Human Capital needs to be Planned - Building A Foundation For Success

Noted recruitment and talent management expert, Allan Schweyer, has stated that "Human capital is a core corporate asset, just like financial and physical assets.  As such, it must be managed the way companies manage other assets.  This requires thinking strategically about how to invest in human capital, and figuring out how to optimize and measure its return." 

When laying a foundation for an entrepreneurial venture, planning is crucial.  Planning for every aspect of the future must be a priority.  An important part of planning for the future is developing a plan for full and effective utilization of human capital.   By human capital, I mean the employees, contractors, advisors, vendors, etc. who will help implement the mission of your enterprise.  Ms. Denise Rolark-Barnes, an owner of a Washington, D.C. based newspaper, recently shared with me that one of her greatest challenges as a business owner is getting and keeping great people.   Ms. Rolark-Barnes states, however, that she is not alone in this challenge.  According to her, all business owners will face this challenge at one point or another.  She advises that devising a plan for addressing this issue is something that all entrepreneurs should do to ensure the continuity and longevity of their business. 

Ms. Rolark-Barnes suggests addressing the issue of acquiring and retaining great employees in the following phases: Recruitment (create an attractive idea which will interest people in joining you); Training (mine potential by cultivating growth); Retention (“give 'em an excuse to stay”); Career Path (provide hope for upward mobility); Mentoring (encouraging model behavior); and Promotion (“move 'em along' and compensate accordingly”).  Ms. Rolark-Barnes’ work and forethought in this area have resulted in recent instances of highly talented individuals coming to her organization.  She believes these talented individuals will ensure that her company is well-positioned and ready for future shifts in her industry.

Planning for the human capital needs of your company is something all entrepreneurs must do.  Without a plan for attracting and retaining the best talent, you may find yourself unable to effectively utilize one of the most important resources your business will ever have.

Work to Create Your Own Opportunity - the Path to Being an Entrepreneur

                                                                                                                           Picture by Flckr JAM343

To be a successful entrepreneur may require you to put forth extra effort.  Opportunities for change and success do not come by chance.  To gain them requires constant, persistent effort.   It has been said that “luck” occurs when preparation meets opportunity.  If this is true, then there is no such thing as luck.  Opportunities come as a result of preparation.

While Washington, D.C.-based real estate developer, Adrian Washington, didn't start his career with a well-defined plan (he let his interest lead him), success came to him through opportunities he worked to create.  Mr. Washington did his homework.  He worked diligently to build his knowledge base and learn his trade.  He worked to develop his network, with the understanding that business opportunities are really about connecting with people.  He also built his reputation by completing a series of successful projects that spoke to his capabilities and increased his presence in his profession.  With these accomplishments, opportunities came.

Having done his homework and put in the time, Mr. Washington was prepared.  As a result, he was able to take advantage of the opportunities that came his way.  According to Mr. Washington, preparation is key.  It requires investing time and effort, while constantly seeking ways to increase your knowledge and understanding of your chosen field.  To achieve success as an entrepreneur requires that you focus not solely on immediate gains, but also on future success.  A successful entrepreneur understands the benefits of delayed gratification.   As a developer, Mr. Washington enjoys a unique and gratifying position.  He has built a company that yields monetary gains for its employees and shareholders.  At the same time, however, he does not do it by tearing down communities or displacing its residents.  Rather, he builds communities and in many ways re-vitalizes them by hiring people in the neighborhoods he seeks to build.  By doing so, Mr. Washington helps to fundamentally improve the communities around him.  He has enjoyed this rewarding challenge and is excited that he has been presented with such an extraordinary opportunity.  However, it wasn’t chance or luck that brought this opportunity to him, it was his preparation that enabled him to capitalize on the opportunity and make it a reality.

