Follow the Crowd or Turn Left

There was a guy, once, born around 5 AD who gathered together a group of 12 men from many different walks of life, showed them that they could be more than their occupations, gave them a vision worth dying continues to make an impact on people around the world, today.  He didn’t do this by continuing the status quo.  He didn’t do this by compromising his beliefs or doing things in secret.  He didn’t even pay his team large sums of money and promise them a huge retirement account for all of their work.  As a matter of fact, after he died for it, many of his followers died for following him.  Yet, the Christian faith is one of the most popular in the world.

The person I speak of was Jesus of Nazareth.  As an extraordinary leader, when everyone else went straight, he turned left.  When the belief system his family embraced told him to continue the path of his genealogy, still, he turned left.  When friends and family told him to stay in line, he turned left.  He was an extraordinary leader.

Extraordinary leaders building extraordinary businesses must have the courage to turn left.  It is always easy to go along with what everyone else is doing.  It is always easy to be mediocre.  Even Jesus said, “if you love someone who loves you, how hard is that?  I challenge you to love those who hate you.”  That is the mark of true leadership.  That is the mark of having the courage to make the change and to make the difference.

During your quest to build your business, you are going to find that you will encounter ideas, opportunities and concepts that may go against the traditional thinking.  Maybe this is your business architecture.  Maybe it is the way you approach your target market.  Maybe it is the way you interact with your employees.  Whatever those ideas might be, see if there is a way to do it that makes sense.

Does this mean that you fun after every hair-brained scheme to get rich, quick?  Probably not.  Here are some characteristics of extraordinary that I’ve found to be desirable:

• Extraordinary isn’t done overnight
• Extraordinary isn’t done without foresight of what could be
• Extraordinary requires understanding the environment
• Extraordinary requires understanding and relaying of a clear mission and vision
• Extraordinary requires understanding the risks and taking responsibility for them
• Extraordinary keeps the main thing the main thing
• Extraordinary requires strategic planning to maximize the use of resources to achieve Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals (BHAGS)
• Extraordinary communicates effectively, in a way that encourages listeners to understand and buy into the mission and vision
• Extraordinary isn’t done in a bubble
• Extraordinary doesn’t veer off its own course
• Extraordinary isn’t inflexible
• Extraordinary requires constant learning and decision-making
• Extraordinary leads the way
• Extraordinary leaves a legacy

You may fall.  You may fail.  Every time you fall, every time you fail, get up one more time.  Want to have an extraordinary business?  Turn left, here.

Aepiphanni Business Consulting: The Business Strategy People is a Strategy Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small to medium sized business leaders and executives. We specialize in helping leaders create extraordinary businesses.  We welcome clients in the personal and professional services industries, including Creative and Design Services, Software & IT Services, Professional Services and Healthcare Services.  As always, we welcome your comments, thoughts, questions and suggestions.  If you are seeking a business assessment, or 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 [email protected].