Foundations of Freedom

April 29, 2009

Most entrepreneurs are inspired to build the business of their dreams because they value their freedom to create and innovate, they have great products and services and they want to make a difference in the world through them. And, of course, they want to enjoy ever increasing levels of prosperity - financially and otherwise.

But without the right blend of structure, systems, and strategies, building the business of your dreams can quickly become suffering the worst of your nightmares.

Use the following nine steps as a guide to accelerating your business to greater levels of freedom, lasting contribution, and expanding prosperity.

1. FOCUS first on what is most important for you to accomplish with your business, your work, and your life. Identify your compelling reasons why accomplishing this is so important to you and use this 'compelling why' as your guiding beacon through the inevitable 'ups and downs' of business and life.
2. Identify the strength of your STRENGTHS, along with the strength of your blockers. This is your Net Talent (akin to Net Profit, which is Gross revenue, minus Expenses).
3. Develop the business STRUCTURE (roles, processes, procedures, systems, etc.) that best allows you to focus on your two or three strongest core competencies and overall net talent. Build a team around you that complements your net talent. Delegate and outsource anything and everything else that is not one of your core competencies, even if you are accomplished at some of those things.
4. SYSTEMIZE all the processes and procedures that are the most critical to your success (as defined by revenue, profits, value, and personal satisfaction) so that the business can operate sustainably and profitably without you having to be involved in every minute detail (as entrepreneurs are inclined to do). It has been said that, "If you are the major cog in the wheel, you are also the major clog in the wheel."
5. Implement STRATEGIES for leadership, marketing and sales, logistical operations, and delivery of your products and services that are integrated and supportive of one another and that optimize the net talent of you and your team. In other words, these strategies feed off of and support one another.
6. Cultivate and acquire the SKILLS needed to transform your business from high-potential to high-performance.
7. Develop internal and external SUPPORT structures and systems to help you stay focused on your highest-purpose objectives, strategies, and action plan. It is widely known that a spacecraft headed to the moon is off-course at least 80% of the time; as humans headed towards a target, do you think we are any better than that?
8. Define near-term and longer-term ACTION PLANS for each of the areas of your business that are most critical for building freedom, revenue, profits, value, and contribution. Along with action plans, it's vital to establish a structure of ACCOUNTABILITY so that you make sure you FOLLOW-THROUGH on your action items.
9. Finally, TRACK AND MEASURE your progress and results in key performance areas. Use this information to make course corrections along the way.

These steps are like the "backbone" of any successful business. I regularly refer back to these very steps in my work with entrepreneurs around the world. And, I apply them to my own business.

By developing your business with each of these nine steps in mind, you'll be well on your way to building a high-value business - one that provides lasting value to your clients and customers, produces outstanding profit, and allows you to contribute to enhancing the lives of others in meaningful ways.

It's a challenging journey, no doubt, but the payoff can be enormous - ultimate freedom.

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