Some believe success is a matter of luck or good fortune. Not so says DLA Piper’s Bob Bratt, COO and former Executive Officer of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. Bratt says incorporating key practices of other successful business leaders can be the catapult of growth for any business entrepreneur. Here are a few tips for others like Mr. Bratt.
Sheryl Sandberg: Hire Big
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook says one piece of good advice is when starting or growing your business not only should you think big, but hire big. Hire for what you think you’ll need. Hire those who are more qualified than you need, those who have more experience than required and even recent grads with great potential. Ensure the person can manage an office of 50 people now, but will also be able to when it grows to over 500.
Scott Heiferman: Solve One Puzzle at a Time
Co-founder and CEO of Meetup, a social network that brings together more than 7.2 million members like fashionistas, businesspeople, students, parents and anyone looking to meet up with others of similar interests can reduce coordinating meetings to a few simple clicks. Heiferman realized that a good business person will ask himself one question when getting started: “What puzzle am I solving?” He believes focusing on one task at a time will keep you focused on producing one solution at a time.
Myer CEO Bernie Brookes: Be a Vision Creator
Brookes says being a vision creator means much more than becoming a visionary and seeing a successful future. He believes that success means becoming an avid inspirer and mobilizer. That type of person who focuses on creating enthusiasm, drive and end results. Brookes discovered early on the importance of not only building a good business, but first building a good team.
Takeaway
Although it takes more than entrepreneurial traits to bring you to the guru level, it’s certainly possible. Do you need a hint? Well, if you want to be smashingly successful like the business gurus mentioned above, you’ve got to have what it takes to walk the path in your entrepreneurial journey: You need to take advice, take action and be persistent, as well as resilient, with your effort.
Remember, the journey is more important than the goal… you need to make yours meaningful by impacting the life of people around you and your local community – starting by hiring big, solving one issue at a time and becoming a visionary.
Ivan Widjaya
Founder/CEO Biz Penguin