What do you first do when you learn to swim? You make mistakes, do you not? And what happens? You make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning - and some of them many times over - what do you find? That you can swim? Well - life is just the same as learning to swim! Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live! –Alfred Adler

Refuse to Live in Comfortable Mediocrity - the Path to Being an Entrepreneur

IT entrepreneur, Michael Warren, once revealed to me that one of his greatest fears is being relegated to a life of "comfortable mediocrity."  For Mr. Warren, the status quo is not an option.  The refusal to live a life of comfortable mediocrity is a common denominator that most successful entrepreneurs share.  It is their refusal to be satisfied with the status quo that keeps pushing them to set and achieve new goals. 

In today's society, it is easy to fall into a life of comfortable mediocrity.  Once we have our graduate degrees, "good" jobs, beautiful homes, and nice cars, it becomes very easy to stop challenging ourselves to move to the next level of achievement, whether that next level is setting new financial goals, implementing a new vision, or being more involved in the community.  Mr. Warren has determined that one of the ways he knows it is time for him to leave one professional opportunity to create another is by asking himself the following question:  "If everything goes according to plan, where will I be?"  If that answer is just the next rung of the corporate ladder or a position that does not require him to stretch himself intellectually or learn new skills, he knows it is time to leave for a new opportunity.   Mr. Warren says we should constantly aspire to be “something we'd like to be, but are not.”  He believes the key to success is to be the best at what you do so that people believe if they don't invest in you, the competition will.  Once you adopt this as part of your belief system, there can be no room for comfortable mediocrity.

Michael Warren also reminds aspiring entrepreneurs that as you seek to accomplish the goals of building wealth and creating institutions, it is important to act in a "patient, but relentless" fashion.  Acting in this manner will help you develop fortitude and staying- power, while strategically and carefully implementing and executing your vision. 

It's not going to be easy but....

A Personal Challenge

Reading after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits.  Any man who reads too much and uses his brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. -- Albert Einstein


Anyone who knows me knows I love to read.  At an early age, I was encouraged to take a book where ever I went.  This has followed with me into adult life.  While there are much worse habits to have, as an entrepreneur,  too much reflection can slow you down.  As a friend has said to me, it can lead to the Paralysis of Analysis.  I am challenging myself to PUT THE BOOK DOWN, and be even more action oriented.  I am not cutting out reading altogether, but am going to do a better job of keeping it in perspective with all of the other things that need to be accomplished to meet my goals .

Do you have this challenge?  If so, how have you attempted to address it?  If this is not your entrepreneurial challenge, share an insight into a challenge you are working to improve upon..

The Path to Being an Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person willing to take-on the various risks related with bringing an idea alive--to bring it to market.  As defined by Wikipedia, an entrepreneur is a person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture, and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks.

Have you ever wondered, “Do I have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur?” Or, have you ever thought, “I’m just not sure I’m the ‘entrepreneurial type’.  If so, you’re not alone.  Many talented people with great ideas believe they don’t have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.  For many, the thought of running their own business leaves them feeling anxious and apprehensive.  For most people, the notion of leaving a secure job or profession creates a host of questions, fears, and uncertainties that kill their dreams before they even have a chance to breathe.  I believe the fear of becoming an entrepreneur stems from a flawed thought-process, which if corrected, can help you find your inner entrepreneur. 

Most people believe that entrepreneurs somehow emerge from the womb at birth.  Many of us believe that being an entrepreneur is an innate skill, and you’re either born with it, or you’re not.   While I agree there are certain people who know virtually from birth that their one mission in life is to found a start-up “widget” company, take it public, and then spin it off into several international widget conglomerates, most of us don’t find our inner entrepreneur quite as naturally. My conversations with many successful entrepreneurs of all ages, sexes, and races have led me to this conclusion.  Entrepreneurs are not born.  They are made.  Being entrepreneurial is not an innate quality that some of us get and others of us don’t.  Rather, an entrepreneur emerges from an individual’s identification of his or her talents, which he or she develops through a course of intentional acts and persistent conduct.  I hope to share insights from my personal journey through this blog and hope that it might be helpful to you in finding your inner entrepreneur.