• Risk --- There is a common myth that entrepreneurs are big risk takers. But studies show the exact opposite: most successful entrepreneurs avoid risk wherever possible. Successful entrepreneurs take calculated risks all the time. They develop new products, enter new markets, pull out of existing markets, change their product packaging, form new strategic alliances, etc. But they never jump in without looking to see if there is any water in the pool. 

At the end of the dotcom bubble in 2000 many businesses failed because they were just gambling with other peoples' money. Since they had no real skin in the game, they took outsized risks that, more often than not, led to collapse. In those days, venture capital was in over-abundance. Today, in 2010, the story isn't venture capital, it's debt. Companies that took outsized risks over the past few years are now caught in a credit squeeze, which more often than not leads to failure.

• Sales & Marketing --- When business slows down, the first thing most businesses cut is marketing and sales. They view marketing and sales as overhead, not as an investment. This is the exact opposite of what most successful entrepreneurs and business owners do: they increase sales and marketing efforts when business slows down. In some cases, that means a move away from "traditional" marketing (print, yellow pages, etc.) toward Internet marketing and social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). In other cases, it can mean cutting ties with unprofitable customers and strengthening ties with the most profitable customers. The result is usually an increase in market share and improved customer loyalty, at competitors' expense.

• Change --- It seems pretty obvious that the world is changing faster than ever before. Successful companies don't just react to change, they anticipate it. Then they either flow with it or they drive it. Companies that resist change are much more likely to fail, or at best, barely survive. The entire U.S. auto industry is an example: GM, Ford and Chrysler all spent decades lobbying against improved CAFÉ standards and emission controls. If they had instead embraced the fact that most Americans want clean air and improved gas mileage they could have out-maneuvered Toyota, Honda, and others.

• Actions --- Successful companies make decisions carefully, but once they make a decision, they act quickly. GM is, unfortunately, another example of what not to do. Until recently GM was so slow and unmanageable that a typical initiative was reviewed by at least 60 managers before it went anywhere. The usual result was that most initiative were either killed outright or took so long to get through the system that they were effectively dead anyway by the time they emerged. Since coming out of bankruptcy, GM is now moving much faster. They have dramatically streamlined management and internal decision-making, and even brought in some outsiders (Whitacre, for example). Small companies --- in theory --- have the advantage of acting swiftly. If your company is small (say less than a few hundred employees) but major ideas and projects take years to bubble up to the surface, you have a problem.

• Details --- Successful companies listen to their employees, their customers, their partners, and even their competitors. They are good at "thinking big", but they also pay attention to details such as  employee morale, paying invoices on time, customer service, marketing consistency, sales training, etc. No matter how large or small your company is, make sure you are not just gathering data, you also need to analyze it and act on it. This should happen at all levels of the company, not just in management meetings.

Recommended Reading:

 

Put The Win Back In Your Sales by Dan Kreutzer

 

This is a terrific book on sales. It is short enough that you can read it in an hour or two, but detailed and useful enough that you will probably read it several times. Dan Kreutzer gives a clear and compelling overview of where most salespeople go wrong and gives deep insights into what they can do to dramatically improve sales.

 

Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin

 

Another excellent book on social media vs. traditional marketing. The idea is that social media can work wonders if you don't confuse the message with old-style marketing campaigns and messages. Like a "meatball sundae", confused marketing and branding leads to a bad taste in customers' mouths. This is a must read for anyone who really wants to leverage social media and the Internet.

 

Are you confused about social media? Business.com has compiled an excellent study of social media trends, facts and figures.

 

Social Media Benchmark Study