Wall Street Journal — 10 Tips
In our local newspaper, the Sunday business section carries a supplement from the Wall Street Journal. It’s not in many big city or international newspapers, so I thought I could share something from it with our world-wide audience.
The Sunday supplement just celebrated 10 years and offered 10 tips for why they have been successful. They aren’t earthshaking ideas, but they are relevant for almost anybody who wants to succeed in business. I’ve included a link to the original article as the comments below are mine, not theirs.
1. Stick to the mission. Many really good companies have failed or at least diminished because they spread themselves too thin. Of course, this implies that you have a mission to begin with. This is an easy trap to fall into. I think it’s especially easy for people in sales as they always want to please customers even if it means doing something outside the normal realm of expertise.
2. Do what you do well. Most people would interpret this as sticking to doing what you know how to do, but the corollary is just as important. What ever you do, you must do it well. If you can’t, you’re doing the wrong thing.
3. One size does fit all. I agree with this to the point of saying every customer deserves the same quality of service and satisfaction.
4. The numbers count. Well, it helps to be big and growing. But, I also think you can be too big. There are plenty of statistics showing the smaller companies are generally more profitable than bigger companies. But, see point 1 above for why.
5. Pick good partners. Man, this is true in every aspect of life, not just business. I’m the first to say, if it weren’t for my great partner, my life would be highly diminished. The point here is to specifically think about this and look hard before you leap.
The remaining five points will be in the next post.