I recently returned from a vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Obviously, I made a stop at Mount Rushmore to see, as my two-year old son says, “the faces.” That visit got me thinking: What attributes or actions did these four leaders exhibit that led to them being immortalized in the granite of a South Dakota mountain? And, how can you mimic these attributes to grow and improve your business?
George Washington - Lead by Example
George Washington was a Revolutionary War hero, presided over the convention that drafted the US Constitution and was our nation’s first President. Perhaps more than any other person in American history, he helped shape our form of government.
But perhaps his biggest gift to the United States happened when he decided not to run for a third Presidential term. Keep in mind this was an era of long-term rulers. His decision not to seek another term started a tradition that lasted 150 years, and was eventually amended to the Constitution - the same Constitution Washington helped draft.
Great leaders lead by example as much as by words. To be a great leader, you need to set a good example. I’ve always found that private businesses tend to take on the attributes of their owners. That’s because their employees follow their owner’s lead.
So if you want your business to offer the best customer service around, you better treat your customers with respect. If you don't, your employees likely won't.
Thomas Jefferson - Knowledge is Power
Thomas Jefferson is likely best known as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and for the Louisiana Purchase. But he was also a firm believer in the power of education. In fact, as early as 1779 he proposed a system of public education to be tax-funded for 3 years for "all the free children, male and female." This was an idea well ahead of its time.
Jefferson also was the proud owner of an impressive collection of books. He was at times called a walking encyclopedia because of his diverse knowledge.
Knowledge is power for a business. It’s why users of HindSite’s field service software are twice as likely to experience rapid year-over-year revenue growth. Field service software enables them to collect a lot of data about their business - how long specific jobs took, which sales opportunities and salesmen close the most business, what customers are the most profitable and which employees log the most productive time, among many other data points.
By measuring every aspect of their business, owners are able to make improvements. Without that data, they may never know what’s working and not working in their business.
Teddy Roosevelt - Be Determined
In 1912, while campaigning for president in Milwaukee, Teddy Roosevelt was shot in the chest. The bullet went through his eyeglasses case and the thick speech that was in his pocket, which slowed its progress. Noting that he wasn’t coughing up blood and surmising that the bullet then likely hadn’t entered his lung, Roosevelt proceeded to give his speech. He talked for 90 minutes.
That’s the determination and perseverance for which Roosevelt is known. It’s a lesson all entrepreneurs should heed. Being a business owner isn’t easy. You’ll have issues with customers, employees and vendors. Some studies show that as many as 8 out of 10 businesses fail within 18 months. Many don’t actually fail because they don’t make money - they fail because their owners give up and lose interest.
Be like Teddy Roosevelt - don’t let obstacles stand in the way of your success.
Abraham Lincoln - If you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying.
Abraham Lincoln is frequently seen as one the greatest Presidents in the history of the United States. He kept the Union together when it appeared it was going to split in two.
Yet, what most people don’t realize is that Lincoln wasn’t always a success. Consider:
- He lost in job in 1832
- His business failed in 1833
- He was defeated in his nomination for Congress in 1843
- He lost a Congressional re-election bid in 1848
- He was defeated in the Senate race in 1854
- He was defeated in a vice presidential nomination in 1856
- He was defeated in a second Senate bid in 1858
That’s a lot of defeats. Lincoln could have easily given up his political aspirations and continued to be a successful lawyer in Illinois. But he didn’t. He wasn’t afraid to fail.
You shouldn’t be either. If you’re afraid to fail, you’ll never succeed. Life’s biggest lessons come from your failures. As a marketer, I’ve failed many, many times. But the great thing about marketing is that if you learn from your failures, you’ll become incrementally better over time.
The same is true for your field service business. Maybe you failed a lot initially trying to sell commercial maintenance services. If you were using a field service sales CRM, you could track all of those failures, find commonalities, and learn how to be more successful.
Or maybe you used a service business marketing solution like HindSite Connect to measure your customer satisfaction and found it was low. Using that information, you can implement changes to improve your customer satisfaction.
The key is not to get down when you or your employees fail. If something goes wrong, the first question to ask is “What did you learn?” or “What should we do next time?” Failure is the best teacher you can have.
We all make mistakes. The key is learning from them. What to know 33 big mistakes most contractors make? Then check out our free eBook, 33 Stupid Things Contractors Do (And How to Fix Them), today!
