A Baker’s Dozen for Business

A couple of weeks ago I jotted down what I referred to as several rules of thumb for running a business. Well, I’ve since thought of several more, so I divided things up and re-titled the first as 10 Commandments for Work. The great thing about rules of thumb is they are usually accurate and true and they can be utilized to make good decisions or give broadly accurate responses quickly.

Naturally, there are way more than just ten of these little gems that work in the day to day of business. So, below are roughly a baker’s dozen more to digest. I hope a few of them offer some enlightenment.

The 80/20 Rule. In general, in life and work 20% of the people do 80% of the work. If you think about it, this is pretty accurate. Most people sit by and wait or watch for the doers to grab hold of something and move the needle. Then they jump on for the ride. There’s also an old saying, “Give your busiest person your most important tasks because they get things done.” There’s a grain of truth to that, but I’m always wary of burdening an individual too much. People do not have equal abilities and a few (the 20%) are able and willing to handle more. Give it to them. See them shine.

Do the best you can, with what you have, from where you are. A great little proverb from Theodore Roosevelt. Never work in fear; deal from strength, even if you need to look hard to find it. If it feels you’re on the edge of being fired, where you are is not where you belong. There are other jobs. Remember you were looking for a job when you found this one.

Failure is only final if you let it be. Failure is merely a learning experience and a prelude to finding success.

When someone leaves or quits your business, it’s an opportunity to get better. Obviously, for whatever reason, they didn’t want to be here. So swallow our ego and your pride, get over it, and start looking for someone better. If you’re doing things right, 9 times out of 10 you will always find someone better suited to your company.

Hire based on aptitude and attitude. It’s not what they know so much as how much they want to learn and be part of a team. You can find a place for hard workers who may not have all the skillsets but have the willingness and the smarts to learn, and the congeniality to work with others. Those people are golden. Find a way to keep them.

Listening is way more valuable than speaking. Most people think they are good listeners but really, most people are horrible listeners. For one, they can’t keep their mouths shut. They want to assert their position, jump to the end of another person’s thought pattern, talk over others, interrupt, interpret incorrectly, jump to conclusions – it goes on and on. I see it happen all day, every day. There are so many ways you can screw up by talking, and so very few by listening. You learn nothing when you are talking; you learn a whole lot when you are listening. Be an active and empathetic listener. Engage, nod, repeat key points, but DO NOT interrupt. Wait patiently until the other person is done. Try it; it’s very hard to do consistently. But, it’s like anything – the more you practice it, the easier it becomes.

When budgeting a project, always add a 15% reserve. Things go wrong and nothing is perfect. So, after you figure in your costs, add that reserve where it makes the most sense, where the risks are. Those usually appear in material costs, fabrication errors during the learning curve, and design mistakes.

Everything that’s built is ruled by the learning curve. Figure out your multiplier and plug it into a learning curve formula. In our low volume, highly customized production of aircraft cabin interior components, we figured we never started breaking even on the production of any one unit until about the eighth shipset.

Cash is King, and there’s rarely enough of it. Since there’s always a learning curve, remember you will be front-loaded and cash heavy in the beginning. So, you will be miles ahead if you can get a kickoff customer to help finance those development and learning costs.

There is always a way forward. This one comes from Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford. No matter what you think in the moment, there is always a way forward. There are always choices. Making choices means creating movement. Movement is forward. Even if a decision ends up being wrong, the fact you made one in the first place creates the opportunity to make more choices, to keep moving forward. No choice, no action, no movement. Making choices will always give you more choices and, therefore, always a way forward.

Here’s the plus one (well, I guess four actually). Lastly, I love Don Miguel Ruiz’s, The Four Agreements:

Don’t take anything personally.

Be impeccable with your word.

Don’t make assumptions.

Always do your best.