Running a business is a venture that not everyone is willing to take. After all, it comes with a lot of responsibilities and risks. Still, many decide to choose this path because it is what fulfills them.
If you’re one of those people, you may find that learning from other people’s experiences is a great way to tread the path to success.
Of course, you can always ask a business coach for help, but even they would tell you the value of the following five business lessons you need to learn today:
Lesson #1: Know Thyself
In business, everything starts from within. So, to be an effective business leader, you have to know yourself better – your interests, preferences, strengths, skills and shortcomings.
When you understand who you are and what you’re passionate about, you’re most likely to tackle business problems in a way that best suits your skills. You’ll also be less sensitive to your weaknesses.
Besides that, “knowing thyself” also means understanding your own biases. With CEOs and company leaders looking at their organization with a tunnel vision, it can be difficult to know what’s really going on within the company if similar-minded executives already filter the information you get.
Instead of relying on the information you are being fed, you should get it straight from the source. When you’re aware of your cognitive biases, you’ll actively seek diverse opinions and ideas and practice discipline when taking a perspective on important issues.
Lesson #2: Be Humble
Humility is what defines good business leadership.
Anyone can take credit for a job well done, but only a great leader is big enough to recognize other people’s contributions to the success of an organization.
Besides knowing when to acknowledge other people’s hard work, a humble leader also tolerates risks and losses. This means that any leader who lacks humility will routinely take none of the blame and all the credit.
Ultimately, they end up having weak teams since they will have no one to back them up to soften the landing when they stumble.
Lesson #3: Steer Clear of the Status Quo
Status quo thinking is all about using the same method that worked well in the past, without even considering the changes that affect the result. After all, change is inevitable.
In business, there’s nothing more constant in the market than change. This means that whatever worked well previously won’t always be the best strategy for tackling all challenges.
To succeed, business leaders should steer clear of the status quo and keep their eyes and minds open for potentially useful tools and strategies that could lead to growth and success.
Lesson #4: Think First, Speak Later
Failure in business isn’t always about making poor decisions. In most cases, it’s because CEOs self-sabotage their success, whether intentionally or unintentionally, through their statements.
As leaders, CEOs and company presidents should practice the careful choice of words. In short: think first before speaking. This way, you can avoid leaving the wrong impression or worse – causing your company’s downfall.
Lesson #5: Have a Plan
Planning is an effective way to increase the chances of success. Whether you sought out coaching in Dubai before starting your business, someone will tell you, you need to create a business plan.
While it may sound tedious and time-consuming, having a business plan helps with three things, namely:
● Making crucial decisions
In entrepreneurship, you’ll be making lots of decisions and dealing with crises that you won’t have time to sit down and consider the ramifications that every move you make will have. This is why a business plan is necessary.
With a business plan, you can already determine the best answer to the most critical business decisions you’ll be facing in the future. It opens up opportunities for you to think about your business’s most important elements before diving into the venture. It also lets you think deeply about core strategies and how they will impact your business.
● Avoiding significant mistakes
When you create a business plan, you are forced to research and do your homework on different aspects of the company you’re trying to build.
With this document, you’ll be able to know whether the market needs your products or services and how much capital you’ll need to run the company until it’s ready to stand on its own.
It also includes details about the necessary workforce and determines your company’s position against the competition. More importantly, it’ll help you decide the right price range for the products and services you offer.
● Ensuring the viability of the business
Many businesses are born out of passion. But while it is a great motivator, passion alone cannot ensure business success.
That said, a business plan will allow you to determine the viability of the business venture you’re planning for. It will confirm that your grand idea makes sense and might lead to something big.
Learn to Do Business the Right Way
Running a business is something you cannot do alone.
At the very least, you need to pick up some wise words from experts in the industry or coaches who have been counseling leaders like you. The lessons listed in this article should serve as a great starting point in your quest to learn how to do business the right way.
AUTHOR BIO
Salma El-Shurafa is an experienced Executive Coach and founder of The Pathway Project. She is a Professional Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach from The Coaches Training Institute (CTI) and a graduate of CTI’s Co-Active Leadership program.
