Entrepreneur Patrick
Gruhn sets the stage for his advice-rich book by telling us very little about
himself, “The only thing that is relevant about me is that I started with
nothing and achieved everything I’ve set my kind to. I’m the guy who never
gives up and I won’t accept the thought that there’s something I can’t do.”
He wrote the book over
a period of 500 days, and there must be over a thousand good ideas within its
414 pages. My summary is less than 5% of his book.
Gruhn urges his readers
to have the courage to aspire and to stand out, and he offers this quotation: “They
laughed at me because I was different. I laughed at them because they were all
the same.”
He advises his readers
not to accept advice from those who have not truly succeeded. Later in the book
he mentions in passing his acquaintance with millionaires and billionaires. His
LinkedIn profile is mysteriously brief, but it places him in Switzerland, which
I took as a good sign. Perhaps he is not a “gnome of Zurich,” an international
banker, but probably a heavy-hitter.
Let’s sample from most
of his chapter titles; his chapters are clear and concise:
Show Me Your Strength
Gruhn quotes Napoleon Hill to the effect that all successful men have
faced temporary defeats. Adversity builds character. We learn from it. What
often distinguishes the winners from the losers is their tenacity. He quotes
Mahatma Gandhi, "Strength is not from physical capacity. It comes from an
indomitable will.” Gruhn advises us to celebrate our successes, but stay
humble, "Share your victories and you will never stand alone in your
defeats."
Create Value
Business is the exchange of value for value. The more value you create,
the more you will receive in return. He points to the example of Apple
Computer. The higher the quality, the stronger the demand, and thus the higher
price your output will command. Gruhn commends the recent book Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim and Mauborgne).
He urges us, "Ultimately, by creating value for others, you will create
wealth for yourself."
Visualize Your Success
“In order to succeed, you need to have a vision, just like you need oxygen
to live and breathe.”
Motivation is Key!
The Importance of
Perspective
On the other hand, “Life is not all about business. It’s not all about
work and it’s not all about money.”
Man Up!
If success were easy,
more people would succeed. There are tides that must be endured and conquered.
At high tide, it is hard to distinguish the true winners from the others. “It
is only when the tide goes out that you can see who’s been swimming without
shorts.”
Follow Your Heart or Fail
“I consider anything
short of total success a failure.” We credit Davy Crockett as saying, “Make
sure you’re right, and then go ahead.” Gruhn would agree.
Be Consistent or Don’t Even Bother
Stick to it. Be
reliable in speed, quality, and outcome of your efforts. Say what you’ll do and
do what you say.
Being a Pioneer
The question to ask:
“What’s not working as well as it should?” Solve a problem. Be curious. If you
aren’t inventive, team up with someone who is!
The Business Process
Gruhn describes 18
principles for finding and profiting from opportunities.
A Business Plan Doesn’t Mean S***
To summarize, “the
better you know your business, the less written planning you need.”
What is Entrepreneurship?
You must fall in love
with the problem you are addressing in order to be an entrepreneur.
The Art of the Deal
“Think of making a deal
like having a dance. Someone is going to lead and the other is going to follow,
and you better make sure that it is you who leads and be very careful not to
step on anyone's toes when you do it. The reputation of the bad dancer usually
spreads quickly, and you might find yourself standing in the corner alone with
nobody to dance with."
Creative Structure: Go with the Flow
Know your strengths and
weaknesses and proceed accordingly.
Connect the Dots
Building a successful business will require
making connections that are not immediately apparent. Be alert and flexible.
Diversity helps survive recession.
Training
Body, Training Mind
“…you cannot function well if you neglect your
body or your mind.” Stay well, to achieve and to enjoy your achievements.
Know
Your Worth
Take care to price your goods or services
appropriately. Almost never do something for free. Play a little “hard to get.”
What
is Your Reality?
“There is your story, my story, and then there
is the truth.”
Toxic
People --- Stay Away from Us!
“Don’t stand in your way.” Nor let others stand
in yours.
The
Ways of a Crook
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice,
shame on me.” Gruhn could have added, “You can’t cheat an honest man.”
Hold
Your Cards Close
Knowledge is power. Conserve and preserve yours.
In business and in romance.
Be Paranoid
in a Sane Way
Don’t be blinded by hopes and dreams.
Just
Be Cool
It’s
Not Personal
The deal is never about you, but about profits.
Why
So Serious?
Gruhn quotes Gandhi, “If I had no sense of
humour, I would have long ago committed suicide.”
My favorite quote on this topic is “The world is
a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.”(Horace Walpole)
Humor can lighten the workplace mood and improve
productivity, but be careful to avoid mockery.
The
Importance of Accuracy
Crucial. Hard to attain. Builds credibility.
Credibility
Is the Only thing That Matters
Well, “only thing” is an over-statement, but
credibility is crucial.
