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Business Rule #12:
Stay True to Your Vision
November 25, 2004
(PAGE 2 of 3)
I often find that people in business travel at the speed of a 1987 Chevy Nova instead a full throttle Lamborghini! I don’t understand it. The absolute worse thing that can happen is that you fail. I’ve seen people let fantastic opportunities go by because they are nervous, they want more information, or they need to have assurances. What they forget is that there are no sure things in life. So you can’t very well wait until you’re sure.
Here’s a good rule to follow: when you know 70% of everything there is to know about a project or investment, then that’s enough to make a solid decision. 60% is too little information, and if you wait until you know 90%, someone else will beat you to the punch and steal your deal away from you. It’s that simple.
Before I sat down to write this column, I thought about how I would attack the idea of “committing to your goal and making it happen sooner than later.” While I was thinking of how to get my point across, I continued to watch the Seinfeld special that aired immediately following The Apprentice. This particular special really hit on what I’m talking about here: moving at the speed of thought.
I learned that NBC executives met with Jerry Seinfeld after seeing him perform on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and broached the idea of his doing a TV show. Jerry and Larry David (writer/co-executive producer) wrote a pilot and pitched a show about “nothing.” The NBC suits were hesitant about the risky concept but greenlighted a pilot anyway. Unfortunately, it didn’t go over well with test audiences. One executive went to bat for it though, and NBC decided to order the show to series. Sort of. They ordered a mere four episodes. “The smallest show order in the history of television,” as one exec explained.
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Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David believed in their vision when practically no one else did. They felt that a show as edgy as theirs could be tremendously successful. They kept the integrity of their vision intact and attacked every meeting with the ever skeptical NBC as if it were their last (and it easily could have been). They stuck to their guns even when Warren Littlefield, who was then president of NBC, told the producers that he was fully against the now famous Chinese restaurant episode. “Nothing happens!” he exclaimed after reading the script. Yet, the show got filmed and aired. That show bore the creative stamp of the little show that could, and the rest is Seinfeld history because the creators stayed true to their vision.
Do you have a business idea? Or what about a talent that you’d like the world to know about? What are you waiting for? Do you feel that you don’t have enough education? Well, if you’re attending the Trump School of Business by watching The Apprentice, then you know that two people have made it into the final five with only a high school degree to their credit: Troy McClain last season and Sandy Ferreira this time around.
Maybe you’re concerned that you don’t have enough money to start your dream company or launch your idea for a product. Well, millions of people find a way everyday with bad credit or under other adverse circumstances. You can do it too if you get up and go get it. Make an appointment to talk with a banker in your area and ask about private investors who may be interested in your idea. Meet with various organizations that help people launch new companies. If you’re a woman, for example, go and meet the directors at your local women’s business association. They will be more than happy to help you succeed and provide you with fabulous networking opportunities.
You have to establish your goals and focus on success. But there’s a funny thing about goals and success. The closer you get to achieving your goals and the more successful you become, the more opportunities will come your way. When you’re successful, you’ll be tempted on an almost weekly basis with new business opportunities that promise to increase your revenue. The “sure things” will come out of the woodworks. You can look at these opportunities to see if a good fit occurs, but ultimately, you can’t lose focus of your vision.
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I’ve seen people let fantastic opportunities go by because they are nervous, they want more information, or they need to have assurances.
