TheEightHabitsOfExtremelySuccessfulEntrepreneursGreatentrepreneursdon’twritegreatbooks.Infact,theydon’twritemanybooksatall.Neitherfactissurprising.Successfulentrepreneursaretypicallytoobusyinnovatingtowritedownmuchofanything.Andonthoserareoccasionswhentheyattempttocreateabook,it’sfilledwithwhattheydid,andnotwhatledtotheirideainthefirstplace.Asarule,theyarenotparticularlyintrospective.Soifwewanttoknowwhatmakesthemsuccessful—inordertoimproveourowncompanieswhetherweworkforahugeoneorourownstartup—weneedtostudythem.AndthatisexactlywhatIhavebeendoingprofessionallyforthelast30years.1.LookatHowTheyThink,NotatWhatTheyDo.Ifyoujustobservedtheactionsentrepreneurstake,youwouldconcludethereisn’tthatmuchtobegainedfromstudyingthem.Eachentrepreneur’sbehaviorisasidiosyncraticastheyare.YouwouldhavetobeLarryPageandSergeyBrintostartGoogle;OprahWinfreytofoundHarpoProductions.But—anditisahugebut—ifyoulookathowtheyreason,youseeremarkablesimilarities.Theprocessjustaboutallofthemfollowsincreatingtheircompanieslookslikethis.They:A.Figureoutwhattheyreallywanttodo.B.Takeasmallsteptowardthatgoal.C.Pauseaftertakingthatsmallsteptoseewhattheyhavelearned.D.Buildoffthatlearningandtakeanothersmallstep.E.Pauseaftertakingthatstep.F.Buildoffwhattheylearnedinsteptwo.Andthentakeanothersmallstep…Ifweweretoreduceittoaformula,itwouldbeAct.Learn.BuildRepeat.Putsimply,inthefaceofanunknownfuture,entrepreneursact.Theydealwithuncertaintynotbytryingtoanalyzeit,orplanningforeverycontingency,orpredictingwhattheoutcomeswillbe.Instead,theyact,learnfromwhattheyfind,andactagain.2.TheyStartwithaMarketNeed.Ideasareeasy—Ibetyoucancomeupwith10newproductorserviceideaswithinfiveminutesrightnow,ifyouhadto.Andbecausenewideasareplentiful,theyarenotworthverymuch.Aswithanythingelse,ifthereisaglut—ofideas,inthiscase—thevaluegoesdown.Besides,thereisnoguaranteeanyonewillbuythegreatideayouhavecomeupwith.Ifyoustartwiththeidea,youneedtogoinsearchofcustomers.Ifyoubeginwiththeneed,youalreadyhaveamarket—thepeoplewhoneedwhatyouhave.Ifyoucandiscoveramarketneedyoucanmakeafortune.Butintriguingly,thatisnottheprimarymotivationofthemostsuccessfulentrepreneurs,andthatbringsustothenextpoint.3.Don’tSetOuttoBeRich.Thebestentrepreneursdon’thavemakingafortuneastheirgoal,astheystartoff.Wealthisjust(anextremelypleasant)byproduct.Whynotfocusongainingwealth?Well,ifyourprimaryobjectiveistogetrichquick,youareboundtocutcorners,short-changeyourcustomers,andfailtotakethetimetotrulyunderstandwhatthemarketneeds.Andthatistruewhetheryouaretryingtogetyourcompanyofftheground,orareintroducinganewproductorserviceinordertomakethisquarter’snumbers.Instead,theyidentifythemarketneedwetalkedaboutinpoint2,andgettowork.4.Marketing.(Psst.CompeteDifferently)Theconventionalwisdom—findaniche;zigwhenotherszag—isright,butnotparticularlyhelpful.Itlacks,tobekind,specificity.Farbetteristodescribewhatthebestentrepreneursdoandthatis“competedifferently.”Howdotheydoit?Herearesomeexamples:–Makesmallbets.Yourresourcesarelimitedandstartinganythingnewisrisky.Youdon’twanttocompoundthoserisksbybettingeverythingononeroleofthedice.–Makethosesmallbetsquickly.No,youdon’twanttolosemoney.But,sinceyouarenotriskingmuch,youcanaffordtofail.Getoutinthemarketplacefastandletpotentialcustomerstellyouifyouareontosomething.Actiontrumpseverything—especiallyplanning.–Wheredoyouplacethosesmallbets?(I)Obviously,inareaswherecompetitorsdon’texist,orareweak.Notsoobviously,inplaceswhereyoufeelstrong.Thatconfidencewillhelpyouovercometheinevitablehurdlesyouwillface.–Wheredoyouplacethosesmallbets?(II)Nocustomerwantstobeentirelydependentonjustonesupplier,nomatterwhoitis.Askyourself,whatyourcompetitor’scustomerswant.Betteryet,askthosecustomersyourself.–Letthemarketdefineyou.Peoplewilltellyouwhattheylike,andwhattheydon’t,aboutyourproduct.Incorporatetheirideaswithyours.Makingtheworld’sbestvideocassetterecorderdoesyounogood,ifwhatpeoplereallywantareDVRs.–Keeplookingforplaces…whereyouhaveagenuinecompetitiveedge.That’swhereprofitabilityandsecuritylie.Temptingasitmaybe,don’ttrytobuyyourwayintomarketswhereyouofferthesameproductatalowerprice.That’swhereyou’llbevulnerable.