The
Company You Keep
You are largely known by the kind of people with
whom you associate. Hard to seem squeaky clean if you are close to tarnished
individuals.
Who
Are You Hurting?
You’ll get what you give. Karma.
Raising
Money
This extended chapter defies a concise summary.
Worth reading, though.
Make
Money
“…you shouldn’t give your time or your product
away for free.” With few exceptions.
It’s
Just Paper
Paper money, that is. “…once you manage to
succeed beyond the scope of simply paying your bills, money becomes trivial.
You can look at it like a game….”
Cash
Is King
Avoid debt when possible.
Generosity
Once you’ve got enough, be generous! Shun greed.
But be wise in how much you give and to whom. Avoid the takers, embrace the
earners and sharers. Empower growth but don’t enable dependency.
Shackles
and Chains
Much of our limits are due to hypnosis. Clear
your mind. “When the student is ready, the master will appear, and when the
master is ready, the student will appear,” Gruhn quotes. Readiness is key.
You
Have to Roll the Dice
Gruhn makes the same point Buffett has made: it
is better to learn by observing others than by making those mistakes yourself.
In the end, though, talk is cheap, “Always put your money where your mouth is.”
No
Risk, No Fun!
Being an entrepreneur is not for the
risk-averse. Risk is a spice in Gruhn’s life.
To Do
Or Not to Do?
Fight procrastination. Clement Stone advised, “Do
it now.” If you postpone your dreams, you may grow too old to enjoy them.
Dreams
versus Doubts
“Consider your doubts, but don’t let them
paralyze you or keep you from achieving your dreams.”
Against
the Odds
Business life is a battle and “fortune favors
the brave.” Gruhn seems to be willing to bet on the lottery of enterprise. He
cites Buffett’s contrarian advice, “Be greedy when everybody else is fearful
and be fearful when everybody else is greedy.” Here “greedy” seems to mean
“willing to invest.”
Blurred
Lines of Business
As what is illegal becomes legal, e.g.
marijuana, the opportunity arises for large profits. Financial regulations are
similarly in a state of flux. Swiss banking privacy took a blow recently, to
the chagrin of many. The costs of creating and obeying new regulations
accelerate. Lately, anti-money-laundering laws are making starting some new
businesses unnecessarily difficult.
Lucky
Charms: Do You Need One?
Luck plays a role in success, sometimes a big
role. But you’ve got to be playing in the game, “got to be in it to win it,” as
the New York State lottery slogan goes. If luck comes your way, enjoy it. Don’t
rely on it.
The
Ultimate Sacrifice
Gruhn laments the difficulties he has found in
mentoring those who claim they want to be successful, but who eventually refuse
to pay the price. “Don’t waste your time on lost causes, even if they come in
the form of well-dressed and well-spoken individuals.” Few are really willing
to expend the time and effort required.
How
Do I Do That?
This question often goes unanswered. Your
friends don’t know how. Your competitors won’t tell. You have to figure it out
for yourself. In the process, you may find or create something new and
valuable.
Whom
Do You Work for?
What makes you get up in the morning? Worth
figuring out! If you don’t like the answer, change your objectives.
There
Are No Stupid Questions
Be curious. Read between the lines. Ask
questions, diplomatically.
The
Tone Defines the Tune
Gruhn has in the past been reluctant to offer
advice, partly because “most people only seek confirmation of what they already
believe….” If possible, let your listeners believe they came up with your
suggestions.
Don’t
Feed the Greed
Don’t take advantage of special situations to
get exorbitant prices. You will not create a repeat customer!
Humility
is a Virtue
Of course, you don’t want to be proud of your
modesty. Just do it.
Hard
or Soft?
If you are naturally tough, you can go with that
style, but being soft has its strengths and is less wearing on its practitioner
and its recipients. The Bible advises
we choose “the soft answer.”
To
Lead or Command?
“…effective leadership hinges on your ability to
make people choose to follow you.” Else, you have to rely on command, a subset
of force. With orders, you get at best what is ordered, neither more nor less.
“The key is to learn from failure, to avoid aggression and to encourage
evolution.”
The
World Needs Women
Women tend toward nurture, men toward battle.
Gruhn wants more women in entrepreneurial positions. “I will do my best to
teach my daughter to be an entrepreneur.”
From
the Inside Out
Gruhn: “the change you want to see has to come
from within you. The changes others request are usually in their interest, not
yours. “…if your business isn’t prospering like it should, then you are the
problem that needs to be fixed.”
Follow
Your Heart or Fail
Be all in or get out.
The
Unspoken Words You Need to Hear
People give compliments freely. They rarely give
criticism, especially to those above them or those from whom they hope to get
favors.
Use
Your Entourage as a Sounding Board
Collect information and opinions, but weigh the
latter carefully, in the light of the motives of those who offer them.
