The Tuesday Roundup
Today I’m sharing some resources to help you develop the qualities of a successful entrepreneur.
One of the keys of entrepreneurial success is building deep knowledge. As part of your learning journey, I recommend reading Good to Great and Built to Last by Jim Collins. He also has great resources on his website to introduce you to principles of company building.
To develop the builder's determination you need, you’ll have to become comfortable with learning from failure. On this journey, everything is an experiment. Experimenting and failing will ultimately lead to your success. This story illustrates just how much quantity leads to quality – don’t sit around theorizing about building something perfect, just get out there.
Attempt mediocrity, even. Dare to write one really awful sentence if you have to. It takes the pressure off. And mediocre might just lead to good, which every now and then might get me to awesome. But if I start by expecting to begin with awesome, I might just sit there instead, waiting for lightning to strike. Or, more likely, start scrolling Twitter and RSS feeds.
Part of learning resourcefulness is learning from others. Look to the entrepreneurs you admire to see how they faced setbacks with creative solutions. David Cummings wrote about my friend Jewel Burks Solomon and her resourcefulness here.
In the midst of this journey, you need something to hold onto that positively grounds you and drives you forward. For me, it’s the love of building, and the freedom to have impact that drives me. However, my immediate family is the first, foundational, and most important “business” I’m building, the most important place for impact, I’m grounded so I can keep going. It doesn’t have to be family for you, but if it is, the 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni offers some insights into how to managing family amidst the craziness.