Launch - Spring 2008 - (Page 29) Jeff and Clayton are working together on a book. They set out to determine what makes a successful entrepreneur vs. someone who can be successful in large corporate America. I think that what it really boiled down to for them was that the entrepreneur is more discovery driven. Entrepreneurs look at many different situations and say, “I think that I can make some money at that.” They are wired 24/7 to think of ways to make money. The chairman of our company, Brent Bishop, is very much that way and he is in my office several times a week to talk about new ideas that he has. In contrast, the people who are more delivery driven succeed in the corporate environment. They won’t have that same vision, but once that vision is created they can come in and say, “I can organize around that vision and execute a plan.” The two skills seem to be quite complimentary in that regard. I’m coming in as the role of CEO and I know I should be strategic and have some vision, but I think that my strength is coming from my large corporation experience. I have demonstrated a track record of being able to execute plans. Jerry: I have noticed the very nature that makes entrepreneurs successful can sometimes be a hindrance because sometimes they are looking for that next opportunity before dealing with the existing opportunities in front of them. Sometimes those glittering objects make entrepreneurs really go all over the board and I know that can be a challenge. It can be a great asset but sometimes it is very painful. Jack: One of the points that Jeff makes is that the typical entrepreneur comes in very confident in their ability, but so much of it is intuitive or a gut feel to the extent that many times they will even ignore data which runs counter to what they really want to be doing with their instincts. They will go with their instincts as opposed to the data. There are times when that can be good and times when that isn’t so good. Jerry, if you could give advice to a would-be entrepreneur, what would be the best advice you could give? Jerry: I think entrepreneurs should go after base hits as opposed to home runs. I think entrepreneurs have this huge idea and they are swinging for the fence and sometimes that is very difficult to do. Go after the base hits. Find something that is successful and build on it. That will work out a lot better for you. You also need to answer the question, “Does my family understand what I am getting into?” Starting a business is hard and you need to have a sit-down conversation with your family or your spouse and go through the realities. Can your family handle not getting a regular paycheck? That happens more often than you think. If you have a very supportive spouse, it can make all the difference in the world to a successful entrepreneur. Lastly, I have learned both in management roles and running your own business, the toughest decision is to fire someone. The old saying, “Be slow to hire and quick to fire,” sure comes into play. I have fired a number of individuals over the years including some good friends. Every one of those has been a tough decision but they were the right decision. You are not doing anyone a favor by keeping someone on staff who is not producing or is not working out. I think a lot of entrepreneurs have a difficult time doing that. Trust me, it is difficult, but it is the right thing to do. What advice do you have Jack for young entrepreneurs? Another important skill for entrepreneurs is building relationships whether it is intracompany, with your customers or your partners — those relationships are going to carry through for you for a long time. Jack: It really is important to hire the right people. When I was a first-time young branch manager in my early 30s I can remember my boss saying to me that the most important thing you can do as a manager is surround yourself with good people. As I walked out of his office, I thought, that makes a lot of sense, and I have never forgotten that advice. I have come home many times at night around the dinner table and said to our kids, “You know your dad has a good job right now but I have to tell you that everyone around me is much smarter than I am and I like it that way.” Another important skill for entrepreneurs is building relationships — whether it is intracompany, with your customers or your partners — those relationships are going to carry through for you for a long time. Finally, my last bit of advice is to not compromise your integrity. It has been my experience over time, as we have built relationships with customers and with partners, that if we demonstrate integrity, it really does build trust and loyalty and it serves you very well.$ Click here for the HTML version of this article on launchutah.com. http://www.launchutah.com/article-e2e-q12008.php http://www.launchutah.com/article-e2e-q12008.php
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