Process Archives - Dr. Ivan Misner®

15Feb2021

The Three Laws for Entrepreneurial Successstring(42) "The Three Laws for Entrepreneurial Success"

February 15, 2021

Passion, people, Process, Success Collaboration, Culture, Innovation, Mentors, Storytelling, Success 4

After four decades in the business world, I have found that three laws truly summarize an entrepreneur’s recipe for success: Passion, People, & Process.

Passion: The 1st Law for Entrepreneurial Success

First, you must be passionate about what you deliver to your customers and clients. Nothing great in life has ever been accomplished without passion. This starts by making sure you and your team are working in your flame and not in your wax. When people are working in their flame, they are on fire. It shows in the way they act, and it shows in the way they speak about what they do. When people are working in their wax, it takes all their energy away. You can see it in the way they act and the way they speak.

Not long ago, I had someone say to me they were training people in their company on how to do something very important. After they did the training about 10 times, they were getting bored. That worried me at first because it sounded like “training” was this person’s wax. So I asked him some questions. He said he really enjoyed the training, but teaching the same material over and over caused his boredom. He didn’t know what to do about it. I told him two things:

Sell the Sizzle

The next time he does the training, recognize that this might be the 11^th time he’s done the presentation, but it is the first time that particular audience has ever heard it. I asked him to think about how excited he was when he was the one learning this content for the first time. Embrace that feeling and make sure the team feels the excitement of learning this content for the first time as well.

Re-live the Story

Storytelling is an important part of teaching your team new ideas. Make sure to “re-live” the story – don’t just “re-tell” the story. Re-living the story gives you that same excitement as when you first experienced it or heard it. It is that kind of passion that you need to apply to your business.

I saw him about a year later. He had now done the training dozens and dozens of times. He told me that my advice completely changed his approach and the people in his company who went to his training came out supercharged about the organization. It gave him great joy to see the “lights turn on” when he trained employees. This is what happens when you are passionate about the service you have to offer.

People: The 2nd Law for Entrepreneurial Success

People are the next piece of the formula. They are the most valuable asset for virtually every company in the world. People drive the engine of a business. To me, this means at least two things:

Constantly pour into your team

Help them improve their performance by supporting them through training and mentoring. Entrepreneurs who make sure their people receive proper mentoring are going to be more successful. We all have people in our lives that are “in our story.” These are people who have given us little nuggets of help or major support in some way. These are people who helped us be a better version of ourselves. A great entrepreneur, however, recognizes that the true measure of mentorship is not who is in our story, but rather whose story are we in? Whose life have we changed in some way to help them be a better version of themselves?

Be a culture champion

An organization’s culture is the secret sauce to great companies. It is the DNA of an organization. Make sure that the core values of the business are infused into the hearts and minds of the people throughout your organization. If you have healthy organizational core values and you strive hard to share them and live them, you help to form a team of people who will be loyal to the organization’s values as well. When this happens, make sure to treat that loyalty like royalty in the organization.

Process: The 3rd Law for Entrepreneurial Success

Lastly, it is about the process. Having good systems in place allows people to engage in their passion to deliver quality performance. The process is important. Systems are important. Here are two thoughts about the process:

Collaboration

While process and systems are important, it is also important to understand that you must apply the processes more like Mandela than Attila. In other words, don’t be a tyrant in the application of your systems. When I was 13 years old, my mother gave me a paperweight which is still sitting on my desk to this day. It says, “Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way.” She told me this was about collaboration, not manipulation. It was about working with people to help achieve success for everyone.

Innovation

Check your processes regularly. Don’t be enslaved to old practices. Many times, I’ve seen companies create incredibly cumbersome processes that are demoralizing to people in the organization. Here, it is important that the entrepreneur listens to their team when they say that a process is complicated. Have mechanisms in place to ensure communication. I have found that having advisory bodies in place representing the people who perform the work, as well as those who receive the service, truly helps to deliver a better product. I also recommend that you go in and actually perform the process yourself to see what they see. That can truly be an enlightening experience.

If you create an organization that executes well in these three areas: passion, people, and process; you will be a force to reckon with. You will become a leader in your industry, and you will create an amazing enterprise.

