Your business skills make your business a success…or not! But what supports and propels your business skills? There are people with the same set off business skills and yet their business success is very different. Some make it very well and some struggle.
Obviously there is something that successful people do compared to the others.
They use their minds differently; they learn new techniques and skills that allow them to think outside everybody else’s box and to find solutions in the most unexpected way.
Here are some principles successful people always apply.
- Mind Power
Strategies, outside the box solutions, values alignment, self-reliance and thinking ability – critical thinking in a different way that is. In business success usually is gained by the side that can amass the largest amount of knowledge and information on the entrepreneurial field. The more mind power you use the less you lose at the bottom line. Business people know that running a business requires a lot of thinking. The highest paid people in a business do not do anything – they think. They think their business to success. They think usually outside the “normal” average Joe thinking. NLP teaches us just that. Think how much success people like Tony Robbins He is using principles of NLP. There are many Tony Robbins’ out there – and they all use NLP in their thinking, training, marketing and advertising campaigns. They spend a lot of mind power generating solutions and fresh ideas to remain competitive and “in the game”. How would then a business owner react when the business takes a direct hit? Would that change this principle? Many people get crushed but not all. The ones with the most flexibility and functionality of thinking bounce back and prosper or avoid the hit altogether. - Congruency
Multiple indicators, month to month increase or decrease in productivity and performance, diverse solutions, marketing ideas and advertising designs must operate toward the same goal, execute the same plan and drive the business toward predetermined goals. If the business owner gets confused or cannot decide between many possible directions or even worse if it cannot make congruent decisions, the leadership over the business is lost. A congruent “top to bottom” – that is from the business owner down the chain makes all the difference. How can we follow this principle in the control over your mind? By getting rid of conflicts, indecision and doubts as we do in Creating Your Future® Coaching Techniques taught in the NLP Master Practitioner. - Maintenance of Business Goals
The playing field changes often. Here is what leads a business into ruin. “Shall I do this or that?” “Maybe X is better but also Y looks good.” “And if plan A does not work then I have plan B and then plan C.” Once you’re on the business “battlefield” so to speak, you must be very clear about your personal reason for being there and stick with it. This means not changing that reason for particular struggles mid-course. From NLP we learn that once we have the bigger picture we need to know how to “chunk down” into specifics. Then linearly (to avoid overload) we need to analyze and resolve the details in order to stay loyal to the bigger goals. - Efficiency
All aspects of a business cannot be tackled at once unless you are a multinational giant corporation and the sheer manpower available to you permits the simultaneous tackling of all problems. In NLP we know that most people’s Conscious Minds cannot handle more than 7+2 chunks of information simultaneously. As you define your goals and objectives for the business you need to break them into subsets. For example if you are an NLP Trainer you start with a net goal in mind for the year. Then you calculate how many units you need to sell to achieve that net goal. Do not confuse gross income with net profit. How many NLP Practitioner trainings and how many NLP Master Practitioner trainings you will need? How many people in each? How many calls do you need to make daily to fill these trainings? Oh, it is also useful to know your closing ratio. - Flexibility
In NLP we know that the person with the most flexibility of behavior ends up controlling the system. Maintaining flexibility in planning, tactics, strategies and action is “common sense”. Since the business arena is so fluid and fluctuating you never know all there is to know about it. Therefore you will have to be very flexible in adjusting your strategies. If you remember that flexibility’s purpose is to lead toward functionality but not at the cost of your goals then you’ll also remember that the two must be traded appropriately. If initially your goals took you in one direction but you discover that this leads to some great difficulties, would you change your goals mid-course? If you keep in mind No. 3 above, the answer is probably not, but this also may change. - Initiative
If you’re afraid to take action based on your own judgement without approval from somewhere else you may miss out great opportunities and may even lead your business to stagnation or worse. Be willing to take calculated risks and make mistakes. In NLP we use Creating Your Future® goal setting program and eliminate doubts, indecision and wishy-washy attitudes. We align values. We modify strategies to emphasize the best ones and eliminate the others. We also let go of self-confidence issues and learn how to be smart about that. Calculated risks means just that – premeditated, deliberate, intelligent, thoroughly analyzed and estimated risks. Being in business is a risk in and of itself.
- Act
You must be willing to take action in order to achieve your goals. You must be always in motion to ensure progress. If you don’t move but stay stuck in your old business paradigm you will be left behind. Note that I did not say moving around brainlessly just for the sake of change. - Safekeeping Your Goals
The goals of the business owner have to remain his (or hers). Goals trumpeted all over the place have less chance of success. Keep your goals for yourself. Choose wisely how much you share and with whom. Even non-aligned friends can prove a deterrent in your business success. Think of what would happen if any of your business competitors find out of your goals? How effective are your plans overall? - Surprise
Surprise action in business is always a powerful effect and influence. If you keep your goals safe from competition’s prying eyes, and surprise your competitors with your actions you will most likely be assured success. - Simplicity
Goals simple and measurable, make a difference. In NLP we use SMART goals but different from the usual company set goals. There are two major differences that make goals come true or not. We use our personal Time Lines to insert goals in the future. You can put whatever you want in your future but if you miss these you’re likely to fail. You can listen and follow along here an example of a general goal using Creating Your Future® Coaching techniques. Take the process and adapt it to all your goals. The files are downloadable so you can do that in your own time. Business is many times wild and chaotic and that makes strictly adhering to planning extremely difficult. Keep your direction and goals simple. Many methods of marketing and doing sales are too convoluted and complicated. So the more simple your goals and business strategies are, the easier will be to follow. - Emotional State
Once the business hardship shows up (and it always will, in any business) will you become depressed and apathetic? Will you give up? Time Line Therapy® and Creating Your Future® coaching techniques are remarkable little techniques for restoring a positive emotional state which insure mentally and physically ability to resolve the prevailing difficulties. A discouraged and deflated individual cannot perform well. Neither can one under a long and severe period of stress. - Uncertainty
If your business has taken a hit the recovery will have to be gained back. The marketplace does not care. It does not not care, it is not a person. It does not have feelings toward you. Make a summary of what you’ve got left and proceed immediately on the road to recovery. You need to bounce back. Take little risks at this time. Implement strategies that predictably lead to success. Even small wins are great. Be proactive rather than reactive.
Well I hope that through these principles (modeled from our NLP Coaching Trainings methods) will assist you to increase your business performance. If you need advice, leave a comment below.
Until next time, be well.