Words of Wisdom, Pt. 2: Further Examinations into Business Experience and the Gift of Hindsight

“In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” ~ Harold S. Geneen

With a small business, it is invariably the case that in the initial phases of getting your business off the ground, you seem to be making very little money, while also reaching deeply into your own pocket to cover ever more numerous costs. Perhaps it is worth remembering this quote then: in beginning a business, the coin of experience is easily just as valuable as the monetary one, and, though it may not feel like it to begin with, you’re receiving both. Hoard the experience coin as best you can.

“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” ~ Thomas Edison

It often happens that we set too fine a point on what we want to do next in our business strategy. If our efforts into monitoring some field such as conversion ratio has brought little change to that figure, but helps somewhere else, such as improving our business image, or perhaps sales technique, then we needn’t be frustrated with our actions; though the initial exploit hasn’t worked, through hard work we’ve fixed other problems along the way. Businesses are in some senses organic. It’s good to remember that positive effort has a range of positive effects.

“Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.”

~ Frank Lloyd Wright

We should see past the strange contrast here to the point: whether you are doing the grand stuff, or the menial stuff, do it happily. Why happily? Because if you’re doing it as best you can then you can look at your work with pride, whether that be filing away papers or battling to get a client on-board. The mark of your ability should be visible on the smaller stuff too.

“The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.”

~ Henry Ford

Alright, so we’ve got Henry Ford down twice, but his quotes have a fine way of setting things down. To talk about skill and imagination in business is a good way of looking towards a lasting product or service. Ford turns the entire idea of profit on its head: how much can I give, how much brilliance can I pack into my product for the same price? This is the opposite of grasping, penny-pinching companies who can never seem to level out value, and who ultimately fail themselves and their customers.

“The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them.”

~ Benjamin Jowett

Working as part of a team means that sometimes you will be so busy with the effort of executing your plans that you aren’t around to accept the praise when things work out right. The advice here is to hold fast; the celebration of the single effort is not for you – after many successful exploits, you will be recognized for the virtue of your indifferent diligence.

Choose a quotation that applies to your situation, and study it – why does it affect you? How can you integrate it into your plans to ensure you get more from your experiences in business? Business consulting with a business expert could help you to make the best of your business situation. Remember that all this advice is retrospective, and take faith. Go out and do your best.