It is about doing what you like and also liking what you do
You are, let's say, a coding jock. You love creating clever software in equally clever ways. So you naturally decide to make a business of it. Before you step into the exciting world of strategies, deals and venture capital, may I suggest that you take some time off to think what two great minds have to say about work and enterprise.
“If you enjoy what you do,” the Chinese sage Lao Tzu advised, “you never work a day in your life.” A few years ago, many executives took his words to heart and went off to start dotcoms related to golf.
The sage of Omaha , Warren Buffett, who is worth $32 billion and has been voted by Forbes magazine as the second richest man on earth, has now added a new layer to Lao Tzu's aphorism. 15 days ago, in a special one-hour feature on Buffett on CNBC (I believe it is supposed to be aired in India later this month), he was asked, “What is Warren Buffett's secret to success?” And he replied: "I would say success is really doing what you love and doing it well. It's simple as that."
Two professors, Mike Goldsby and Donald F. Kuratko, studied 336 entrepreneurs in the United States and found that companies led by those who regularly run, report better sales results than firms led by non-runners.
The study also found that the runners reported better personal satisfaction, independence and autonomy than their non-running or weight-training counterparts. In other words, these runner-entrepreneurs liked what they did, and they were also making more money while doing it.
But does this mean that running regularly leads to entrepreneurial success? Both are related, but this relationship does not signify that one causes the other.
It is not the act of running that gives these entrepreneurs the edge, but what they learn from it.
Much as anyone may enjoy running, there are days when the first thought in the morning is, “let me skip it for today because…(I am not feeling welI, had a late night, or you can add your favourite excuse here).” And you can close this thought with a clincher: “One day will not make a difference.”
All runners go through this. Many of us perhaps started on an exercise regimen only to discontinue it a few days later.
Between the Lines
Now, you might wonder what I am trying to convey by first talking about Lao Tzu and Buffett and then going on a different trip about running and entrepreneurship. The idea is to understand what these wise men meant when they talk about work.
Lao Tzu, as you would have already noticed, suggested enjoying what you do. And never, do what you enjoy.
Buffet, on the other hand, was vocal about doing “what you love”, though he was equally emphatic about “doing it well”.
The entrepreneurs who run regularly too would have often gone through the familiar “skip it today” ritual. They would have also been frequently tempted to cut short the run “just for today”.
There are many reasons one can always conjure up, each equally creative and seductive, for not going for a run. The reason for running and for completing the run, on the other hand is, is just one: Because it is supposed to be done.
The people who stick to it are the ones who drag themselves out of the bed even when they don't feel like it. Rather, they push themselves to run when they don't feel like it.
And this is the lesson these entrepreneurs have carried over to managing their respective successful businesses.
Time to get back where we started. If you are the code jock, running your business naturally involves creating great code.
But that's not all. It also calls for selling that elegant piece of code, stretching the cash that you get from grateful buyers, building a (great) team and managing it , and also figuring out ways to grow bigger (and also, fighting gravity which is trying its best to pull your startup down). And doing all of these equally well.
And here lies the lesson for entrepreneurs. You are, I hope, doing what you love. As an entrepreneur one doesn't get to pick the things one will like to work on. Running a business often calls for doing things that we like and don't like.
But both—the loved and the not-so-well-loved things—are part of the same deal. As the entrepreneurs who run have learnt, doing both well will make you successful.
Usually, the reason for not wanting to do a thing is because we don't know how to. Learning by doing, then, turns into a fairly painful experience. One way out, perhaps, is to learn from someone who does?
Entrepreneurship is definitely about doing what you like , but more about liking what you do .
This axiom applies as much for a new venture as for a business trying to move to the next level.
You, the entrepreneur, might not like doing many of the things. But you'll have to do them, because they are supposed to be done and, as Buffet advises, done well. So irrespective of whether you like doing anything or not, if you have decided to do it well, you might as well enjoy it? Lao Tzu would have preferred it this way.
source: http://www.businessworld.in/issue/web_exclusive01_25dec06.asp
You are, let's say, a coding jock. You love creating clever software in equally clever ways. So you naturally decide to make a business of it. Before you step into the exciting world of strategies, deals and venture capital, may I suggest that you take some time off to think what two great minds have to say about work and enterprise.
