Friday, February 19, 2016

Axiom 75: Arrogance Kills Success


"In hindsight I slid into arrogance based on past success.
-Reed Hastings

No man knows less than the man who knows it all." -Unknown

I've been in business long enough to see how arrogance can ruin people. People get so full of themselves that they fail to see the world how it really is. Don't let arrogance get in the way of your success.

I've hired people over the years that were smart, talented, and full of potential only to find out that they were so arrogant they were useless to me. You can't train an arrogant person. The best thing is to avoid hiring arrogant people in the first place.

Here's the problem with working with arrogant people: You can't get them to follow instructions. You can tell them how to solve a problem but they usually decide to solve it a totally different way. They often ignore the experience of their manager in favor of making decisions on their gut instinct. This usually ends in disaster. 

I've dealt with arrogant suppliers that work for arrogant companies also. They think they have the best product, or that their product is the only option I can purchase. Their service sucks because they are so arrogant and they act it like it is an honor to do business with them.

These arrogant companies always fail. A patent runs out on their exclusive product, or another less arrogant company finds a better way to service the market. I've had many calls from suppliers that were once arrogant but now beg for my business because their sales are down.

Arrogance always ends in defeat. You're not the smartest person around. You do not work for the best company ever. You do not sell the best products ever, Don't let everything go to your head.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Axiom 74: Don't Play the Gossip Game


"Gossip is the Devil's radio." -George Harrison

"Everyone notices everyone else's problems but never pay attention to their own.
-Jerett Parker

If you're consumed with what someone else is doing then you are not focused on yourself and your own goals. Obsessing over the faults of others will only blind you to your own. You must find a way to ignore what everyone else is doing and concentrate on yourself.

I know this is easier said than done. Playing the gossip game can be fun, but it will eventually backfire on you. Pull back and resist the urge to join in. Isolate yourself if you must and make sure your mind is where it really needs to be, on yourself

In business we become consumed with what our competition is doing. Sometimes unknowingly we start to think just because our competition is doing something that we need to follow suit and do the same. This is often insanity. Don't copy your competitor's moves. Forge your own path. This is why it is so important to ignore what others are doing. Otherwise you'll drag yourself into an alternate world where you start to second guess all of your decisions... or even worse, you'll develop a twisted ego based on comparing yourself to others.