Why do some people always struggle in being successful in business?

The subject line has been bugging me this last weekend, and I continually come back to it time and time again. I have made a few pages of notes, and tried to answer the question myself, but really have a drawn a blank.

I am aware of things like motivation being an important factor, and this includes goals, but I am now thinking there is simply something else that holds people back from success, and yes, I do accept sucess is defined differently for each person.

We have also discussed business plans to some degree too, here and on LinkedIn – a plan though as a standalone, simply doesn’t impact in such a way.

Let’s give you an example, and I am going to use the franchise model as the starting point. Some would argue this is a recipe for disaster in its own right, however, I see many people involved with franchises, who have become massively successful and financially independent, operating such a model. Even my own business is a cut down franchise, so I am writing from experience.

Person A buys a franchise, does really well. Is active in promoting it to a wider audience, attends all training provided, including sales and marketing courses, follows the system (& uses the support), and builds a successful business, and eventually buys a second and third franchise.

Whereas Person B buys the same franchise, is active in promoting it to a wider audience, attends all training provided, including sales and marketing courses, follows the system (& uses the support), and fails to build a successful business. They buy another franchise and fail again, eventually going bankrupt.

I can give you examples of a string of People A and People B – I meet them all the time in my business and at networking events. I expect to meet more next week at Business 2012. It can’t be about location, since I have seen businesses thrive in places, where I would expect them to struggle, and vice versa.

So what is the magic ingredient?

What am I missing?

Is there simply a type of person that is cut out for success and another for failure? And it can’t be about the business, since it is identical?

I am intrigued by this conundrum; is it simply because we are human, that these things happen?

So what is your view and suggestions for a solution?

Laurence

This was previously posted on Ecademy in March 2012, and now appears on Sunzu here with 30 comments.

 

 

Nigel Lawson: Cool It

Nigel Lawson tells it like it is over climate change.

Watts Up With That?

Standpoint, May 2014

This essay is based on the text of a speech given to the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment at the University of Bath.

There is something odd about the global warming debate — or the climate change debate, as we are now expected to call it, since global warming has for the time being come to a halt.

I have never shied away from controversy, nor — for example, as Chancellor — worried about being unpopular if I believed that what I was saying and doing was in the public interest.

But I have never in my life experienced the extremes of personal hostility, vituperation and vilification which I — along with other dissenters, of course — have received for my views on global warming and global warming policies.

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