exudes.  That energy is contagious to all of your stakeholders.  People will often forget what you told them, but they will remember how you made them FEEL.  Employ that.

It takes longer and costs more.

Period. 

Practice Life Balance.

Make time to disconnect from work.  Make time to release energy.  Spiritually, socially and physically.  Treat yourself.  Have lots of fun.  It will make your work time more valuable and productive.  If not, exogenous work will fill in that time and completion will take longer than necessary.  You will lose efficiencies.

Rebel.

Challenge Convention.  Redefine the Rules.  Defy the Norm.  Question Authority – Don’t assume they know better than you.  Speak up.  Be accountable for you Actions.

Visualize.  Day Dream.

I was coached as a competitive distance swimmer to visualize the race prior to a meet.  It was a technique to be practiced to prepare for victory. 

I planned executing the vision to bring Owney’s Rum to market by day dreaming on my commute to and from my job at the hedge fund.  Then I turned those thoughts into action.  I continued to dream through each step of the company’s growth and then I’d execute.  Dream, execute, repeat.

I day dream multiple times a day about lots of things.  We are constantly bombarded by phrases like “dream big” and although it sounds so cliché, I truly believe in using your mind to fantasize success into reality.

(disclaimer : “Vision without Execution is Hallucination” – Albert Einstein) 

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail : Make Lists.

Handwrite them.  Include tasks + goals + time lines.  Then literally cross things off when they are behind you and move forward.  It’s quite satisfying.

THINK.

Legend has it this was my maternal grandfather’s favorite word.  Understand that ‘thinking’ needs to be a routine ‘task’ on your calendar.  You need time to sit in a chair and stare at the wall or lay on your back and stare at the ceiling (or even better, the sky) and THINK.  Get off the Hamster Wheel and come up for air out of the minutia.  It takes time to think about solutions to problems.  It takes time to think about business strategy.  It’s hard to know how much time but accept that you need to allocate time to doing nothing else but thinking.  Recognize that thoughts are different than feelings.  Recognize you might not have an immediate, tangible result after a thought session – some things take longer to figure out.  That’s ok.  Everything is figureoutable. 

The Importance of Integrity.

It’s kind of hard to say ‘Have Integrity’.  It’s not something you can learn per se, but it is an extremely valuable quality.  I define it as being true to yourself, assertive, trustworthy, wholly accountable for your actions, loyal and authentic.  I would also stick to engaging in business with those of similar character.  If you bend who you are for advancement or money it’s not real success.  Somewhat meaningless and empty.

Trust your gut.  It’s a great moral compass – if it doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t.      

“It’s” a Shit Show: Breathe Deeply. Try to stay still.

 Even get wild and close your eyes.  Or stand upside down.  It works!

 97% of Success is Perseverance.

WORK HARD.  HUSTLE.  STICK-TO-IT-IVENESS. Blood, Sweat, Tears.  It’s most of the battle.  Hang in there, be present and stay in the fight.  On the days you feel like you are against the ropes getting worked and you just REALLY want to tap out; pause, dig deep and find the tiniest bit of energy somewhere inside and focus on it, cultivate it, shoot it through the rest of your body and keep swinging.  Connect on that next punch.  Every single time I’ve wanted to throw in the towel I’ve done that.  A valuable lesson (among many) I learned from my parents.  The fight is a roller coaster and you’ve just got to keep psyching yourself into getting up again!