Tag: tough times

Looking to Start a Business? Read this One Book First

Looking to Start a Business? Read this One Book First

Jon Rennie

Close to 4.5 million new businesses were started in the United States in 2020, making it the highest year on record. New business start-ups jumped 24% from 2019 and more than 50% about the 2010-2019 average. Half a million businesses were started in January 2021 alone.

One of the effects of the COVID pandemic is a desire for people to leave their jobs and do something independently.

As a manufacturing business owner in my sixth year of a start-up, I want to caution those beginning down this path.

Starting a business is challenging, and success is not guaranteed.

You are more likely to fail than succeed.

So, why do millions of people each year ignore the statistics and become entrepreneurs?

Because they see successful entrepreneurs, and they think they can do it as well.

They see the “hustle porn” on social media telling them that they too can have a fancy car and a private jet if they just work hard.

They see people like Phil Knight, a former college athlete who took a desire to find the perfect running shoe and built it into Nike, a global brand worth more than $280 billion.

They think, “if he can do it, I can too.”

The problem is that every entrepreneur underestimates the immensity of the task.

[bctt tweet=”Every entrepreneur underestimates the immensity of the task.” username=”jonsrennie”]

How do I know? I did as well.

As aspiring entrepreneurs, we only see the final version of Nike. We have no idea what it took Phil Knight and his team to get it there.

That is until Phil Knight told us about it in his book, Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike.

This is an incredible dive into what it truly takes to start a company. In this book, we learn that Phil Knight’s journey from a crazy idea of importing Japanese running shoes to building a successful, global brand was anything but a short story.

He faced cash flow problems, lawsuits, unfaithful partners, government investigations, media scrutiny, employees leaving for the competition, and the loss of endorsing athletes.

Problems every entrepreneur will face.

Nike is the story of an overnight success that took more than 18 years.

The lesson you will take away from this book is that starting a business is incredibly arduous, and only the strong, persistent, and lucky will survive.

[bctt tweet=”Starting a business is incredibly arduous, and only the strong, persistent, and lucky will survive.” username=”jonsrennie”]

One quote that struck me from the book is Knight talking with his team after struggling for years to get the company off the ground.

He said, “The cowards never started, and the weak died along the way. That leaves us, ladies and gentlemen. Us.”

If you’re thinking of starting a business, you probably know it won’t be an overnight success. But are you prepared for 2, 5, or 10 years of continuous struggle?

Knight and his team battled for close to two decades to get Nike off the ground.

For me, there is no better book to understand real entrepreneurship than Shoe Dog.

I highly recommend you read it cover-to-cover before you even think about registering your new company.

Start-up life is gratifying, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

[THANA PRASONGSIN/GETTY IMAGES]

Hope is More Powerful than Strategy

Hope is More Powerful than Strategy

Jon Rennie

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “hope is not a strategy.”

While I generally agree with that statement, I would argue that hope is essential for leadership. And at times, even more powerful than strategy itself.

[bctt tweet=”Hope is essential for leadership.” username=”jonsrennie”]

The great Napoleon Bonaparte once said that “a leader is a dealer in hope.”

A dealer in hope? Yes, that’s a strange description. In my mind, I see a leader dealing out hope like playing cards to worried employees.

In a way, that’s exactly what a leader must do.

Consider Winston Churchill. In the dark days of the beginning of World War II, the British people were filled with despair. They had suffered heavy losses, and there was fear throughout the country that Germany would be successful in overcoming the small Island nation.

In a speech delivered on June 4, 1940, Churchill provided hope to a worried nation. He assured them that:

“We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets, and on the hills. We shall never surrender and even if, which I do not for the moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, will carry on the struggle until in God’s good time the New World with all its power and might, sets forth to the liberation and rescue of the Old.”

In one speech, Winston Churchill ignited a country. He drove out despair and gave his people a hopeful vision of the future.

It’s our job as leaders to do the same.

