Be the Best at What Matters Most: The Only Strategy You will Ever Need

8

Working in the Business

Thinking When You Should Be Working

Your business card isn't what matters the most. Neither is your logo or your mission statement. Sometimes it's easy to get lost in thinking about your business when what you should be doing is “working in” your business.

A blog that I regularly read is The Entrepreneurial Mind (drjeffcornwall.com), by Dr. Jeff Cornwall, Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Cornwall has a way of cutting through the noise around business and getting to the heart of the matter. I thought that one of his recent columns had particular relevance to the idea of being the best at what matters the most.

“When It Is Time to Work in Your Business,” by Dr. Jeff Cornwall

Here is a sampling of quotes from first-time entrepreneurs that I hear in my office.

“I am trying to get my business card just right—does it look better with a horizontal layout or a vertical one? And do you think this font is OK?”

“We think that after working on it for the past six months that our business plan is just about finished.”

“I've been tweaking my logo for the past couple of weeks and I think it is getting close to what I want.”

“This is my latest mission statement—I moved a couple of words around so I hope it sounds better now.”

It is as if they are planning a dinner party and spent all their time worrying about getting the centerpiece and place settings just right, but ...