Stick to these two principles or it will be GAME OVER

The two most important principles to which I have committed myself is to be 1. TRUSTWORTHY and 2. THE BEST.

Every entrepreneur likes to think he is trustworthy and “the best”, but it is far easier said than practiced.

TRUST is the description for a broad number of principles that falls in this category. It includes honesty, reliability, keeping promises, no hidden agendas, relationship-building, commitment and loyalty. I am sure there are more similar principles or statements that fall into this category.

TRUST: If you live and breathe this principle, you will not be tempted at any stage of the business cycle of your particular industry.

Example: I have just read today of a large transport company fromr
Wellington (Western Cape South Africa) whose Directors started losing sight of this principle when business started going pear-shaped.

Instead of facing the situation honestly, they let corporate governance slide and ended up in liquidation after they used workers pension fund to try and keep the company afloat. You cannot afford to solve problems by losing sight of the principles you set as your foundation in the first place.What future do you have as an entrepreneur if you can no longer be trusted.

Gentle reader, may this be a lesson to remember…once trust is lost, it is never regained. Be vigilant and trustworthy in all your business deals and if it means that you have to cut back on staff or sell parts of your business, then so be it. But do not be tempted to let up on your principles, thinking that a business problem can be solved with “creative” accounting practices. You will be caught out and then you will have the reputation of a person who cannot be TRUSTED and that will affect your prosperity for the rest of your life.

THE BEST: What other similar principles can be listed under this one? To be the best means to improve your skill level constantly, to learn from mistakes , to be be creative, to expand your boundaries, to grow yourrnbusiness and yourself as a person, to explore new alternatives , never being satisfied as long as there’s something out there which you have a passion for, but have not yet achieved.

I can give you countless of examples of truly great companies as well as those that are just plain average. If you truly believe in your product offer and continually focus to improve it and give your customer an unbelievable experience , you will be successful.

Only after you have mastered the principles of TRUSTWORTHYNESS and strive to be THE BEST, can you focus your efforts on PEOPLE, PASSION and PROFITS. All these elements make up the recipe or blueprint for business success.

Entrepreneurs destined for success absolutely believe that they are going to be successful, sooner or later.
They have such a positive self-image that they believe that everything that happens to them, positive or negative, is part of a great plan to ultimately make them successful.
Unfortunately most people in life do not find a set of principles that they truly adhere to and believe in.

Gentle reader, If you can find yours and stick to them stubbornly, you’ll also be at a natural competitive advantage where you will win 9 out of 10 times.