Armed with boundless enthusiasm and a never-give-up attitude and a willingness to throw away the rule book, we set out to try something new.
Here are five leadership tips for business owners:
1. Treat learning as a hobby
We recommend that every business leader find a trusted friend/colleague/coach who will give you honest feedback. This helps you improve, and push yourself. Instead of assuming you know everything, learn from others’ expertise by reading leadership books. Some of Taylor’s favorites were The Power of Positive Thinking and Enthusiasm Makes the Difference, by Normal Vincent Peale, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. And seek out books on topics where your business needs to improve: he would read real estate books before building new restaurants.
2. Create a lifer environment you like, from their perspective.
Be open-minded when finding talent: having a positive attitude and a willingness to learn new things is much more important than experience, and you never know where you might discover the heart and soul of your team. Develop a “zapp” philosophy, based on the book Zapp! by William Byham, which embraced giving power to the people. Create a positive vibe with your team instead of sapping their motivation to thrive.
Fire poisonous people.
3. Work to Earn Respect; Never Expect to Have It As Default.
To earn respect from others, you must be willing to do menial tasks. When things get overwhelming, put in the effort, so your team will want to follow you anywhere. I find that you earn people’s respect very fast if you’re the pinch hitter that pick up jobs others avoid, without complaints or attention seeking. People WILL notice. Never be standoffish because the best leaders are down-to-earth, approachable, and are willing to hang with the team. You never know when or from whom you’ll hear a great idea.
4. Embrace new ideas.
Some of the company’s most successful ideas came from their innovative suggestions, when “inside the box” thinking just wouldn’t cut it. If you don’t succeed at first, don’t stop trying. The best inventors keep tinkering and are never satisfied with good enough results. There are plenty of examples of silly ideas that end up being refined into million-dollar business ventures!