By Jerry Kauffman, EOS Partner
Gino Wickman, creator of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), recently shared a list of “Top 10 Lessons from my Greatest Mentor.” As a Certified EOS Implementer, I’m very grateful to Gino for his work and how it helps me to help leaders of entrepreneurial organizations gain the tools/structure they need to get more of what they really want from their businesses.
Each item on the list below merits its own article, but here’s the list with a very brief comment.
Give, Live and the Basics
- There’s nothing special about special people. It’s what they do that makes them special, not who they are. Ego, desire for status, and self-promotion don’t make you impactful. Leaders make other people better through what they do, not personality or flash.
- You get by giving. Persistence and insistence on being abundance minded and “help first” always pay off, even if you’re not there to see it happen.
- Live with it, leave it, or change it. When facing a challenge, you really only have three options. Complaining or blaming aren’t a fourth option, they’re just ways of “live with it.”
- Always be more of a cause than a corporation. Corporations of any size rarely, if ever, inspire anyone. Causes connect with hearts and do inspire.
- When the going gets tough, the tough get back to basics. Not what you expected, was it? Clarity, focus, and alignment are essential to working on the right things. Keeping it basic and simple makes it much easier for you and others to be impactful and move forward.
Preparing for Adversity and Sacrificing for Success
6. Nothing lasts, good times or bad. Understanding this principle helps to avoid being crippled by either complacency or hopelessness and avoid missing impending change or an opportunity to move forward in a positive way.
7. Adversity can either be an anchor or a rocket booster – it’s up to you. This is the toughest one on the list. Staying curious and open minded enough to find value and opportunity in the face of adversity is hard, but learning to is always possible.
8. It takes just as much sacrifice to succeed as it does to fail. If you are investing energy in something or someone you care about, make sure you’re clear on what success looks like (large or small) so each step (large or small) is in the direction of that success.
9. When adversity strikes, learn from it, let it go, and move on. It is said that we learn by looking back, but we grow by looking forward. Nobody drives down the road by continually looking in the rear-view mirror. Regular glances are valuable, but most attention needs to be forward, to see what’s coming and make the moves needed to stay on track.
10. It’s what you do when you don’t have to that will determine what you will be when you can no longer help it. Read it slowly a couple times and it will make sense. When facing a choice, think about looking back at yourself from the future and ask, “What choice do I wish I had made back then?” Powerful.
More Entrepreneurial Lessons
Gino tells the story much better than I can. Click here to hear him share these lessons personally. It’s about 11 minutes and totally worth it.
By the way, Gino’s current cause is to reach 1,000,000 entrepreneurs in the making by helping them understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur and determine if they have it. If you or someone you know wants to learn more, go to www.e-leap.com.