In the past two years, every business has faced unprecedented challenges. A global pandemic, a deeply divided nation, labor shortages, inflation, and the supply chain crisis have all pushed employees to new levels of stress and anxiety.

People are worried about their jobs, their families, and their future. They are looking to their leaders for answers.

Just like Churchill, our role as leaders is to drive out despair and provide hope.

[bctt tweet=”Our role as leaders is to drive out despair and provide hope.” username=”jonsrennie”]

You might be asking yourself – how can I drive out despair when I don’t know what will happen in the future? How can I provide hope when I’m having trouble finding it myself?

Simple. We need to take a page out of Churchill’s playbook.

Instead of griping, complaining, and worrying in front of our employees, we must provide a hopeful vision of the future.

The only way to drive out despair is to unite our employees around a hopeful vision.

When the seas turn violent, and a storm blows in, sailors look to their captain for hope and assurance.

There will be time for strategy, but right now, our people need hope more than ever.

Providing a hopeful vision is one of the most important roles of a leader, learn more about establishing a hopeful vision in my new book All in the Same Boat.

[Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash]

Who’s Gonna Carry the Boats?

Who’s Gonna Carry the Boats?

Jon Rennie

Have you seen the video of former Navy SEAL David Goggins working out with endurance athlete Cameron Hanes?

In the video, Goggins is bench-pressing after what looks like a long workout. As he struggles, he yells out, “You don’t know me, son!” multiple times and pushes through a few more reps. As he continues to weaken, he stares at the camera intensely and screams out, “Who’s gonna carry the boats?”

Goggins reaches deep into his soul at his breaking point and pulls out a mantra that he developed in the Navy during BUD/S training.

He asks the question, “Who’s gonna carry the boats?”

Navy BUD/S training is basic training for Navy SEALs. Located in Coronado, California, it’s considered the toughest physical military training in the world. As part of that training, candidates are assigned to crews and carry inflatable boats that weigh more than 200 pounds through deep sand.

They do this for hours on end until candidates collapse from sheer exhaustion.

Goggins developed this mantra to keep his boat crew motivated as they suffered together. As teammates would drop off, the boat became heavier, and the remaining candidates would feel frustrated, depressed, and mentally fatigued. They all wanted to quit.

He would yell out, “Who’s gonna carry the boats?” to spur the remaining team forward and encourage those who dropped out to get back into the fight.

As I thought of this question, I considered it from a leadership perspective.

On that beach, Goggins led by example. He wasn’t just encouraging his crew with his words; he was leading them with his actions as well. He could only motivate those exhausted sailors on that lonely beach because he was physically, mentally, and emotionally strong.

He answered the question of “who’s gonna carry the boats” by his actions.

His actions said, “I will. Who’s with me?”

As leaders, we can’t expect people to do things we are unable or unwilling to do ourselves. Our people need to see us lead by example.

[bctt tweet=”As leaders, we can’t expect people to do things we are unable or unwilling to do ourselves” username=”jonsrennie”]

When things get tough, people will look to us to see how we’re dealing with the challenge. If we wilt under pressure, our team will as well. This is why leaders need to train themselves to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong.

[bctt tweet=”Leaders need to train themselves to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong.” username=”jonsrennie”]

The stronger we are, the more able we are to lead, especially in tough times. And in business, there will always be tough times.

Think about this in your leadership journey.

Are you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong?

Are you preparing yourself to lead in the tough times?

How will you answer the question, “Who’s gonna carry the boats?”

The only correct answer as a leader is, “I will. Who’s with me?”

If you want to become a better leader, order my latest book You Have the Watch: A Guided Journal to Become a Leader Worth Following.

This guided journal provides daily leadership guidance and reflection for an entire year. Each week, you will learn a new leadership skill. Each day, you will explore a new facet of that skill. As you do the work and put in the reps as a leader, this journal will be your constant companion. By the end of the year, you will master fifty of the most important leadership skills.

 

 

[Photo Nelvin C. Cepeda]