In 2007, I was pleased to have accomplished all of my goals.  2008, however, I did all of the experiential activities I'd planned, I didn't stay with the habitual or disciplinary functions I'd hoped to, such as reading on purpose, every day and losing 10 pounds (now 25!).

This year, as I began to think about my resolutions, I was taken back to the different roles I have.  In my case I am:

1. A Husband
2. A Father
3. A Business Owner
4. A Spirit-led person
5. A Person - as in recognizing that I must take responsibility for my own personal growth and development.

The next thing I had to consider was goal-setting.  I realized that if there is a goal, there is probably some end point - a vision, and some steps required to achieve that vision - a strategy.  So, in each of those roles, I decided that my resolutions would actually be visions for each of the roles:

1. A Husband - Make my wife feel unconditionally loved and appreciated
2. A Father - Raise my children without alienating them.  Make them feel loved.
3. A Business Owner - Increase marketing efforts, further establish my expertise, reduce number of hours worked per week.
4. A Spirit-led person - Have greater understanding of spirituality, find transparency between all roles
5. A Person - Have a greater sense of being, be proactive with my health and interests.

Keep in mind - these are vision statements - they don't need to be specific.  They do, however, need to be authentically yours - interests you truly have.  They also need to involve all of the roles in your life, to provide a sense of balance across all roles.

From here, I will set specific goals for each role:

1. A Husband - Have early morning coffee and conversation at least twice a week.
2. A Father - Rotate taking one of the children to Saturday morning breakfast every week.

...and so on and so forth.  In terms of how many goals to make, my perspective is that I have to prioritize responsibility with my goals.  Each goal will have a specific amount of time I must commit to achieve it, over a specific amount of time.  To create a goal and just say, "I'll make time for it" isn't a goal at all - it's an idea.

Here's an example of how I prioritize my roles:

1. I need to bring in a certain amount of money each month in order to maintain my household.  While this doesn't have to be my business, per se, it is what I strive to do through my business.  Notice - I don't ignore the other roles as I prioritize; this is not a segmentation practice.
2. Second might be my personal goals - if I can be complete as a person, I can serve my other roles, better. 
3. Third might be my role as a Father
4. Fourth as a Husband
5. Fifth will be elements of personal and spirit-led person.

Therefore, the best route for me to take in order to address these roles and goals is to commit a certain amount of time to these each week or each month.  For example, I will do one public engagement per month.  To pull this off will require about 16 hours of preparation, which I will do during working hours.  I will commit 4 hours per week for four weeks to develop, produce and deliver each event.  These will go into my calendar.

Notice that my goals are specific, they will stretch me, they have specific time frames, and there is a specific end in mind.  As I mentioned, they are not conclusive.  They will, however, help define the framework for the next year.

I wish you the best of luck in planning resolutions for the upcoming year.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Recession Buster, Small Business Consulting, Strategic Planning, Transparency

I encourage it.  It is like skydiving or cliff jumping or any of those wonderful experiences we were built for, but are afraid to try.  It allows the spirit to be released and fly and soar and reach new heights untouched by most.

To all of you who have decided that for 2009, you are going to take that leap, I will offer you the following:  Think.  Plan.  Do.

1. Dream big.  As Stephen Covey put it, begin with the end in mind.  As the Bible put it - where these is no vision, the people perish.
2. Don't get hung up on naming your business.
3. Write it down.  It's amazing what one can accomplish when one doesn't know what one cannot do.
4. Keep in mind...there is a way.  Sears started out as a horse-drawn wagon, Papa Johns started by a couple of college students trying to make some extra cash, and Kellogg's cereal started by accident.
5. Learn.  Just like driving that car, parachuting or running a marathon, running a small business  takes preparation, knowledge and understanding.
6. Keep your eyes open.  See what is going on in the marketplace.  See what trends are developing.  Look out for events that could potentially disrupt your business.
7. Have courage.  Fear is natural  Courage is fear that said its prayers at breakfast.  Fear is immobilizing.  Courage is invigorating.
8. Be encouraged.  If someone else is doing it successfully, leveraging their gifts and abilities, think about how you might leverage your own to serve a population you identify with.  Consider the fast food industry.
9. Surround yourself with great people.  Remember - you are great at what you are great at.  Everyone has areas where they need more knowledge.  Find people to fill those gap areas.
10. Know your capabilities.  Know how you work, who you work best with, your personality, your strengths and your weaknesses.  Think about how you can play to your strengths.
11. Know the risks and be prepared to deal with them.
12. Prepare to bring all of what you've got.  Notice, this didn't say quit your job, today and start your business.  It says prepare.  That means understand what it will take for you to transition into running your business.

