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Business Rule #3:
Think Big, but not That Big!
September 23, 2004
(PAGE 2 of 3)
I realize that Trump’s lesson for this week was basically about staying on budget and watching every penny. The real lesson to take home here though is in “Thinking Big.” I often see people with great ideas, but what they don’t realize is that their ideas may be too big for them at the moment. It’s like ordering 20,000 tubes of toothpaste without knowing the true dimensions of the boxes—how come no one mentioned that in the boardroom? It’s like wanting to go into real estate and start out with skyscrapers!
Some people think that achieving success is a linear a-to-z process: a straight shot to the top. These people are not in touch with reality. There are very, very few real overnight success stories. It just doesn’t work that way.
Success appears to happen overnight because we all see stories in newspapers and on television about formerly unknown people who suddenly become famous. Consider the comedian Bernie Mac, a guy whom I happen to know personally. Bernie got his big breakthrough in a concert film called The Kings of Comedy, which he immediately followed up with a successful TV show and plum roles in hit movies such as Ocean’s 11 and Bad Santa. Right now, he’s in theaters with Mr. 2000 and will be back later this year in Ocean’s 12.
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Most people take Bernie Mac to be an overnight success story, but his so-called overnight celebrity came from eighteen years of hard work and struggle, days of when he couldn’t feed his family. The Apprentice candidates don’t seem to get that. You have to learn the ropes and pay your dues. I don’t care what industry or profession you’re in. You need to learn what is required to succeed. If you can’t stand to do your homework and get it right, then don’t bother.
In business—every business—you must start by understanding the process. If you don’t understand the process, you’ll never reap the rewards of success. You’ll never last long enough to become an “overnight” celebrity.
The formula for success begins with getting out there and doing your homework. You have to know what you’re getting into, before you get into it. If Andy Litinsky had done just a bit more research and not put “all of his eggs in one basket,” as Pamela Day put it, he would have known that no insurance company out there is going to underwrite a million dollars on the fly with so many variables unaccounted for. Andy didn’t stop to learn everything that he needed to know before pressing onward and getting in over his head.
People, in general, only see the finished product. What they don’t appreciate is what it takes to make it. Whoa, luxury estate homes on one acre lots! What goes into my building those gorgeous homes though is an entirely separate matter. Construction is hardly a glamorous business. On the contrary, it’s a serious and often quite dangerous endeavor.
That’s where doing my homework comes in handy. It’s an absolute necessity; I can’t afford to waste my time. Not only do I have to know exactly what I’m doing, but the people I hire have to know exactly what they’re doing as well.
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I often see people with great ideas, but what they don’t realize is that their ideas may be too big for them at the moment.
