I have been extremely fortunate in my career to have met some amazing business owners and leaders. This past week, I attended a conference where I heard Dr. Nido Qubein speak. He is the President of High Point University, serves on the board for BB&T, and has built many businesses throughout his career.
I wanted to share some of the inspiring lessons he talked about. Some might not be new, but they’re certainly worth giving some thought on how well you embody them.
Your parents probably taught you this. My mom would caution me about hanging out with the kids who would get in trouble all the time. The principle applies to the professional world as well. If you want a successful and profitable business, you should surround yourself with highly successful and growth-minded friends. If you spend all your time with average and complacent friends, you’ll probably get stuck in mediocrity.
How well do you apply this idea to your business? Are you spending your time with other successful and growth-minded people?
To Do: List the 5 people you spend the most time with. Are they people that help you, or do they hold you back?
Nido talked about how your life is the result of the choices you make. Yes, there are some things that just happen and are out of your control. But for all the actions that are in your control, you make choices every day that either move your forward or set you back.
Are you making choices to grow your business? It could be learning and investing in marketing, finance or employees. In the business mentoring I do, have seen many business owners get stuck and become afraid to step out and try something new. It’s easy to get so busy in the day to day grind that non-urgent but extremely important tasks get ignored.
You have the ability and the drive to move your business forward.
To Do: Create a Stop-Doing List. What are all the things that are on your plate that if someone else could do instead, you would have the time to grow your business?
Most people would rather be comfortable than excellent. They would rather stay where they are than strive to move their business forward. The way to have an excellent business is to start doing the things that are uncomfortable and grow into the person who you need to be.
To Do: Create a To Be List. We all have To Do lists but do you have a To Be list? Do you want to be a better boss, a better negotiator, or an inspiring leader? Create your list and start learning how to be the person you need and want to be.
A few years ago, I also went to High Point University with 20 other small business owners for a full day training with Nido. It was a great session on how to create a customer experience down to the smallest detail.
If you’ve never heard of Nido Qubein, it’s worth your time to watch some of his YouTube videos. His journey is inspiring, and he has a wonderful ability to weave a story around his business concepts.