Business Problems are Personal Problems
After 25 years of working with organizations I’ve realized, I’ve never helped solved a business problem that didn’t have a personal problem at it’s root. Hidden inside of any business problem is a personal constraint. If you can remove the constraint, that problem usually solves itself. Understanding this principle, helps you tackle the spider instead of getting tangled in the web. Your business problems are probably a symptom of some personal issue. Solve that and life becomes much easier!
I just pulled out Napoleon Hill’s 17 Keys to Success. He mentioned 25 major causes of personal failure:
- The habit of drifting through life without a major definite purpose
- Meddlesome curiosity about other people’s affairs
- Inadequate education
- Lack of self discipline
- Lack of ambition
- Ill health due to negative thinking or poor diet
- Unfavorable childhood influences
- Lack of persistence and follow through
- Negative mental attitude
- Lack of emotional control
- The desire to get something for nothing
- Failure to reach decisions promptly
- One of more of the 7 basic fears: poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love, old age, loss of liberty, death
- Poor selection of a spouse
- Over caution or lack of caution
- Poor choice of a vocation
- Indiscriminate spending of time and money
- Lack of control of the tongue
- Intolerance
- Failure to Cooperate with others in a spirit of harmony
- Disloyalty
- Lack of vision or imagination
- Egotism and vanity
- Desire for revenge
- Unwillingness to go the extra mile
Deal With The Root Not The Fruit
You’ll find one of these 25 personal problems at the root of any business problem you have. If you’ve got problems, stop playing with the fruit of the issue and deal with the root. You always grow from the inside out. If you can conquer the inside, the outside generally takes care of itself. When you get better, your business gets better!