While lecturing at business seminars, you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had someone stand up and say: “I can sell anything as long as I believe in it.” Wait a minute… Does the fruit-stand salesperson believe in bananas? What happens if she doesn’t even like the taste of bananas? Now what? Does she stop selling bananas or put up a big sign that says, “No bananas sold here!”
Being passionate about what you do in business is a huge asset. However, the passion may not be directly related to the product or service you’re selling.
For instance, my passion for music transformed into a passion for success in building an audio manufacturing company. I got up every morning thinking about how I would find a work-around to a challenge, how I would fill a gap in our catalog, what the company should do next to improve. There’s nothing more gratifying to me than coming up with an innovative strategy that solves a problem or opens a door.
Like everyone else, every once in a while I’d find myself stagnating. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the day to day. To wake myself up, I’d pick up a business book, and no matter the author, it would always give me some new ideas and perspectives. Business authors have often been confronted with similar challenges to yours and can bring light to a dark tunnel. Businesses are either growing or they are dying. So why not grow!
On The Same Page
One day, I brought in a consultant to work with the company. I was excited as he’d previously worked with a firm that was 10 times our size and I figured we could benefit from his experience. My general manager was opposed to the idea. He felt that we had plenty of in-house experience and did not need some outsider to tell us what to do. Ego.
I persisted. As with reading a book, there is always a take-away when someone offers a new perspective. I told him that I wanted to eventually sell the business, and in response, he would always ask me the same question: “Peter – who’s driving the bus?”
His point was as refreshing as an ice-cold shower. If I wanted to sell my company, it had to be able to run without me. He also suggested that there be weekly manager meetings whereby each department head would bring their challenges to their peers so that together, they could come up with solutions.
The GM agreed to this as long as I didn’t participate. He said that I would take over and the meetings would be useless. Ego. I was hurt, but it was the best thing that could have happened. Our management team took over and they run the business these days!
An Infectious Approach
When I was 22 years old, I professed that I would be a millionaire by the age of 30. It didn’t happen; not even close. Yet as I got more involved with my own business, the passion to succeed completely overshadowed the thought of making money. I came to believe that the money would eventually come if I laid out a plan and worked it. So that’s what I did.
I believe one of the most important elements I brought to the table was outlining our past achievements and the lofty goals ahead. Because I’d get excited, it was infectious.
I recall one meeting, I brought a violin into the boardroom, holding it as if I was preparing to perform. Everyone stopped talking in anticipation and then “screech!” – it emitted a horrendous noise, and they immediately realized that I had absolutely no idea how to play! The crowd laughed and everyone left the meeting with a smile on their face.
Passion can come from coaching staff members, calling on customers, making cold calls, and shaking hands and “kissing babies” at trade shows. Passion can also come from developing new products or systems. I used “Passion for Perfection” as the slogan when I launched Hafler. The message was simple: We will build the very best products possible and back it up with extraordinary endorsements.
As an entrepreneur, I believe the best thing you can do is hire people around you who fill in your weaknesses so that you can spend your time doing what you like, not what you have to do. You only live once so enjoy it with as much passion as you can muster!
