The Secret to Business Success<=
/h1>
It seems that contemporary business exper=
ts
are on a zealous mission to brand, trademark, or copyright business basics =
with
a novel spin. Certainly, ther=
e is
an endless assortment of narcissistic publications, seminars, and studies t=
hat
claim to offer the latest and greatest in proprietary business wisdom. While the capitalistic initiative
evident in these works is admirable, the incremental value of the underlying
concepts grows doubtful when considered in the context of curiously similar
practices already well established at the time of “discovery”.<=
o:p>
Self-appointed management gurus are tedio=
usly
rehashing obvious themes, as if each had experienced a personal revelation =
so
divine that they are compelled to pontificate to the unenlightened. Over the years, the faithful have
flocked around Management by Objectives, Quality Circles, Business Process
Reengineering, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, Lean Manufacturing and
countless other movements redundantly celebrated as the true path to busine=
ss
success. When distilling the
essence of such teachings, it becomes apparent that management crusaders and
their disciples must have chronic difficulty correlating fundamental concep=
ts
that have been around for decades, centuries, or millennia. Unfortunately, the excitement
surrounding a newborn phrase usually eclipses the mundane principles behind=
its
efficacy.
Management fads and their accompanying
buzzwords are typically nothing more than slick new editions of the same old
stories. Recycled theories
masquerading as innovative management science represent the corporate
equivalent of get-rich-quick schemes.
Accordingly, individuals possessing any shred of business savvy will
often digest a best-selling book or proprietary program with the nagging
suspicion that they have just been suckered by another infomercial.
The
quintessential business secret: there are no secrets. To succeed in business, one still =
needs
to sell a product or service for more than it costs – as was the case=
in
500 BC. In the end, it all bo=
ils
down to the pragmatic application of common sense, pertinent experience,
general business knowledge, and instinct.&=
nbsp;
It is also advisable to throw in a healthy dose of skepticism to
immunize against the false hope that swells with every passing panacea.
New Ideas or Déjà Vu?
Arguably,
much of the enduring insight applicable in business predates popular manage=
ment
theory by hundreds or thousands of years.&=
nbsp;
Consider a few examples:
“Where
there is no vision, the people perish.”
Proverbs
29:18
“Strategy
without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is
the noise before defeat.”
Sun
Tzu (c. 544 BC - 496 BC)
“No
profit grows where is no pleasure taken; In brie=
f,
sir, study what you most affect.”
William
Shakespeare (1564 AD – 1616 AD)
“First,
have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have =
the
necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods.
Third, adjust all your means to that end.”
Aristotle
(384 BC – 322 BC)
“The
general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the
battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations
beforehand.”
Sun
Tzu (c. 544 BC - 496 BC)
“Lose
no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary
actions.”
Benjamin
Franklin (1706 AD – 1790 AD)
“He
who will not economize will have to agonize.”
Confucius
(551 BC - 479 BC)
"Quality
is not an act, it is a habit."
Aristotle
(384 BC – 322 BC)
In
Closing
“Many
receive advice, only the wise profit from it.”
Publilius
Syrus (c. 100 BC)
Exceptional
businesses are distinguished not by their adoption of exclusive management
theories, but by their willingness and ability to consistently employ
fundamental concepts in meaningful ways.&n=
bsp;
Instead of hastening to mimic the latest in fashionable theories,
aspiring business leaders should examine why their organizations have faile=
d to
effectively implement comparable principles that have long been
recognized. Such introspection
might produce genuine wisdom – the kind that cannot be found among
marketing gimmicks and management fads.
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