1. Many people start planning as step one.  Think about it like creating a road map for a vacation without knowing where you are going and what you intend to do there.  Gather information, first.
2. Review.  One of the hardest things for people is being overly optimistic about their business.  "If you build it, they will come" is not the norm for business.
3. Leverage your resources.  Have others in your circle review your plan with you.  Ask them to give you the hard critique.  Be aware of those who are normally nay-sayers - they may be overly pessimistic, but still add value to the conversation.  Be wary of your "yes" people.  "Yes" people will be overly optimistic and should not be taken at face value.
4. Revise.  Don't forget to take the valuable information you have and put it into action.

1. Put your plan into action.   Take it step-by-step.
2. Know the difference between getting off track (distracted) and re-evaluating your plan.
3. Put first things first.  You do NOT need a tax ID and business name before you have completed your research.
4. Don't lose site of the vision.
5. Use your support system.  Ask advice.  Seek out expertise.
6. Be part of communities - the communities you serve, the communities in your industry, communities on the web.
7. Remember - while things might not appear to be exactly as you'd planned, continue to evaluate how it can be done - how you can reach the vision.
8. Focus.  Running a business is hard work and is time consuming, but can be quite rewarding if you keep the end in mind, keep your eyes on the environment and guard your resources.  That doesn't mean be cheap, but rather, ensure that your purchases are needs for the business - as in, will help the business get from here to there.

2009 is upon us, my friends.  Be well.  Do well.  Find your passion and run with it.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Startup, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Recession Buster, Small Business Consulting

With the downturn in the market, good staff are still surprisingly hard to find, particularly at the operator level.
A colleague in the hospitality industry, spoke about his challenges:
“Good staff have become rare. Everyone’s competing for the same pool of labour. The young, often with limited education, unskilled and without any career in mind, are just working for a couple of months until they find something they like. Our organisation is understaffed. Sick leave is on the rise, morale is down, productivity and efficiency are low. On top of that, the supervisors are overworked. We are caught in a vicious circle.”

Enjoy the article.  Employ its direction.  Pass it on to friends and colleagues.  If you feel it's value added, why not let someone know by voting for it - http://www.top10salesarticles.com/.  I did.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Growth Strategies, Business Strategy, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Sales Strategies, Small Business Consulting

The first thing I needed to do was to define excellence.  According to Dictionary.com, excellence is "the fact or state of excelling; superiority; eminence: his excellence in mathematics." In turn, the definition for excel is "to surpass others or be superior in some respect or area; do extremely" or "to surpass; be superior to; outdo: He excels all other poets of his day."  So, in order to be excellent, I must surpass others or be superior in some respect or area.  It does not say that in order to be excellent, I must be someone else's definition of excellent.  It does not say, specifically what I have to be excellent at.

So, I could be an excellent thinker, or an excellent strategist.  If so, I need to focus my energies on continuing to develop myself as a strategist, and have very specific ways of doing this.

Several problems reveal themselves, however: one cannot truly compare themselves to someone else.  We are all different, have different perspectives based on different experiences.  One can say that some person might solve an equation faster than another, or someone might run faster than another, but does that mean that one is excellent and the other is not?  Thinking in terms of usefulness, is there something that one brings to the table, and excels at that another does not, but rather, has a different gift or purpose that they excel at.  It would be like comparing a lion to a shark - they each have different territories in which they excel - does this make one better than another?  One might suggest that the end results are the same: they've fed, they've reproduced, they've survived.

So, the problem, so to speak, is that in being true to yourself, you must not frame excellence in terms of other people, but rather, in terms of yourself and your purpose.  Additionally, you shouldn't frame excellence in terms of what is, but rather, in terms of what could be.  In other words, if you were on a train going to some specific destination, you would want to frame your plans, actions and activities based on that destination rather than based on the trip, itself.  The trip is not the destination.  It is the means to the end.  You would pack, for example, for what you are going to do when you arrive at the destination rather than for what you are going to do on the trip.

The other part of the equation is "Being."  It seems that with all of our looking out for the Jones', and the (un)healthy spirit of competition we are fully engaged in, we've lost track of being, and lost ourselves to any number of business belief systems that we felt were going to help us be better than the next person.  However, each of us has our own individual purpose and therefore, carte blanche application of certain tactics is not necessarily going to help us excel at being.  Learning about ourselves and honestly being ourselves is what allows us to be.  While conversations about being are not as shallow as this, this is the beginning of learning how to excel.  However, consider it like this: how many people do certain things simply out of tradition rather than pursuing the things that truly help them further refine and excel in their purpose?

