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Be Prepared To Stand Up To Life's Difficulties: An Entrepreneur Succeeds And Looks For New Challenge
I remember reading about fighter pilots during World War II. One book described how one pilot never made a mistake during training while another pilot was in several crashes caused by mechanical faults. As a result, many other trainee pilots flocked around the error-free pilot and avoided the "hard-luck" pilot.
When it came time to select pilots for their first combat assignments, the wise old colonel picked the "hard-luck" pilot for his command and shunned the mistake-free pilot. The other trainees were astounded. When asked about his thinking, the colonel observed that he would rather fly with a person who knew how to deal with and survive a dangerous situation than someone who had never even faced one.
Difficulties can be seen as helpful circumstances. Some people who have faced many challenges will note that "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger." The Bible teaches that everyone should thank God when difficulties come because these present opportunities to refine one's character.
Why are difficulties important to us? It's when we are tested that we learn the most important practical and moral lessons.
Yesterday over breakfast with one of my college roommates who is the CEO of a medical-products company, I was reminded of the helpful role that difficulties can play. While we were sharing recent war stories about business opportunities, he commented that I was very fortunate to have met so many outstanding entrepreneurs in different countries. I agreed.
I also told him that I rarely met comparably effective entrepreneurs in the United States. He asked why. I explained that business conditions were generally much more difficult outside the United States. As a result, entrepreneurs there are more likely to experiment with new business models, design brand new processes, and try to make performance breakthroughs.
A lot of those experiments don't succeed, but the ones that do are likely to be extraordinarily effective: If the businesses can work in the difficult conditions found in the entrepreneurs' home country, they can probably blossom almost anywhere. Entrepreneurs who work in difficult environments remind me of the hard-luck fighter-pilot trainee: I want them to be working with me.
Let's think about the psychology of facing a survive-or-fail situation for your business. You have to do the right thing . . . and pretty quickly . . . or you'll find the business being liquidated in bankruptcy court. Yet many people freeze in such situations and don't do anything. You may think that's a made-up observation, but I've often seen it happen.
One award-winning entrepreneur I knew became so depressed during a severe recession that he simply sat at his desk all day holding his head in his hands while staring downward.
After weeks of this, his staff realized the man was severely depressed and they began to take the painful actions needed to survive, leaving him notes describing what they had done while hoping they wouldn't be fired. The man recovered his ability to make decisions and take action about 18 months later, and he sincerely thanked each of them for what they did.
Think about what would have happened if no one in that business had ever taken the right actions or if the economy had been so bad that there was little time to delay. That business would have been squashed as flat as a bug hitting a speeding car's windshield.
In many parts of the world, you would never have the luxury to respond slowly. Business conditions, at best, are brutal.
As an example, let's consider Zimbabwe in Africa. That nation has experienced more inflation than any other country in recent years while the overall economy has been shrinking. Poor harvests have led to more and more people not having enough food. Most investors avoid the country. It would be hard to find countries in which it would be more difficult for a small business to thrive.
Yet entrepreneurs may find a way to overcome difficult conditions. Instead of being crushed by the challenges . . . they may rise to the challenges and become capable of handling them.
Let's look at an entrepreneur in Zimbabwe, Fambisai Chikore, to learn more about the importance of being prepared to stand up to life's difficulties.
Mr. Chikore was born in Zimbabwe. At first he thrived. But that happy period changed after his parents divorced and his father remarried. He often missed school, not because of poverty, but because his stepmother wouldn't allow him to go. And this occurred despite him being the best student in the class.
Fortunately, some relatives intervened and Mr. Chikore went to live with his aunt who lovingly looked after him and encouraged his education. Although his aunt earned very little, she was happy to allocate whatever it took for his education. As a result, she could afford to spend little on herself until after he finished secondary school.
Mr. Chikore knew that he needed to go to college to advance his knowledge and qualifications. After taking a job as a freight clerk for an agricultural exporter, he saved diligently so that he could study. That determination paid off when he earned a diploma in marketing with first class honours from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He also paid attention at work. Although he was only a freight clerk, he could see a better business model for the company.
Despite his youth and lack of experience, Mr. Chikore politely shared his ideas about contracting at lower cost for more reliable future crop deliveries and negotiating better rates for air freight. The company soon adopted these methods and promoted him to the position of assistant marketing manager. He was thrilled with the hefty salary increase and the company car assigned to him.
In his new role, Mr. Chikore worked out the details of how to bring planned crop deliveries into the cold rooms at the right times for proper dispatch of high-quality food to demanding, high-priced foreign markets. The company succeeded and grew by using these methods.
He decided to continue his studies, earning the equivalent of a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Institute of Commercial Management board with a post-graduate diploma in business and management studies.
Diploma in hand, Mr. Chikore then gained a much better position as a marketing coordinator for a much larger competitor. He stayed with that company for three years until he decided to move to the United Kingdom for advanced business studies.
Leaving Zimbabwe was quite a shock. The effect was to raise his sights quite a lot. He now realized that in the larger world there were many fine opportunities for those who could learn and become more accomplished. With that potential in mind, he realized that he needed to earn an MBA degree.
Looking around, Mr. Chikore was pleased to find that he could study online at his own pace through Rushmore University. But since he planned to return in only a year to Zimbabwe where business books are harder to obtain, he set a goal to take his courses at twice the usual speed.
The work proved to be challenging because he wasn't used to writing graduate-school papers. But by persevering and with the help of his advisors, he soon overcame the difficulties and became adept at his MBA studies.
Being a practical person, he focused on learning advanced marketing and entrepreneurial skills. In many papers, he developed improved solutions to business problems he had worked on in the past.
The hard work was worth it. Mr. Chikore commented:
"I can walk with my head raised high, now that I have achieved my MBA degree. I feel I am a complete package and I can market myself to many companies. I now have a strong belief that I will have success in life and I don't see any barriers ahead that I cannot overcome. I feel I can face people and have proper conversations, be they at the educational level or business level."
When Mr. Chikore returned to Zimbabwe, he immediately saw an opportunity to establish a new business based on what he had learned from his MBA courses. Despite the high inflation, having much larger competitors, and lacking capital, Hanevale Enterprises has succeeded as a supplier of hardware and electrical appliances there.
Although there are continual challenges, he runs the business with full confidence. When the economy improves, he intends to expand the firm throughout the country.
Currently, he is designing his firm's activities so that members of his family can replace him in the business while he begins work for a larger enterprise where he can try out even more of his newly developed skills.
What is his parting advice for you?
"Life is very difficult. If you concede to the difficulties of life, the world will swallow you and you won't be recognized.
"I didn't want this to happen to me. I rose up against all odds. I starved myself so that I could pay fees for my MBA. I succeeded and now I enjoy the fruits.
"I don't believe people when they say they have failed or they can't do this or that before trying. My advice to all people: Please stand up to any challenges that come your way. Always aim for the best."
Are you prepared to benefit from the difficulties that you need to overcome in order to succeed?
If yes, good luck!
If not, now is a good time to start preparing.
About the Author Donald W. Mitchell is a professor at Rushmore University, an online school, who often advises MBA candidates who wish to start successful new businesses. For more information about ways to engage in fruitful lifelong learning at Rushmore to increase your effectiveness and improve your career, visit http://www.rushmore.edu
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