The default position of any business is death; with 96% of businesses never getting past a certain point.

So, our challenge is to keep it going, keep it alive, keep it in the right gear, make sure we change the gear at the right time.

The key components to achieving this are Systems + Mindset. Let me explain…

If you jump out of a plane, unless you have a system – which we call a parachute – you’re going to die. The mindset is going to help you, but it’s the parachute that gets you to the ground safely.

And if I push you out of the plane, whether you’re scared or not, if the parachute opens you land – the system works.

There are 3 reasons why 96% of businesses never get past a certain point:

1/ Mindset – how you think affects everything you do, your self-talk, belief, and confidence.

2/ Ability – your skills and knowledge. But the trouble is, if you don’t know what you don’t know, then how are you meant to get that knowledge? The reason why most businesses are stuck is because the owners don’t know what the problem is, because if they did, they’d fix it.

3/ Execution – I’ve met loads of mentors / coaches that can whip you up into a frenzy on your strategy and mindset. To inspire someone is great, but to inspire them to DO something and then actually do it is the most important thing. I speak to hundreds of business owners every year and it’s surprising how many do know what they should be doing, but never actually do it.

And the challenge for business owners is if we lack confidence and we don’t know what we don’t know, we start looking at all sorts of different things.  But our mind can’t focus on lots and lots of different areas, so you just carry on back in the reactive because it’s the comfort zone of where you are.

But, if you have a system that works for you and you follow it every single step of the way (like McDonald’s), you will get a good business, whether you’re confident or not.

And those days when you’re not feeling it or don’t turn up and rely on others, then you’ve got the systems and processes to take over.

This week I recommend you read (or re-read) an amazing book that’s in my top 10 (my library is 900+ so this shows how useful I find it!) – its Carol Dweck’s ‘Mindset’ and she explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success, but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset.

BW,

Martin

Martin Norbury

Investor | Business Mentor at Advocate | Author of I don’t work Fridays