“If you enjoy what you do,” the Chinese sage Lao Tzu advised, “you never work a day in your life.” A few years ago, many executives took his words to heart and went off to start dotcoms related to golf.
The sage of Omaha , Warren Buffett, who is worth $32 billion and has been voted by Forbes magazine as the second richest man on earth, has now added a new layer to Lao Tzu's aphorism. 15 days ago, in a special one-hour feature on Buffett on CNBC (I believe it is supposed to be aired in India later this month), he was asked, “What is Warren Buffett's secret to success?” And he replied: "I would say success is really doing what you love and doing it well. It's simple as that."
Two professors, Mike Goldsby and Donald F. Kuratko, studied 336 entrepreneurs in the United States and found that companies led by those who regularly run, report better sales results than firms led by non-runners.
The study also found that the runners reported better personal satisfaction, independence and autonomy than their non-running or weight-training counterparts. In other words, these runner-entrepreneurs liked what they did, and they were also making more money while doing it.
But does this mean that running regularly leads to entrepreneurial success? Both are related, but this relationship does not signify that one causes the other.
It is not the act of running that gives these entrepreneurs the edge, but what they learn from it.
Much as anyone may enjoy running, there are days when the first thought in the morning is, “let me skip it for today because…(I am not feeling welI, had a late night, or you can add your favourite excuse here).” And you can close this thought with a clincher: “One day will not make a difference.”
All runners go through this. Many of us perhaps started on an exercise regimen only to discontinue it a few days later.
Between the Lines
Now, you might wonder what I am trying to convey by first talking about Lao Tzu and Buffett and then going on a different trip about running and entrepreneurship. The idea is to understand what these wise men meant when they talk about work.
Lao Tzu, as you would have already noticed, suggested enjoying what you do. And never, do what you enjoy.
Buffet, on the other hand, was vocal about doing “what you love”, though he was equally emphatic about “doing it well”.
The entrepreneurs who run regularly too would have often gone through the familiar “skip it today” ritual. They would have also been frequently tempted to cut short the run “just for today”.
There are many reasons one can always conjure up, each equally creative and seductive, for not going for a run. The reason for running and for completing the run, on the other hand is, is just one: Because it is supposed to be done.
The people who stick to it are the ones who drag themselves out of the bed even when they don't feel like it. Rather, they push themselves to run when they don't feel like it.
And this is the lesson these entrepreneurs have carried over to managing their respective successful businesses.
Time to get back where we started. If you are the code jock, running your business naturally involves creating great code.
But that's not all. It also calls for selling that elegant piece of code, stretching the cash that you get from grateful buyers, building a (great) team and managing it , and also figuring out ways to grow bigger (and also, fighting gravity which is trying its best to pull your startup down). And doing all of these equally well.
And here lies the lesson for entrepreneurs. You are, I hope, doing what you love. As an entrepreneur one doesn't get to pick the things one will like to work on. Running a business often calls for doing things that we like and don't like.
But both—the loved and the not-so-well-loved things—are part of the same deal. As the entrepreneurs who run have learnt, doing both well will make you successful.
Usually, the reason for not wanting to do a thing is because we don't know how to. Learning by doing, then, turns into a fairly painful experience. One way out, perhaps, is to learn from someone who does?
Entrepreneurship is definitely about doing what you like , but more about liking what you do .
This axiom applies as much for a new venture as for a business trying to move to the next level.
You, the entrepreneur, might not like doing many of the things. But you'll have to do them, because they are supposed to be done and, as Buffet advises, done well. So irrespective of whether you like doing anything or not, if you have decided to do it well, you might as well enjoy it? Lao Tzu would have preferred it this way.
source: http://www.businessworld.in/issue/web_exclusive01_25dec06.asp