The Power of If- 5 Key Lessons in Entrepreneurship
“If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim” — Rudyard Kipling
Entrepreneurship is as mysterious as those people who look to conquer it. Every journey has a starting and an endpoint, as is the purpose of one starting a business which is to create a sustainable and asset of value with the long term goal of growing and selling it.
During my time in high school, I had a boarding housemaster who was very fond of poetry. Although he did not have the necessary skill set to teach English as a first language, he was an admirer of various pieces of poetry. He would often refer to certain poems whilst providing memorable life lessons to those that would take the time to listen.
In my first year, he introduced me to the poem If- by Rudyard Kipling. The twenty-two other boys in my dormitory and I were each presented with a print-out of the poem. We sat there in awe, as he described that this specific poem could be used as a map to life. Subsequently, after handing out the one-pager, our housemaster put forward, a challenge. Learning it off by heart from start to finish without any errors to win a prize. As if he were dangling a carrot in front of a horse all of us rose to the occasion, to claim bragging rights amongst our peers.
At the time of trying to cram it all in, the poem was merely just a page of words with very little meaning to me. I never quite grasped the lessons which could be taken from it. Personally, it was just another competition that I was interested in winning. However, having taken the time to memorize it, the words have been etched in my mind for quite some time.
If I look back on it now there are several key points from that specific poem that could shape the ideology and values to which one can conduct oneself in any business environment. More importantly, looking at it from an entrepreneur’s perspective as one moves through the life cycle of their business dodging challenges and achieving milestones as the organization takes shape and evolves into something more.
The key points learned from extracts of the poem:
1. If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
An entrepreneur’s journey starts with a dream to make a change by taking a risk to wander into the unknown. Whether it be a dream to change a small community or something grander like taking on the world or specific industry like famous entrepreneur giants Steve Jobs and Amazon’s, Jeff Bezos. The dream should not cloud the end goal. In Bezos’ case, his dream was to run the largest e-commerce platform in the world but his end goal was ensuring that his customer had the best buying experience on it. He never lost focus on his customer.
2. If you can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
Taking responsibility and ownership of one’s actions is an important element which forms part of any entrepreneur’s arsenal. Been able to keep a calm head when others are blaming you for all of the problems within the business is critical to making sure that you do not steer the ship into an iceberg. Whether it be the marketing or the finance team ensure all your departments align with one single purpose. The company’s vision statement.
3. If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same;
There will be ups and there will be downs. COVID-19 has been a prime example of entrepreneurs needing to pivot business strategies through innovative thinking to survive. But remaining level-headed in any situation allows one to capitalize on any potential opportunities. The next big up-swing could be around the corner so making sure you are energized is vital. Airbnb CEO, Brian Chesky was recently interviewed by Simon Sinek (The Book Club with Simon). He gave a great example of how Airbnb was able to turn an incredibly difficult situation into one of innovation by not allowing disaster to hamper their operations.
4. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch;
In the Lion King, Mufasa puts it quite eloquently to a troubled and grown-up Simba; “Remember where you came from. Remember.” In this instance, Simba was been reminded that he was still a king, but it works both ways. As entrepreneurs build their empire, they should not forget about the people who got them to the top. As is the Circle of Life, so is the Circle of Business. Rubbing shoulders with other top-end executives is as important as that article clerk who used to bend over backward for you to ensure things were getting done.
5. If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run;
Time management to succeed in starting one’s own business and allowing it to scale. Prioritizing what is important allows any entrepreneur with a sense of direction while ensuring that those items on the to-do list receive the most attention with 100% focus. All too often you hear stories about business owners spending time on things that are inconsequential in the overall strategy.
Unfortunately, there is no prize at the end of this piece nor did I win it all those years back, but the lessons learned were way more valuable. Follow the link to either read or listen to the full poem here.
