Five lessons worth learning

Yes, I know you don't need a sixteen year old lass telling you how to run your business, even someone like Jessica Watson.  

For those of you outside Australia Jessica Watson had a spectacular entrance to Sydney Harbour on Saturday 15th May.  As an eleven year old she announced to her parents that she intended to sail around the world.  As a sixteen year old she did, non-stop, alone and unassisted.

The business lessons, yes there are a number, come from not what she did, but how she did it.

Clear objective - she set a very clear, quite specific objective.  There was nothing woolly about it.  In fact Jessica's objective fitted the SMART rule for objectives very well; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based.

Do you have clearly defined, specific objectives for your business?

Planning - Every point on the trip was carefully planned with meticulous attention to detail.  For example:

• Food for 8 months - with a lot of help and advice from other sailors and a dietitian from the University of the Sunshine Coast;
• The route and weather all the way, down to forecasting the speeds Ella's Pink Lady can do at particular angles to the wind in the weather forecasts along the route
• Planning for emergencies so that she instinctively knew what needed to be done. It clicked into place with a completely cool head after a collision with a tanker before she had even started.

Do you pay meticulous attention to detail in your business?
Do you meticulously plan the year ahead?  

Preparation - Jessica undertook meticulous preparation.  She prepared herself including crewing on ocean going yachts at 14 years and took courses in a wide range of skills that could be needed on such a trip.  Wikipedia provides the following summary:

"As training for her voyage, Watson crewed on a number of vessels, including Oceanswatch's Magic Roundabout on which she acted as skipper during a crossing of the Tasman Sea.  Watson had over 10,000 nm of ocean sailing experience before departing on her round the world trip.
Her qualifications include:

• RYA/ISAF Offshore Safety course (ISAF SR 6.01)
• RYA Diesel Engine course
• RYA Radar course
• YAs Safety and Sea Survival certificate
• OMTC issued Certificates of Competence for Apply First Aid
• IMO compliant Elementary First Aid Table
• Yachtmaster Ocean theory certificates
• Radio operator's license"

I believe she also studied sail making in case she had to do any repairs, which she did.

Do you have all the technical, financial, management and marketing skills in your business you need to meet your objective, either through your own training or through employing the right people?  

Perseverance - Success requires more than skills and ability.  Yes you must have some talent and ability to succeed.  But you must also have grit and determination.  

After the collision with the tanker before Jessica started many said that the trip was too risky for a young girl.  She was undeterred.  In the South Atlantic near the Falkland Islands she suffered four knockdowns of her yacht in a severe storm with 10 metre waves and 70 knot winds.  Nearing home, swells in the Great Australian Bight were up to 12 metres and she had three more knockdowns.  

After analysing students at the US Military Academy, West Point, psychologist Angela Duckworth concluded that sustained, focussed application of talent over time - as opposed to raw talent, intelligence or educational attainment - was a vital determinant of success.*

Times can be tough in a small business.  You need grit, determination and perseverance to get through.

Mentors - Jessica had two mentors who helped her plan the trip and advised on her preparation.  Both had previously sailed around the world.  They were in constant contact with her during the trip, which is allowable under the rules governing such records.

The importance in having a business mentor is increasingly recognised as being important to the success of individuals in business.  It applies to small businesses as much as in large businesses.
Do you have a mentor, someone who has experienced the travails of business's turbulence to whom you can turn for advice and guidance?

Writing on the success of this slip of a girl Dr. Tim Hawkes said "Success in life is rarely available to the child who is allowed to squander significant time on the trivial, the shallow or the soporific."  That could also be said of those who seek to sail small businesses to success.

* Source: The Australian, Monday 17th May 2010

© Copyright 2010 Adam Gordon, Profits Leak Detective

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