If we observe animals, we can see, clearly, what it is to excel.  A cheetah, for example, excels at running.  A fish excels at swimming.  Falcons excel at flying and hunting.  Each understands its being and focuses its energies on being.  They use their areas of excellence to fulfil their individual purposes.

My purpose in life is to help people be the best they can be.  In order for me to excel at this, I need to be able to bring all of myself - my being - into the workplace.  When I say this, I am not referring to emotional baggage and environmental concerns, but rather, the best of what makes me who I am.  In my case this is a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, creative visioning and continual progress.  I don't compare what I do to what others do.  My perspective is unique to me.  For me to excel in these areas, I must continue to refine and develop my areas of expertise.  This does not mean that I need to go out and master Six Sigma or other organizational or management techniques, but rather to observe and learn from these techniques. 

At the same time, knowing who I am, and Being - bringing my full self to what I do, I can focus on the types of clients that I work best with - those who are creative and logical, who work to achieve excellence in what they do while serving the communities they touch.  Rather than marketing, these people strive to make themselves available.  Instead of focusing on competing, these people focus on serving their clients, who, in turn, tend to bring more business.

So, in order to excel, you must understand two things: who you are and why you exist.  Knowing who you are will allow you to define and exploit your gifts, talents and abilities in the right environment to serve the right people.  Knowing why you exist will help you focus your gifts, talents and abilities to work toward a specific vision.  Once these are clear to you, learning how to be excellent is simply a matter of bringing all that you are to the table, without excuse, each day.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Decisions, Business Path, Business Strategy, Extraordinary, Small Business Consulting

Doing the same old thing, over and over, and expecting different results...

While those of us with an entrepreneurial mind set often tell people about how we embrace change, and that change is the lifeblood of what we do, there are those who embrace stability, who fear change more than anything else.  It goes back to that old statement, "if the boat and broke...don't fix it."

Problem is that the rate of change in the environment doubles every time a new technology comes to fruition.  Consider the evolution of the computer or refineries.  Interestingly, we are now - on a global scale - looking at the effects of an industry that was very slow to change - in some aspects failed to change - the auto industry and its impending bailout.  What are the remedies on the table driven by?  Change.  See "Remarks of Senator Barack Obama to the Detroit Economic Club."

Another problem that many entrepreneurs face is the failure to plan.  New ideas come a dime a dozen - many people have dozens of ideas every day.  What drives change is putting these ideas into plan - bringing them to fruition.  Innovation.  I often recommend to my clients to have a process for innovation, similar to that of the scientific method:

1. Define the idea
2. Consider what resources are available
3. Create a vision
4. Consider what options make sense - consider brainstorming at this step
5. Perform the appropriate research - begin with - is there an actual (versus perceived) need?
6. Determine which options are the best based on the resources available and the most direct path
7. Define the goals necessary to reach the vision
8. Create strategies to reach the goals
9. Execute - at this phase, one might assemble a project team, define a project manager, build a team, etc.  Your needs will be defined by your resources.

Change is essential to staying viable in the marketplace, especially in a volatile marketplace.  You cannot afford to sit back and see what will happen.  Remember, some of the greatest changes, inventions and innovations in history have developed out of necessity.  Every economic downturn breeds new necessity.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Growth Strategies, Business Process, Business Strategy, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Process Improvement, Recession Buster, Small Business Consulting

If you are smart, you are thinking about these things, but also thinking about the end game: where does all of this lead?

Strategic planning will help you navigate the business climate in order to achieve the goal you are after.  Just like in any sport or when making something, you need to have an understanding of what the end result of what you are doing is going to look like.

The strategy is not an in stone set of steps you must take - it exists, rather, inside the framework of your mission, vision and values.  It is not reactionary - that is, it doesn't respond in knee-jerk reaction.  Rather, it is proactive - it says, "okay - this or that may or may not happen...if it happens, then I will do that..."

So - I think the easiest way to begin to address your organization's strategic planning needs is to be equipped - have the tools and the processes or systems in place to do it, effectively.

