Mindy Gibbins-Klein, "The Book Midwife"
Somewhere between the first £100,000 and the first £1 million of revenues, an entrepreneur allows himself or herself to exhale, tentatively tasting the success that started with a single idea. It doesn’t matter how long he or she has been in business; at some point a thought appears in the mind of the entrepreneur: “I think we might have actually made it.” It’s exciting to experience real success, especially when you have had your head down in creating a business and pulling out all the stops to help it survive and perhaps thrive.
Too often, success goes unnoticed while the (often serial) entrepreneur swiftly moves on to the next exciting idea. After all, that’s what they’re good at, so they should be encouraged to keep dreaming up new ideas and launching them into the world. However, a simple recognition of one’s success, and even a celebration, can have a greater impact and ROI than just about anything else. It could be worth taking time out to pat yourselves on the back.
Over the years, I have seen clients celebrate their success in many different ways, and there is no one right way. Some do it privately and quietly, with close family and friends, or even on their own. Others prefer to shout about it, engaging in extensive PR and events to mark the occasion. The important thing is to do something, to acknowledge that you have created something no one else thought to create, or thought it but never acted on it. To bask, even for a few minutes, in the good feelings that come from seeing the achievement of a personal challenge and goal can be extremely energising. It can also be stimulating to the existing business, as well as any new projects. Finally, the ripple effect as you infect others with your celebratory mood becomes contagious, and the entire organisation becomes more positive and productive. All from taking some time out to pat yourselves on the back!
Then what? As I mentioned, many entrepreneurs see the fruits of their labour and are tempted to go straight to the next project. But what if instead, they inserted a short pause in the process, to capture the best learnings from Project 1? I think it could enhance even further the success of the business and the enthusiasm of the workforce and other stakeholders.
A real entrepreneur can be counted on for having ideas, and if he or she is very enthusiastic about those ideas, they want to talk about them. We need to capture the brilliance of our nation’s top entrepreneurs, and the best way to do that is to give them some time and space to think and share. In the case of the more hyperactive entrepreneurs (it’s OK, I am one myself!), they sometimes need to be encouraged or even forced to sit down and articulate their wisdom. It may not feel natural to them, but the benefit is so great that we need to persevere.
I must admit, I have a bias towards full-length books as a medium of sharing wisdom. If someone reads your book all the way through, they get a significant amount of information and a sense of your ideas as a leader. They will have spent, on average, four hours with your book and they feel they know you. That can have a tremendous impact on their feelings about your company and willingness to do business with you. Blogs, articles, videos and public speaking are also very useful, although you do need to produce a lot more of those to have the same impact as a full-length book.
Whatever the chosen media, the important thing is to get the learnings and successes out there. Having experienced the growth of a successful business, the entrepreneur is ideally placed to teach and inspire others. He or she can become a true role model in their industry and the wider business community. But only if they take the time to put it into words that will help people move forward with their own entrepreneurial thinking.
Mindy Gibbins-Klein is founder and director of REAL Thought Leaders, The Book Midwife® and Ecademy Press business publishing house. She is a highly sought after speaker to executive audiences; she also develops and presents workshops and training programs for top business leaders. She has spoken in many countries around the world.
In addition to speaking, Ms Gibbins-Klein also maintains a small list of private consultancy clients who use her services to develop their writing, publishing and speaking strategy, and to plan, write and publish specific books and articles that raise their profiles as REAL thought leaders in the market.
The Academy for Chief Executives provides access to many professional speakers, such as Mindy, to its ever growing CEO membership. As you have seen from this article, ACE speakers don’t just cover the traditional ‘leadership’ topics or academic subjects. For more information visit www.chiefexecutive.com.