[This is the second part of a post on characteristics of highly successful entrepreneurs. Click here for Part 1.]
3. High achievers know how to effectively leverage resources.
High achievers have learned the best and highest use of their time, talent and resources. The idea is that you focus on what you can do based on what you are really good at. You perform the tasks that only you are qualified to do – the high points that drive results and hit your passion zone. On the flip side, you should know the jobs at which your team members excel so they can take the burden of those tasks off you. This reaches beyond mere delegation of grunt work to knowing exactly how your team works smoothly together and who does which jobs best.
You should also have a good understanding of when you need to reach outside your organization to make use of other resources – this could include vendors, consultants, colleagues and other trusted advisors. In short, you are a conductor bringing together the various members of your orchestra at just the right time to make beautiful music together.
4. High achievers make decisions quickly because they know who they are, where they’re going and how they want to get there.
Many entrepreneurs are equally talented in terms of the knowledge specific to their industry – financial services, heath care, construction, etc. One financial advisor, for example, may have 20 high net worth clients, while another has 100 of the same type of clients. Both advisors may know how to handle such clients and may be equally skilled in strategies that increase their clients’ wealth (and their own). The second advisor just knows how to attract more clients at a quicker rate. His advantage is in the speed with which he operates because of his certainty in what he’s trying to do.
High achievers know the values and principles that define who they are, they know exactly what they want and they are on a well-thought-out path to their goals. As different ideas and strategies emerge, they can quickly decide what to incorporate into their plan and what to leave out.
They are quick to make decisions to start something and slow to move away from the direction they set when their ideas meet challenges. Conversely, lesser achievers are slow to make decisions to start a new initiative and quick to change their mind when faced with challenges. At the end of the day, motion trumps meditation the majority of the time – so take some kind of action if you want to earn the status of high achiever.
So here’s the question:
When you look at highly successful entrepreneurs, what differences do you see between them and you? These four characteristics just might be the answer. They might be your way of climbing off the low end of the achievement spectrum and jumping on the fast track to the top.
Do you want to be at the top? Do you want to be looking up at others or see them looking up at you? Reaching that best-of-the-best level requires more than just thinking, “Oh, I wish I could be successful like her.” It requires full implementation and constant refinement of each of these four characteristics.
If you’re ready to strive for big results, centering your thinking on these four attributes can bring the motivation and traction you need. Your results will change when your behaviors change. Your behaviors will change when your beliefs change. Are you sure about who you are? Can you make decisions quickly? Are you willing to take managed risks and change quickly when necessary? Are you leveraging your resources in the best way?
Your business will truly succeed when you begin applying these entrepreneurial principles. Focus on these fundamentals and they will be difference makers for you.
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