Entrepreneurship Lessons for Success (Collection)

10. The Butterfly Effect

—Ralph Stayer (Johnsonville Sausage)

Listen to that sick feeling in your gut. Most of the time we try to avoid that nervous butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling. But Ralph Stayer owes his career success—and the success of the hundreds of employees he supervises—to going after that butterfly feeling.

"If the things you commit to don't make you puke in the sink every now and then, you really haven't signed on for a lot," says Ralph, in his booming voice and plain Midwestern accent. His point is that it's important to look inside at the things we're afraid of and then go ahead and tackle 'em. That's how he built his career at Johnsonville Sausage.

Ralph's career started in one of the most comfortable, protected situations: ...