12 Steps to ensuring your Entrepreneurship

The apologue The Boiling Frog describes a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is dropped into boiling water suddenly, it will jump out; but, if the frog is placed in lukewarm water and slowly brought to a boil, it will not recognise the danger and will be cooked to death.

These are my intellectual guiding principles. They will all aid in clearer thinking and decision making on the entrepreneurial journey.

Rather than asking, “How can I grow my company?” you should ask, “What are the weaknesses of my company?” How can I work on them? Brainstorm with a list of things to avoid.

People deceive themselves about socially acceptable preferences by saying one thing in private and different things in public. Beware of such people.

We emulate one another since we have no idea what we want. We crave the same things as other people instead of looking at our own needs.

Society excels at developing talent but fails miserably at creating genius. Talented people can hit targets that others cannot. On the other hand, a genius can identify targets that others cannot see.

Stay away from the competition. Focus on problems in an organization that would otherwise go unsolved.

When you make a conscious decision to do one thing, you also make an unconscious decision to do something else. Do something every day.

Large gaps between rapidly evolving technologies and stale social standards create new business opportunities. For example, the launch of the iPhone was at the appropriate time in 2007. Google Glass was released too soon.

A group of people working on a project will argue over the tiniest of details. What is complicated will be overlooked. Instead of discussing the appropriate computer system, the team can quarrel about the colour.

A small amount of something might have the opposite impact of a large amount. A little bit of stress can help you wake up, but too much stress is harmful. Do not put too much pressure on yourself.

We are oblivious to what we can not see. Not everything that matters can be measured, and not everything that’s measured has any significance. People manage what they can measure. So society keeps making the same mistakes.

Corporations encourage conventionality, but the Internet encourages individuals to be distinctive. If you work in a creative profession, strive to be the only one with your style and go with it. Make yourself some intellectual real estate.

 When everyone agrees on something, it can lead to disastrous decisions.

Delighting your guests with an unexpected present is the secret to good hospitality. If you are writing a series of tweets, include a bonus suggestion. I did that with this article.