Plans to grow by

Two events last week prompted me to write this post. The first was that my wife watched some crappy movie with our daughter the other week about magically becoming young again for a while.

Actually “crappy” was her word, not mine, although our daughter thought it was great. The second was later that week when I attended a Hive function where Monique Conheady of Flexicar spoke (a cool business) and met a number of aspiring entrepreneurs at the start of their careers.

Both of these things got me thinking about what I would have told myself about business at the start of my career, if I could go back in time and speak to/slap myself in 1985 when I graduated from Curtin University.

Now, everyone would have different ideas on this but I could think of five things that I felt I would really want to get across, because I have had to learn them the hard way.

Have Goals

If you drift along in life you will still reach a destination, you just won’t like it. So, set yourself some Big Picture Goals and try to make them SMART and worthwhile achieving. It almost
doesn’t matter if you’re not sure if these are the right ones. You’re better off having goals that are kind of right, than having none. Having big picture goals also means that in every situation you can ask yourself “what outcomes do I want from this that will help me achieve my big picture goals?”

So, write down some big picture goals and figure out the actions you need to take to get there. Develop the habit of asking yourself “what outcomes do I want from this event/meeting/accident that would help me achieve my goals?”

Focus

To get to the top of anything you need to be very, very good at what you do. So outsource other activities to others who are very good at what they do. Don’t abdicate responsibility though, you still need to have an understanding of what others do so that you can give clear guidance.

So, concentrate on getting continuous professional development in your area, but read widely to give you insight into those that will help you.

Be confident

There are two reasons why you need to be confident. First and foremost confidence is rewarded, as subconsciously we all want to deal with confident people (just like we all want pretty people to like us). Secondly, my experience is that regardless of the industry, topic or seniority of the speaker, 90% of people don’t really understand what comes out of their mouth or how horribly biased it is by their own experiences. Mostly they just repeat other people’s ideas ‘parrot fashion’ and use big words to sound important. Therefore, you have every right to be confident about your own ideas or perspectives.

So, speak loudly, clearly and smile. Rehearse your messages if you think you sound clumsy.

Network

The most successful people I have met over the course of my career all have large networks full of interesting quality people – generally people who are very good at their job. So for instance, they don’t just know a lawyer, they know a great divorce lawyer, a great IP lawyer, a great lawyer for commercial negotiations. Actively networking is the best way of surrounding yourself with great people. The bonus is that the best opportunities in life normally come from your network, so the larger the network the better.

So, remember that being connected to 1000 people on Facebook isn’t networking. Make a point of attending a networking function once a week and not just in your industry. Try to meet new people (it becomes easy fairly quickly), record their contact details and make an effort to contact these people again.

Volunteer

Volunteering for activities is a great way of meeting new people, gaining new experiences and/or perspectives and developing profile (and opportunities definitely come to those who have profile). It almost doesn’t matter what the activity is, whether it’s a working group at the office or a volunteer for a social venture or charity.

So, regularly stick your hand up at work, and/or volunteer to help out in a not-for-profit, whether it be a sporting club, charity or social venture. As Woody Allen says: “70% of success in life is showing up”.

The upshot

Now, in 1985 as a fresh-faced graduate I probably wouldn’t have listened to the speech. But I would have incorporated some of the takeaways. Certainly with my own kids, we encourage them to think about what they want, have goals, be confident, maintain friendships outside their school and volunteer for things. I just hope they learn these things quicker than me.

Brendan Lewis is a serial technology entrepreneur having founded : Ideas Lighting, Carradale Media, Edion, Verve IT, The Churchill Club, Flinders Pacific and L2i Technology Advisory. He has set up businesses for others in Romania, Indonesia and Vietnam. Qualified in IT and Accounting, he has also spent time running an Advertising agency and as a Cavalry Officer with the Australian Army Reserve.