1. Be clear on your company's mission, vision and values statement
2. Don't try to do all of your strategic planning at one setting.
3. Have something with you to record your ideas and observations, as you have them.  A friend of mine uses notebooks.  I happen to use a program called the PersonalBrain.
4. Reflect or journal on things that have gone right or wrong, and consider how you might be proactive with the event in the future.  Again, some people write this, others use a recorder of some sort.  You have to do what works for you.
5. Review these - on purpose, regularly.  Keep whatever works within your framework (mission, vision, values) and toss out whatever doesn't fit.
6. Distinguish between wants and needs
7. Distinguish between urgency and importance
8. Flesh out the ideas to see what really makes sense
9. Prioritize the ideas and put achievable dates to them - you've just created goals
10. Set a monthly meeting to review and update goals, and to look at what other opportunities or threats might be on the horizon.

Strategic planning is essential to any business that is seeking longevity.  Even the process of selling the business should have some type of strategy.  Make this an issue, and part of your goals for 2009.  Think strategically and be proactive.

Happy Holidays!!

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Decisions, Business Growth Strategies, Business Strategy, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Process Improvement, Recession Buster, Small Business Consulting

Interestingly, of course, the cup can be used for other things.  When I was younger, I might roll it into a ball and hit it with a stick or throw it at someone.  I might also use it to contain something else, such as pencils, rubber bands or something else.  I might even use it to support one leg of a table that is in an uneven area in my house.

While all of these uses are practical and work somewhat effectively for the moment, in none of these cases is the cup being used for what it was designed to do...it is not fulfilling its purpose...it is being underutilized.

In your own organization - and in your life, for that matter, part of being as effective as possible is being able to identify your purpose.  Once you can identify your purpose, and begin to function within it, you will find that you are far more productive than you've ever been.  Working in an environment where everyone is able to bring all of who they are to what they do - because they are living our their purpose - will increase the overall productivity of the entire organization.

That means a job is no longer a job - it becomes fulfillment.

Identify yourself.  Identify your purpose.  Be yourself!

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Decisions, Business Path, Business Strategy, Employees, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Small Business Consulting

Realizing that cost and marketing go hand in hand, having each member of the organization acting as parts of the marketing strategy seems to be more of an investment in time than dollars.  Even looking at it from a productivity standpoint, the investment will be far less than the return, if done properly.

John suggests having periodic marketing meetings with your team to help get the message across and to teach them to live the message, daily.  This in addition to daily reinforcement will help team members to own and live the message you wish to get across to your clients.  Being able to get a clear, consistent message to your target is key to your organization's success.

Thus said, get your team together and GO FORTH AND MARKET!!

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Growth Strategies, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Sales Strategies, Small Business Consulting, Strategic Planning

Below, are some business sniglets I've picked up along the path, that have kept me and the business owners and entrepreneurs I've served moving forward, day in and day out.  Some of them are my own observation, others are influenced by others.

1. You are not a product of your environment.  Because people think a certain way about you doesn't mean that this is what you are.
2. While you may not always choose your environment, you can always choose your attitude.
3. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Without a plan, you are taking a trip to a specific destination  without knowledge of how to get there.
4. You fail only if you are reactive versus proactive.  If you are proactive, you will look for indicators and trends that suggest you need to change something.
5. You are not your business, your business is not you.  The fact that you must close your business does not make you a failure.
6. Win, lose or draw, you must always learn and grow from it.
7. Taking the same path, with the same actions, expecting different results in the definition of insanity.
8. Always have an exit strategy. Know what it will look like; don't be caught off guard.
9. It can be done.  Sometimes, you must think differently, use different resources, and determine what the true measure of success is.
10. Closing your business doesn't necessarily mean you've failed.  If done properly, it can help prepare you for the next steps.
11. Being able to keep your shirt under obverse circumstance is a testament to you. 
12. There are always choices and questions. It is a matter making the right choice and asking the right question.
13. Knowledge is more than power; it is a currency. Gather it, store it and spend it wisely.
14. Blessings are not to be stored up; they are to be passed forward
15. Perspective, attitude and being are directly dependant on success
16. Courage is fear that says its prayers at breakfast
17. Ask why.  Ask again.  And repeat.
18. Don't follow blindly.  Be ware of your choices and pursue your best options.

I hope that as we enter the final month of 2008, you plan to finish well, realize and understand that you have it within you to think bigger, go further and do more than you ever has in the past.  I wish you blessing, courage and progress.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Recession Buster, Small Business Consulting

But life is not a stage.  There is purpose and meaning and purpose for each of us.  Your mission or purpose in life isn't something you decide on, it is something that must be discovered.

