Hard Earned Business Lessons

Human life is a typical labyrinth which teaches everyone valuable lessons, during one's sojourn, on every aspect of our lives on a perpetual basis and also giving alerts and signals for potential opportunities and threats. Business life is no exception and it deals with various facets of human efforts to ascend the ladder of success. Experiences and lessons vary widely between people depending on their level of involvement, their chosen paths and the interlinked interactive modes of operation. Lust for Power, hunger for success and ambitious dreams mixed with haste and speed distinguish Business spectrum, which makes one to transcend operating boundaries and become victims of illusory triumphs in place of measured achievements. 

My Business life was also liberally sprinkled with adventure, setbacks and gains resulting in invaluable lessons and insights which I would like to share with you. Since trade and business segments involve many aspects of psychological, behavioural and management skills in practice, the lessons also are focused and deep rooted. Enumerated below is the list of lessons for posterity, based on my experience. 

1) Don't trust anyone whom you have not met : In today's digital ecosystem, living in a country without any data privacy laws has its own hazards. Anonymous callers have more information about you than your own neighbours. In such a predicament, one can trust only after meeting the person directly since business involves investment and expertise which cannot be replicated easily once it is lost. Interact with many but form an equation only after a direct dialogue. Remote offers, partnerships and strategies do not culminate in solid relationships and become brittle very soon. 

2) Identify the weakest link in the Business chain which is obstructing or slowing down the progress. Instead of groping in the dark or attempting to overhaul the entire system, make efforts to identify the weakest area and improve it with all your energy which would solve at least 80 percent of one's problems. 

3) Leverage your strengths and not other's weaknesses : Business in a positive mode develops only when one's strengths are gainfully deployed to reach the goal. Exploiting the weaknesses of others may provide a peripheral advantage but long term benefits are ruled out since it will never be a sustainable solution. It is crucial to identify one's strong points, develop them to climb the ladder of success instead of adopting shortcuts. 

4) Don't negotiate with all and sundry : Negotiation is an inextricable part of any business process. People have to prepare well in advance, have a vigilant eye for opportunities and negotiate with the right authority for effective results. In many companies, negotiation is a continuous process with many levels in the hierarchy. One should not get caught in such endless exercises which drains all the energy resulting in severe burnout. At the final stage, one ends up with mental fatigue and is unable to present an effective case. It is preferable to avoid too many stages but, if not possible, reserve all your energy for the final assault in the death overs.

5) Keep the Business Model constant to build a Customer base : Some people are constantly in search of greener pastures and are attracted by any arising opportunities without proper evaluation. This reduces the focus on existing products or proposals which leads to alienation of the present customer basket. It is not adequate to make and sell products alone but it is essential to build a loyal customer base to ensure the success of the business model. Any such divergent tendencies result in loss of customer confidence, who feels that you are not a reliable source in the long run. Hence a running business concept should have committed continuity to attract customer loyalty. 

6) Maintain Healthy Interactions with Competitors : Businesses have to face competitive pressures and outshine them to take a significant lead. That does not mean that competitors are to be viewed with hostility and aversion. Competitors do share relevant market information for mutual benefit and also are ready to discuss common issues faced by everyone to jointly arrive at satisfactory solutions. In many Industry segments, competing companies meet on a regular basis to iron out issues with the customers or Govt agencies through joint efforts. The days of mutual hatred and disdain with Competitors are a hangover of the past and better interactions within self-drawn boundaries are signs of healthy competition. 

7) Avoid taking too many partners in Business : In small and medium business structure, partnerships can be need based or task based ones to achieve specific results. Taking too many partners on a permanent basis will lead to ' too many cooks spoiling the broth '. Initial euphoria,  for higher targets through additional partners, normally wears off soon since the agendas differ widely and the common goals get reduced to the minimum. Hence it is sagacious to avoid partnerships without proper identification of common ground and evaluation on a long term perspective. Some entrepreneurs fall easy prey to these temptations only to regret deeply later, when the situation becomes irretrievable. 

8) Keep your Creative Juices flowing always : Many business owners do not give adequate emphasis for innovative efforts and creative solutions to recurring problems. Innovation should be built as an integral part of any business structure, albeit on a smaller scale. An element of novelty should become a part of daily operations in approach, behaviour, customer dealings to distinguish from run-of-the-mill companies. Medium scale businesses have to create a pool of think tanks for designing innovative strategies. The benefits, of course, accrue much later but the seeds sown in this area grow into much bigger trees in future, enriching the value of the company and its products on a higher pedestal. 

9) Don't Celebrate Success and Don't Mourn Failure : Both success and failure are inevitable parts of any business framework and are to be treated as normal outcomes. Being euphoric at success makes the team complacent and getting distressed at failure plays havoc with the morale of the group. Of course, success needs to be appreciated and rewarded. Similarly, reasons for failure have to be identified and corrective actions are to be initiated in time. But it is to be borne in mind that Organizational responses to results have to be within maturely set boundaries. Any Excess zeal on success or blame games on failure have a propensity to disrupt teamwork and affect the overall morale. So, enjoy success and analyze failures with professional maturity and a balanced state of mind.