13Aug2015

Hard Decisions?–The Secret to Making the Right Decision Every Time!string(73) "Hard Decisions?–The Secret to Making the Right Decision Every Time!"

August 13, 2015

Ivan Misner

Choices, Decision Making, fear, Process, Sandi Stuart, strategy Fear, Growth, personal story, Strategy, Success, Video Blog 1

When it comes to making big choices in business and in life, decision making can often be a torturous process filled with stress, worry, confusion, and fear. When we’re trying to figure out what to do about something that’s going to greatly impact ourselves or others, it can be a really, really exhausting and difficult process.

In this video, I talk to my good friend, acclaimed entrepreneurial and business authority Sandi Stuart, about how to cut through grueling decision-making confusion and figure out the undisputed right decision every time. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this idea! It’s one of those rare things that come along in life that are just so simple but SO surprisingly powerful!

Interestingly enough, it wasn’t in the world of big business where Sandi learned the secret to stellar decision-making. She learned this invaluable key when she and her husband were faced with a very difficult personal decision, and it turned out that executing one extremely simple process allowed them to rid themselves of the fear of regret and make the right decision in an instant.

Watch the video now to learn this simple secret to decision making that will help put an end to all the worrying and allow you to make powerfully positive decisions that will position you for success.

What are your thoughts about this decision making tactic? Were you as surprised as I was to learn how simple it is? Please share your feedback in the comment forum below. Thanks!

30Jun2014

The Three Step “Follow-up Formula”string(38) "The Three Step “Follow-up Formula”"

Follow-up is one of the most challenging aspects of networking for many networkers and I often get asked the question; “What is a good system for following-up with the people you meet at networking events?” In my opinion, here is one of the best ways to follow-up – it’s called the 24/7/30 system.

Image courtesy of Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you meet someone at a networking event, drop them a note within the first 24 hours. It can be a personal handwritten note or an email, just make sure to use whatever approach that you will do consistently.

Within 7 days, connect with them on social media. Make a connection via LinkedIn or Facebook. Follow them on Twitter or join them on Google+. Find ways to connect and engage with them via the social media platform(s) you are most active on. Do NOT do this as a way to “sell” to them, do it as a way to start to establish a meaningful connection with them.

Within 30 days reach out to them to set up a 1-2-1 meeting. If you live near each other, meet in person (that is almost always best). If you are far from one another, set up a meeting via Skype or by phone. At this meeting find out more about what they do and look for ways to help them in some way. Don’t make it a “sales call” make it a relationship building opportunity.

If you do the 24/7/30 approach to your follow-up, you will establish a powerful routine that will help you to make your networking efforts meaningful and successful.

Do you do something similar to this? Share with me here any other suggestions you’ve got and what you think of this approach.

6Jun2013

‘Why People Resist Networking’ Series: Part III–Impatience Resulting in Early Failurestring(103) "‘Why People Resist Networking’ Series: Part III–Impatience Resulting in Early Failure"

In this third installment of the “Why People Resist Networking” Video Series, I discuss another popular theme surrounding why people tend to resist networking – impatience. If new networkers don’t see immediate payoff from their efforts, they become impatient, inevitably resulting in failure early on in the networking process.

Quite often, people simply don’t understand the value of taking time to build fruitful relationships and, like it or not, fruitful relationships are the cornerstone of effective networking.

In this short video, I show a Power Point slide which offers eye-opening proof of the payoff that comes from being patient and consistently putting in the necessary time each week to diligently and strategically build networking relationships.

I highly encourage you to watch the video to find out why you owe it to yourself (not to mention the business you’ve put so much hard work into) to adopt a systematic and patient approach to networking. Remember, when you approach networking like a long distance marathon runner, you will reap sweet rewards; if you approach it like a sprinter, simply trying to reach the end as quickly as possible, chances are you’ll end up breaking your ankle (so to speak) and you will have failed before you ever have a chance to even reach the finish line–needless to say, there’s no prize in that.

After watching the video, I’d love for you to leave your feedback, thoughts, and/or comments in the comment forum below. I would particularly like to hear your networking success stories (e.g., connections you never thought you’d be able to make yet achieved through your diligent networking efforts, business growth statistics attesting to the positive impact your networking efforts have made on your business, etc.). Thanks!