To Be An Entrepreneur You Must Be Willing To Fire
In the 1980's, I saw an interview with an oil tycoon from
Oklahoma. He built the largest independent oil company in the
United States and flourished as an entrepreneur after leaving it,
generating hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
Probably his most-often quoted thought on leadership, first shared
in the 1980s, holds closely to his personal track record:
“Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in
a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the
ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire.”
I'm talking about T. Boone Pickens. He is a true expression of an
entrepreneur. Pickens is afflicted with the inherent restlessness that
drives most entrepreneurs. That restlessness manifested itself early
in his life. While he was still a teen, the Holdenville, Oklahoma, native
expanded his newspaper route sales by acquiring surrounding routes
one by one.
Traditional corporate life chafed Pickens. The Oklahoma State
University graduate left his first adult employer, Phillips Petroleum,
and started what would become Mesa Petroleum with $2,500 and a
healthy dose of moxey. He built his company into an independent
powerhouse that challenged and changed the good-old-boy corporate
culture in America.
If you are looking for inspiration, that motivating force to keep you
going when times are tough, when you think you can never build a
business, just remember, when you are flat of your back, the only
way you can look is up.
It's time you started Making A Difference.
Ocha
