The quality of a person’s life begins with a want. A want is simply an idea, not a reality in a physical form. Let’s examine this idea closer. Brandon decides that he wants a life better than his parents had. The want communicates to the mind and, based on beliefs, thinking decides “yes, I can do it” or “no, I can’t do it.”
The idea is accepted or rejected by the mind. If a person believes that they can do something, they begin to think visually, picturing the result and the required steps and resources they need to accomplish it. Brandon accepts the idea that he can create a better life for himself through hard work and determination. He decides that the way to do this is to get a better education so that he can start his own successful business.
If a person thinks that they can’t do it, they give up. If Brandon started to believe that he wasn’t as smart as his parents or wasn’t particularly talented, he wouldn’t feel capable of accomplishing this path and would set out to find a new, easier goal. In those few moments, a person’s controllable destiny is set in place.
If his belief is verified through the process of gathering the necessary information, his mind becomes committed to the process through to its completion. Brandon researches the degree required to help him run his company of choice and what school will best help him achieve his goal. He verifies that many successful entrepreneurs chose the same path as he is about to and believes that he can do it too.
If his belief falters through the process of gathering information, his mind will become indecisive. Indecision is caused by distraction or over-analyzing until the belief begins to change. Brandon sees the courses required to achieve his goal and begins to doubt that he can handle such a difficult path or sees another path that looks more enticing and loses focus. If his mind doesn’t become disciplined and committed to the original want, the idea will not happen.
Brandon is determined to stay on track for his original want. Based on his data gathering, he decides that completing all of the necessary coursework to further his education and staying on top of all of the latest business changes and trends will help him run a successful business. Brandon chose his path and determined that he could do it simply because his mind was convinced that it was what he needed to do to get what he wanted.
When Brandon finished his education and begins to build his business, he acts upon another want: to have a business doing something that he enjoys and can help others. He determines that his love of fixing computers and the frustrations his friends and family have when they can’t get their computers to do what they want, makes for a solid business plan. He starts his business but quickly becomes overwhelmed with the workload, costs of operating, and asks himself, “Why did I ever think I could run my own business?”
Does this sound like you?
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Brandon got so caught up in the idea of the business and completing the work in order to enhance customer satisfaction that he got too busy to manage the business. Time must be prioritized for concentration, innovation, documentation, and orchestration of systemizing the idea. This work takes place at both the management design level and the technical level. The initial process starts as a visual or written concept and progresses to detailed sketching. The process must be verified at the point of performing the task.
In business there is the mindset of the innovator, the manager, and the technician. Everyone has all three of these mindsets but some people become more skilled in some than others. Brandon’s idea began in the innovative or creative mind. The creative mind conceives the concept and the technical mindset kicks in to work out the pros and cons. These two mindsets work out a prototype over time. They test the prototype until it’s proven to work. The idea can be a product, a service, or a business. Usually at this point, there is a belief that since the prototype is working, that is all that is needed and the project or business is begun. What the creative and technical mindsets either forget or didn’t think they really needed was the mindset of the Manager.
To make the want a reality, Brandon needs all three mindsets to succeed. Of course these mindsets can be so different that tension begins between the three; causing frustration and even anger. However, if the three can process out and test each sub-system, results start to appear and frustration turns to satisfaction over time. Unfortunately, there is another issue going on at the same time; peoples’ moods change and with it, the mind changes. Brandon’s frustration causes him to doubt his abilities as a business owner.
This can derail success if it is not controlled. Self-discipline, advisors, and peer groups can be effective methods to eliminate the effect of a person who may momentarily not follow or run the processes developed. Brandon joins a business group of like-minded professionals who encourage him to hire a management consultant. The consultant helps him with his process documentation and data analysis. Through documentation, Brandon comes to find out that if he tweaks a few of his processes, he will save thousands of dollars. He also improves customer satisfaction and increases his sales leads with referrals.
The mindset of the Manager focuses on the documented, standardized, measured processes that will achieve the result promised. Managers lead through processes by documentation and regular communications to ensure that the process is working. Without the Manager mindset, failure occurs. Without the Manager mindset, growth is not possible.
When people are left on their own, they eventually forget an important step so errors occur. Without Management Leadership; people lose their motivation, they stagnate and usually stop growing, and so does the business. Brandon learned that the formula for sustainable growth is the ongoing process of innovation, technically skilled people, and Management Leadership that never stops learning.
Now Brandon is busier than ever. He has opened up several locations in order to keep up with the demand. Because of the processes he put in place with his Consultant, he has no problem keeping up with the workload. He has also established financial freedom and turnkey management that allowed him to go from 14 hour workdays to spending his summers traveling with his family.
How will you determine your business needs? Do you feel that what you want can be accomplished through determination? How do you decide which business needs are met? Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
