1. Unleashing the entrepreneurs inside your business
I am lucky to work with both self-employed and corporate experts. Not so long
ago, it seemed as if larger organisations had all the advantages. They had the
scale and resources that enabled them to compete in markets and geographies
that were completely inaccessible to the little guy.
In just a few years, those barriers have been torn down. Technology has evened
up the playing field, meaning anyone with a half-decent web connection can
compete from anywhere on the planet! To hold a video conference used to
require expensive ISDN lines and cameras. Now we can do it for free from our
favourite café using a $300 smartphone. The high fixed-cost bases of larger
businesses now weigh heavily. A new model is needed.
“The future’s already here – it’s just unevenly distributed”
William Gibson
The Future is here
The good news is that the model is already here. It’s what the smartest self-
employed consultants, experts and thought leaders have been doing since the
technology revolution enabled them to play a much bigger game. They’ve
become flexible, fast and frugal. I believe there are handsome commercial gains
for the larger businesses that can emulate these approaches by creating their
own internal entrepreneurs or ‘employeepreneurs’.
This is a challenging idea. Many will disagree and cite any number of reasons why
this does not apply or cannot be done. To them I say “good luck”. Here are just a
few things I believe many businesses can learn from today’s successful
independents.
Get Outcome-focused
Working for yourself, you don’t have the safety net of a monthly salary. It’s
brutally simple. If you do not get your stuff out and sell it, you starve! You have
to Think, Sell and Deliver (repeat x 1,000). The flip side is you get very focused,
very quickly. You don’t have time for the unproductive meetings and other
distractions that can make up such a big part of a corporate day. So banish
complacency and stale ‘norms’ by focusing on outputs and deliverables. What can
you stop doing, shorten or accelerate to get more done, more quickly?

2. Fail fast
Not a new idea, but there is so much baggage around ‘failure’ in organisations
(often despite claims to the contrary!). The small guy cannot afford to prolong a
failed project. We learn, adapt, discard or tweak – fast. Failure must be de-
politicised. It’s a cost of doing business and a great way to learn and grow.
Embrace, indeed celebrate, failure as an exciting and necessary part of the
learning and earning process.
Collaborate
Last week I wrote about an abundant mindset – Are you scarce or abundant.
Yesterday’s top-down, triangular structures must be replaced by circles:
communities and partnerships where knowledge, skills and resources are shared
abundantly for a collective commercial gain. Speed trumps cumbersome
structures and policies. This requires simplification and, above all, Trust.
Expect the best of your people
People are extraordinary. It is incredible just how much the best information
experts are able to create and sell using just a few support staff (physical and
virtual) and leveraging the best available technologies. They are massively
productive and very successful financially. By contrast, too many businesses
concentrate on creating rules and policies designed around expecting the worst of
their staff. So hire the right folk and then trust them to do great things! Equip
them, inspire them and let them loose on the world!!!
Have some fun
This may sound trite, but too many businesses I have worked in are joyless and
dull. I’ve operated in lots of countries and many sectors and, without fail, the
best business successes I’ve observed have come from teams and individuals
who are fundamentally enjoying what they do! Unless your employees resemble
Daleks, Cyberman or Borg, a little laughter goes a very long way towards
creating high performance.
And finally - get energized
Sitting across the top of all of these shifts is the need to tap into the personal
energy of your staff. Traditionally it’s what employees have been expected to
park at the door as they put on their corporate mask (a bit like their ‘telephone
voice’). It goes by many names - essence, enthusiasm, passion – and the
businesses that can adapt to encourage their staff to bring it INTO the workplace
stand to prosper exponentially.
There’s a lot more to say on this, but that’s my starter for ten (or five!). I’d love
to know your thoughts and additions.
Mark
Upcoming Programmes
Corporate Mentoring and Programmes
Need help in transitioning your business to be successful in this new age of
hyper-change? Don’t now how to get the best from your best people? Looking to
position your experts (and your business) as thought leaders in the marketplace
to grow your business?
Mark Hodgson mentors business heads and their teams to effect the change they
need to become commercially smart leaders and influencers. He does this using a
range of approaches and programmes. To set up an initial conversation, mail
Mark at mark@markhodgson.co.uk

3. Personal Mentoring Programme with Mark Hodgson
THE flagship Sell Your Thoughts programme for anyone serious about making
their dream of earning a great living fulfilling their potential a reality. Want to do
what you love, working with people you like? If you need a significant up-shift,
join Mark as he personally mentors you through this life-changing programme
that combines great online and physical teaching to make sure you get
commercial traction in the real world.
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