22:07
Faizan
When it comes to having impact, making a difference in the world, you can be deceived into thinking that you have to wait.
Wait until...
Your business is big
Your revenue reaches $1 million
Some event happens when you suddenly have more wisdom, more time, or more permission to have impact.
Is that you? Have you been waiting?
Abraham Maslow, in his famous Hierarchy of Needs, theorized that people couldn't begin to make contributions to society or even develop themselves as people until basic survival needs were met.
I see this viewpoint reflected in the way that old-style businesses have organized themselves. In the worldview of survival and competition, eat or be eaten, a lot of inward-looking businesses focus only on profit as the way to survive in the business world.
To me, that's a very base level at which to be operating.
It's true, you can't have a sustainable business without profit. But I and many business leaders feel that a profit / survival focus isn't the only way to have a business that lasts and makes money for its owners.
That's not just a belief. It's based on real results from real businesses.
When I started my first business 21 years ago, I didn't begin just by learning the ropes in finance and marketing and setting up systems. Along with that and at the same time, I used a visioning guide. That book and the mentor I had at the time led me through a process of defining what was important to me in my business, what I valued, and how I wanted to have well-being and impact as well as abundance.
I wanted a business that made a real contribution in the lives of people every day.
I wanted a business that reflected my values: integrity, honesty, high quality, and working with people in a way that was collaborative and respectful.
I wanted a business where I'd have room to help and mentor other people. I did that even in my first consulting business, when I had interns work with me or my corporate clients stopped me in the hallways and asked me for advice and support to start their own businesses.
And I got one. Just 13 months after starting, I was into 6 figures. Equally important, the work I was doing had impact.
That all sounds pretty good, right? But having this impact focus sure didn't make me perfect! I haven't always met my own high standards for myself or my business, but having those standards in place changed how I did things. I didn't take shortcuts that would have led to more profit if it conflicted with what I valued and that would have hurt other people. I refused to work on projects for companies in the tobacco industry, for example.
I had to laugh when I pulled out that visioning guide the other day, the one I used before I started my business. In some ways, I thought I'd changed so much. When I sold my house and most of my belongings 7 years ago and spent a year traveling while I kept my business going, I thought I'd undergone a complete transformation.
And in many ways I have - where and how I live and my actual business focus - but my business values remain, and continue into my coaching business today.
So, back to our friend Maslow. I think his 5-tier hierarchical system for human development was certainly useful in its time. But it doesn't really capture the full complexity of human experience and potential.
You have so much to offer even when you're in the early days of your business or in a transition in your established business. Your awareness of that informs your own growth and your business' creation, transition, and growth.
Wait until...
Your business is big
Your revenue reaches $1 million
Some event happens when you suddenly have more wisdom, more time, or more permission to have impact.
Is that you? Have you been waiting?
Abraham Maslow, in his famous Hierarchy of Needs, theorized that people couldn't begin to make contributions to society or even develop themselves as people until basic survival needs were met.
I see this viewpoint reflected in the way that old-style businesses have organized themselves. In the worldview of survival and competition, eat or be eaten, a lot of inward-looking businesses focus only on profit as the way to survive in the business world.
To me, that's a very base level at which to be operating.
It's true, you can't have a sustainable business without profit. But I and many business leaders feel that a profit / survival focus isn't the only way to have a business that lasts and makes money for its owners.
That's not just a belief. It's based on real results from real businesses.
When I started my first business 21 years ago, I didn't begin just by learning the ropes in finance and marketing and setting up systems. Along with that and at the same time, I used a visioning guide. That book and the mentor I had at the time led me through a process of defining what was important to me in my business, what I valued, and how I wanted to have well-being and impact as well as abundance.
I wanted a business that made a real contribution in the lives of people every day.
I wanted a business that reflected my values: integrity, honesty, high quality, and working with people in a way that was collaborative and respectful.
I wanted a business where I'd have room to help and mentor other people. I did that even in my first consulting business, when I had interns work with me or my corporate clients stopped me in the hallways and asked me for advice and support to start their own businesses.
And I got one. Just 13 months after starting, I was into 6 figures. Equally important, the work I was doing had impact.
That all sounds pretty good, right? But having this impact focus sure didn't make me perfect! I haven't always met my own high standards for myself or my business, but having those standards in place changed how I did things. I didn't take shortcuts that would have led to more profit if it conflicted with what I valued and that would have hurt other people. I refused to work on projects for companies in the tobacco industry, for example.
I had to laugh when I pulled out that visioning guide the other day, the one I used before I started my business. In some ways, I thought I'd changed so much. When I sold my house and most of my belongings 7 years ago and spent a year traveling while I kept my business going, I thought I'd undergone a complete transformation.
And in many ways I have - where and how I live and my actual business focus - but my business values remain, and continue into my coaching business today.
So, back to our friend Maslow. I think his 5-tier hierarchical system for human development was certainly useful in its time. But it doesn't really capture the full complexity of human experience and potential.
You have so much to offer even when you're in the early days of your business or in a transition in your established business. Your awareness of that informs your own growth and your business' creation, transition, and growth.
Posted in: business
