Your idea probably isn't great...but it doesn't matter

In the past 3 months I've read the book, "Start Something That Matters" by Blake (not Tom) Mycoskie, twice. It's a really great book that tells the story about how TOMS Shoes was started and grew.

There's one small quote that jumped off of the pages that I have been thinking about a lot lately: "...the success of most ventures actually lies in the execution phase, not in the idea."

For years I was always searching for the perfect business idea, but always afraid that if I committed to one idea that the next week I would think of a better idea and not be able to pursue it because I had already committed to the previous, now sub-par, idea. I had fallen into the trap that most people do: that success in a venture is directly tied to how innovative the idea is.

I'm learning that nothing could be farther from the truth. Of course, you need a decent idea with a good market for your idea, but that won't make or break you in your endeavor. What makes you successful is how you are able to translate your idea it goals, and your goals into an executable plan, and then the day-in day-out, week-in week-out, month-in month-out execution of that plan. There are some other variables, obviously, but if you can get up each day and execute your plan with great consistency, the odds of being successful are exponentially higher.

Some people have a hard time translating their ideas into a plan to form executable tasks. I believe it is actually somewhat of an art-form and and something that takes practice and can be learned. But if you are one of those people that struggles with that, then find someone around you that can help you do that and that will keep you accountable.

By the way, I believe this concept applies to all areas of life, not just business. You can have great ideals for being a good spouse or parent, but if you don't execute or act that out each day, it won't matter what your ideals are because it won't translate into meaningful action. A teacher has to execute about 180 days a year in front of students that don't want to be in class. It isn't the teacher's ideals that will make them great, it will be the grind of getting up each day and engaging kids in a way that imparts knowledge in a stimulating fashion, which in turn could produce the outcomes that the teacher envisions for his/her students and school.

Business Purpose #2: Invest into other people's lives

Business Purpose #2: Invest into the lives of our clients and employees

Behind every business there are people; people that have dreams, fears, struggles, families, sickness, seek affirmation and the list goes on. Most of us have worked for companies where we were just a number: employee JA-8941. It's pretty uninspiring to be a number...to know that at the end of the day your company really doesn't care what happens to you in your personal life as long as it doesn't interfere with you showing up at 8:30 on Monday morning and as long as you can get the TPS Reports out by the end of the week, and the rest of the time they really don't care what happens to you in your life.

We are so over that model! We are seeking to humanize our clients and employees and treat people as just that, human beings that exist for more than just creating widgets  We are looking to invest into those that we come in contact with in our day to day business. This plays out in a lot of ways, many of which will never be published on a web site or a Twitter post, but they happen quietly and respectfully.

I must add a disclaimer, we aren't perfect ourselves at this and we haven't even done all of these things listed here yet, but these are some of the ways in which we are/and hope to invest into our clients and staff.

• Dream Dreams and Live them out - Help our employees develop clear paths and opportunities for them to discover and pursue their personal dreams and passions.
• Be a Blessing - Seek ways to bless the lives of our employees' and clients' families.
• Invest in Families - Pay for weekend retreats for our employees and their spouses.
• Inquire - Ask people how you can pray for them. It's amazing how non-threatening it is to ask this and how willing people are to share their struggles. Most people are really grateful that someone cares enough to ask them about their lives.
• Pray for Others - Pray for our clients and employees. Each Monday morning my business partner, Phil, and I get together at 7:00 to pray for the upcoming week. We use this time to pray for our business and for those that we are going to come in contact with during the week. 
• Give Back to the World - Send our employees to other parts of the world where they can give back to. We haven't quite figured this out, but we hope to provide opportunities for our employees to go and give back to places in the world that have great needs that we can help meet.