Consider this.  What would happen if everyone you know lived his or her purpose.  Do you think that their state of happiness would change?  What if everyone in your Linkedin network did the same?  and your secondaries?  and your tertiaries?  For some, that reaches into the millions of people, right?

Now, as a small business consultant, what that means to me is that all of my energies are wrapped into being a small business consultant, a dad, a husband and a member of my church and community.  What that means for me is that if I wasn't making a dime, this is still what I would want to be doing.  That means that as I get older, I will find other ways to help small businesses, support my communities and love my family.  Everything I do points back to that?

What about you?  So many people get so wrapped up in security and a paycheck that they do simply become a number.  What that also means, without realizing it, is that they are living a very unbalanced life.  Think about it: you are working in a call center, but have aspirations to start a non-profit organization.    You are actually taking away from your happiness or satisfaction and adding unhappiness to your job.  So instead of replacing a happiness or satisfaction with another happiness, or satisfaction, you are taking away a happiness and adding more dissatisfaction.

So...are you living your purpose?  Are you seeking balance in your life?  or is your life full of fury, signifying nothing?

Labels: Business Path, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Recession Buster

If you are someone who is chronically missing some of the details - here are a few things you can do:

1. Acknowledge it to yourself.
2. Look for the patterns - where are you missing, consistently
3. Try to identify the "why's" - why are you missing the mark.
4. Do not excuse yourself.
5. Start with a goal.  For example, "I will be 15 minutes early for all of my meetings"
6. If your area of concern is in writing, schedule yourself time to go back and review what you've written, or, better yet, get someone else to review it
7. If your area is in presenting, practice your presentation
8. If your presentation, itself, is an area of concern - your clothing, your hair, nails, makeup, etc., ask for advice - not just from your friends and family, but from peers and colleagues who will give you and honest opinion.

"You'll never get a second chance to make a first impression" is more than cliche, it is truth.  As a professional and or business owner, that impression you make can make the difference between success and failure.  It's all in the details.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping you develop strategies for your organization, and are committed to your success. If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Labels: Business Growth Strategies, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Small Business Consulting

Win or lose, succeed or fail, you are living the American Dream.  You've tied your shingle to the door, set your pencil and your pad on your desk, got your trust phone out and are in business.

But what does this mean?

It is an awesome social responsibility, and you have to do your part.  Sure many people think that it is all about them.  Adam Smith in "the Wealth of Nations," states,

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages."

Basically this is saying, "everything I do in my business is for my benefit."

Is this your mentality?  Do you want to gobble up the marketplace, get all you can, take away from others and leave homeless, crying babies in your wake?  Sounds villainous to me.

When you consider only your own well-being, everyone tends to lose.  Look at the collapse of the US economy, and economies around the world.  Do you think that it was the result of selfless heroic acts?  I think not.

Look at the race for President.  Do you see the US disdain and distrust for those using a negative, smear campaign to attempt to accomplish their mission?  You could never trust people who use those tactics; they will turn around and use them on you.

In your business, I promise you,

"you will reap what you sow, later than you sow, more than you sow," to quote Dr. Charles Stanley.  So consider the following:

• If you are good to people, offer them a good product at a good price, they will trust and be committed to you
• If you say what you'll do and do what you say, people will trust and depend on you
• If you are clear with your intentions - your mission, vision, values and principles, people will respect them
• If you serve and guard your niche, consistently, with a focus on their best interests, they will return the favor
• If you cut corners, serve substandard products and over charge, your customers are only borrowed
• If you try to "sell" your customers every time you see them, you won't see them
• If you offer one thing and try to sell them something else, you might get them once, but never again
• If you aren't clear with your intentions and beliefs, you will suffer and you won't last.

Be a hero.  The world needs us.

Labels: Business Decisions, Business Path, Extraordinary, Management and Leadership, Transparency

Does this mean Senator McCain is less capable then Senator Obama?  Not actually.  But what does this say about his character, and that of the Republican Party?  A "win at all costs" mentality could result in 305,461,482 losers (.t the time of publishing).

No one exists in a bubble.  As a business owner, you cannot expect to go around the community tearing down other business, customers and employees, and expect to achieve your full potential If you are a small business owner, and you act without character and integrity, your business will more-than-likely fail.  I have seen it over and over and over again.  I have seen the same business owner fail over and over and over again.

You've got to take care of the people, business and communities that take care of you.  That doesn't mean that you wait for them to do something - it is not a self-serving activity.  You make the first steps without seeking your own objectives.  You compete, but you do so with honor, character and integrity.