Take
Nothing for Granted
“Entitlement is the most irritating trait I can
think of.” An over-statement, but understandable coming from a wealthy
businessman. Expect nothing from the world, especially not a free lunch.
Can
You Ace the Test?
The author reports he just did ace it, in a
complex situation. “…believe in yourself and try not to give up….Go get ‘em.”
The
Business of Hope
“From a business perspective, selling dreams can
be very lucrative….In your business you will need both: a pretty face to sell
your product and a clever mind to create it.”
Always
Play the Long Game
“Play your life like a game of chess.” “Don’t
burn bridges!” Minimize conflict. Avoid micromanagement of others. “…kindness
attracts trust and sympathy.” Plan rather than just react. I’m reminded that
the long game lets one leverage the power of compound interest, where a 10%
improvement per period produces a doubling in seven periods.
Diversity
is Good Business
We are wise to hedge our bets, not put all our
eggs in one basket. “…the average millionaire has six or seven streams of
revenue.” We do want to be, at the least, the average millionaire. Several
enterprises will keep your mind busy while waiting for outcomes in one or two.
However, too many irons in the fire means none gets really hot.
Never
Stop
“Never stop” could join “just do it” and “do it
now” as pithy injunctions to keep you going toward success. Still, you need to
hit the “pause” button occasionally and smell the flowers. Then you can get
back to emulating Kipling’s ideal man who fills “the unforgiving minute with
sixty seconds’ worth of distance run.”
Awareness
is Essential
“A shark can smell blood in the water for
miles.” Be the predator or be the prey.
Feel
the Burn
Yet, avoid burn-out. Pace yourself. Life’s a
marathon, not a sprint.
Ideas
--- Write Them Down
Ideas are easily forgotten. Keep a notepad with
you. Write them down. Don’t be like me---impressed by this advice, I pocketed a
notepad, then left home without a pen. The Chinese say that the palest ink
outlasts memory.
Mirror,
Mirror
Good to know yourself. Good, also, to talk to
yourself, decide what you really want and what you are willing to do to get it.
Gruhn recommends using a mirror for such conversations.
Cut
Your Losses
As the country-and-Western song avers, “you’ve
got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away,
know when to run….” The financial
equivalent is “don’t throw good money after bad.” It is not what you have
invested, but what the prospects are, that counts. Same goes for your
“investment” in personal relationships.
Be
Effective! Be Efficient!
Effective is getting it done. Efficient is
getting it done economically. Ideally, you’d be efficiently effective. “Time is
your most valuable asset….”
Quick
on Your Feet
Be versatile, flexible, rapidly adjustable. Life
is change.
Speed
v. Quality: Finding the Right Balance
The adage “haste makes waste” alerts us to the
tension between speed and quality. Communication can be done more rapidly than
ever. Other aspects of business are harder to accelerate safely. There’s a
lesson in the great longevity of the tortoise.
Control
Your Numbers
You must know your business, quantitatively as
well as qualitatively. That which gets measured gets managed, I’ve read.
Get
Your Facts Straight
Ignorance is not bliss! Heed the Dalai Lama who
remarked that when we talk, we are repeating what we know, but when we listen,
we have the opportunity to learn.
What’s
Your Reward?
Though money is nice, “achievement is its own
reward.” Be proud of the person you see in the mirror.
Ignorance
Isn’t Bliss
Business is a big puzzle, one more easily
assembled the greater your information.
It’s
Lonely at the Top
“Most people will seek the company of inferior
individuals because it makes them feel better about themselves….” Yet, we are
advised by others that we will be much like the average of our five closest
friends. “Birds of a feather….” The successful entrepreneur often hunts alone.
Beware of freeloaders: “Your kindness will be interpreted as weakness, and your
generosity will be taken for granted.” Try to remove material elements from
your friendships, to avoid perverse incentives.
To the
Victor Go the Spoils
Pay your bills. Save much of what’s left. Give
generously. Enjoy the rest.
Grow
It Organically
Don’t force-feed your business. Let consumer
demand pull it up.
Time
Isn’t Money
Steve Jobs is quoted, “It’s really clear that
the most precious resource we all have is time.” His premature death only
underlines this. Allocate your time to what matters most.
Nothing
Lasts Forever
The sages advised, “This, too, will pass.” Gruhn
notes, “…entrepreneurship is feast or famine.” Don’t let doubt drag you down.
No trend lasts forever. Stay lean. Minimize debt.
Go
Back to Your Roots
“The paradox is that we work towards having the
good life, but then we get too busy to enjoy it.” Embrace your passion, when
you can.
My
Appraisal
This exceptional book contains a wealth of
valuable advice for those who have the courage and fortitude to become
entrepreneurs and provides instruction for others who want to understand what
it takes to be one of these outstanding individuals.
