Entrepreneurs (everybody is one now days) pitch their idea to the 'sharks', asking for funding in exchange for ownership. If the sharks like what they see, they may bid against each other in an effort to get a piece of the possible up side. If they don't like a proposition, they drop out.
One of the sharks, Barbara Corcoran, was interviewed by LinkedIn revealing some interesting ideas about intuition and partnering. Barbara built a real estate empire in New York, employing 1400 folks before selling her company for about $60 million. Today, she advises and runs up and coming businesses.
She knows what she does best and where her weaknesses lie - when hiring or partnering, she seeks out those who have qualities she does not and utilizes her intuition on all decisions. She doesn't actively seek out MBA's - she's lost money with them in the past.
"She didn’t wait for karma to come around and bless her at some later point; she got mad and she fought for what she wanted now."I equate her attitude toward MBA's similar to my view about benchmarks. Why utilize other people's academic musings. The world changes so quickly, book knowledge or user surveys cannot keep up.
Sure, standard mechanisms of accounting and finance apply; there are plenty of talented people excel in the science of 'double-entry'. When the environment is stable, meandering or static comparing today to yesterday in order to see tomorrow, is prudent.
But it ain't that way anymore, is it? Turbulence is everywhere. Looking aft only tells you where you've been and listening to people who measure tomorrow from yesterday is a siren call.
I follow her example and advice: let others live the normal. Believe in what you feel as much as what you think - most of all, hear yourself.
What are you doing in your business? Are you adding up the numbers, working harder to get more done? Are your wheels spinning?
If you could alter anything, what would your gut tell you to change?
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