Work Matters

Last week I made mention of my three, main business gurus. To my way of thinking, an entrepreneur would be well advised to listen to all three of those gentlemen.

One person I did not mention, but whom I am quite fond of, is Tom Peters. Peters wrote one of the most seminal business books titled In Search of Excellence. As such, my fondness for Tom is not limited to the fact that we happen to share the same birthday.

Peters has been around for a long time and is known for many things. I once heard somebody say Tom is passionate about passion. A good example would be the comic strip Dilbert.

If you are not aware, Dilbert is a comic strip, created by Scott Adams, which pokes fun at work life. Dilbert is generally pretty innocent, but Peters feels the comic illustrates a cynicism towards work.

Let's face it, work makes up a major part of our life. Statistically, it bids for the top spot on any time-audit. To quote a famous Peters refrain, "Work matters."

I am onboard with Peters. Rather than mock our work, we should aspire towards optimism and engagement. But, I am probably preaching to the choir. A big part of the reason to become an entrepreneur is to avoid the cynicism of organizational life.

So, let me tell you something else Peters said. He said, "I have learned only three things in forty years. One, he or she who has the best relationships takes home the prize. Two, all effective leaders are full-time salespeople. And, three, he-she who tries the most stuff wins; action beats talk ten time out of ten."

This quote is probably more important than work matters. In accord with Peters's third point, entrepreneurship is about a life of action. As I have said before, experimentation is critically important.

Another important point is the centrality of selling. A business exists for one reason. And, there are two main functions: innovation and sales.

While you are taking action, experimenting, and iterating like crazy, do not forget to build and nurture relationships. Because we cannot do it alone.