The secret to a better business

Here’s a question I get asked a lot.

“Mark, what’s the secret?”

Just as often I will be  asked “is there even a secret?”

The simple fact is that the real secret is smart consistent hard work.

There are however some tricks to make that smart consistent work just that little bit easier and it has a lot to do with the people around you.

You see, we know that your vibe attracts your tribe. So, if you’re looking for business success you need a successful vibe in order to attract a successful tribe.

This is where I see lots of business owners go wrong.

Let me explain what I mean. Somebody who is looking to quit smoking often looks for another smoker to quit with.

Someone who is looking to learn a new language looks for a friend who is also keen to learn to attend classes with.

And so, people who are looking for greater success in their business often seek out people at the same level as them to improve together.

What you need to do is find someone who has already quit smoking, knows how to do it, and can loudly espouse the benefits of doing so.

If you want to learn a new language find somebody who speaks the language fluently or at least conversationally.

That way you will never rest at that lower level of achievement.  Near enough will never be good enough because you’re associating with people who have moved beyond that, done better and achieved more.

Business success is no different.

Businesses is a high level sophisticated game and so you have to be striving for continual improvement. The easiest way to do that is to associate with people who are already continuously improving.

I read a great article from Karl Bryan where he drew the analogy between business and elite athletes.

He made the point that basking in past successes is when you’re most likely to slip up. Athletes who stay at the top for an extended period of time are normally dangerously fearful.

They’re afraid of settling, they’re afraid of losing their edge.

Karl recognised three “secrets” of the ultracompetitive and the best of the best in the elite athlete world.

Firstly, they critically examine their own performance, and they use their success to date not as an opportunity to rest on their laurels but as a motivation toward a higher level of performance next time.

Complacency isn’t in their vocabulary nor is basking in the glory of last week’s performance.

Secondly, they peak at the right moment as opposed to trying to maintain a consistent level of performance.

It’s the same in business. You can’t always be “on”. In our Mastermind program we work in sprints. We have a sprint and a cooldown period for very project that our clients work on.

We do that because, like elite athletes we understand (apart from actual marathon runners) that performance should be a sprint and not a marathon.

Mind you even marathon runners break each marathon into a series of focused sprints.

Finally, they create a competitive advantage by always working to catch up regardless of what the actual score is.

They compete like they are scared to lose, like losing or failure is not an option.

These same three secrets can be used in your business. Perform in sprints, don’t rest on your laurels and use your past successes a motivation toward a higher level of success next time.

Surround yourself with a tribe of people who have been there and done it or a really doing it. They may not be that far ahead of you but they have at least achieved a level of success and are bravely moving toward their next level.

Following the same three principles as elite athletes and surrounding yourself with successful people will drive you to the next level.