Career Intensity by David V. Lorenzo, Business Coach and Advisor

July 28, 2006

Small Business Success - Business Intelligence and Creativity

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

The next key component of small business success is Business Intelligence and Creativity.

In the post that kicked off our discussion I asked some questions of my readers. I’d like to address this topic by explaining the importance of affirmative reactions to those questions.

Do you have street smarts and common sense?

This is actually a tricky question. Common sense is not common at all. Understanding the fundamental principles of life is the best way to make sure you are acting with common sense. Let’s start with the golden rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Business is not about screwing the other guy. It is about getting what you want by helping others get what they want.

The next step in measuring and using your common sense is to run your business by what I call the “big three” test. All of your activities should fit the following criteria:

They must be legal.
They must be moral.
They must be ethical.

If you need a test to determine if an activity meets these criteria, I’ll give you one: Before undertaking any activity ask yourself if you would be proud to read of your activity on the front page of the NY Times. If the answer is “no” then it probably does not the test listed above.

If you use these tips to guide you, you will be pretty far down the road toward common sense.

Can you make lemonade out of lemons?

Each situation is what you make of it. As a business owner you will be forced to take a bad situation and turn it around. This will happen without fail.

Here is a way you can prepare for this eventuality – Take a look back at your life. Examine a couple of challenging events. Did anything good come from that time period? Did you lose a job only to find a better one? If not, why? What could you have done better?

There is always a positive “spin” to every situation. You need to find it if you are going to be a success in any business.

Can you anticipate problems before they arise and to take preemptive steps to avoid them?

As a business owner you must prepare for all contingencies. The best way to do this is to go plan for situations at the extreme ends of the spectrum. So if you are doing contingencies for a marketing approach, you would plan for 1) Double the number of customers accepting your offer and 2) Nobody accepting your offer. Once you plan for the extremes, you can adjust for anything in between.

Can you “rearrange” solutions from other businesses or areas to meet the demands of your customers?

This is one of the most important qualities for an entrepreneur. You must be able to take solutions from other businesses or industries and adapt them to your own situation. There is no time, money or energy to reinvent the wheel.

As an entrepreneur it is critical that you adopt and adapt. By that I mean adopt a practice from someplace else and then adapt it to your business.

I know that everyone reading this post has business intelligence and creativity – after all you found this blog, didn’t you?

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