Business Sophistication (4)
Your money
Money is a powerful force in business war. Those who have it have an advantage over those who don’t have it. Nothing lubricates and eases your efforts like money. And nothing limits your efforts in business like lack of it. It takes money to go for war and win. Anybody who says otherwise doesn’t know the power of money, or is not at war. Whenever I hear some folks say it doesn’t take money to run a business, it’s obvious that they don’t have it, and ignorant of what they are saying. (They may be referring to the times of trade by barter but not anymore). Money is power, if not the most powerful weapon of war presently. Imagine an American at war without money – their power and influence in the polity of nations would drastically reduce.
In business, money gives you control to a reasonable extent. When you have it, you have options and can do amazing things that would keep you ahead of others. And above all, you’d have a very respected and audible voice that would cause the competition to shiver. Someone says that the golden rule literarily means that he who has the gold rules! The big question now is, how do I get this money? And my simple answer is: use your network and better still your allies.
Your men
It takes more than one man to fight a war and win. As you see the big picture and what you’d do to reach there in your business, you would need others to help make your mental picture a reality. No organisation can do better than the people it has. In other words, no general can do better than his men. People make the profit. People do the work that would keep buyers coming. People use the weapons. People and not just machines or any other tools do the starting and the finishing! People, people, people!
As the fighting or competitive war continues, it is wisdom to know the strength of your men. The most important thing about your squad is that each person and the assignment given to him fit well. Accept responsibility for placements that did not deliver maximum result, and remove those who do not perform. You either find a player for a position, or find a position for a player, if not fire him! There is no sentiment and there shouldn’t be; when it comes to (business) war, it’s a matter of life and death.
Don’t just have men, have team with uncompromised team spirit. And I repeat, it must be a team that is team indeed, where everybody knows his or her role that is geared towards achieving the core objective. John Maxwell once quipped, ‘Team working for a worthwhile vision makes it possible for common people to attain uncommon result’. Convert every number to a member who sees himself as part of the squad and the whole system. It will amaze you on what they can make happen by seeing that they fit in perfectly. I have seen and know the power of a great team, and can’t trade it for anything else.
As I conclude this piece of writing, I want to remark that simplicity is the highest form of sophistication, and the basis of simplification is to eliminate the needless. Never-ending sophistication is the basic requirement for being in charge in business now and afterwards. So, continuous improvement in every department of your enterprise would transform your operation amazingly.
Every challenge or opposition has got a soft-spot. Begin from where you have the greatest strength to fight. Paul J. Meyer observed that, ‘Ninety percent of all those who fail are not actually defeated; they simply quit’. That’s revealing. ‘Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can’. Those were the words of Arthur Ashe, an ace tennis player concludes my thoughts. Go ahead and make it happen. It’s a new business day!
About the Author
Tony Ajah is a business growth strategist, and the Principal Strategist, TA strategic Solutions, a Lagos-based firm that is into business growth and development.Contact email: [email protected]
