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COMMENTARY - 2012
Having started The Business Development Group in 1986, I
have been in a position to witness the resiliency of the human
spirit in an endless number of cases. I have seen those who have
been able to start their own businesses and professions after being
released from their previous positions. In addition, I have
witnessed those who were willing to take considerable financial
risks with their own businesses during this totally questionable
economic climate.
Why is it that some can accept challenges thrown at them
and approach such tasks in ways that bring about extraordinary
outcomes while others crumble under the pressure of minimal pain?
For years, we have discussed the necessity of going inside
for many of the answers to questions presented to us usually at most
inopportune moments. The big question is..."Why??"
Sadly, many of us have not been able to separate the roles
we have taken on in life from the core or essence of who and what we
are. If I believe that I am an entrepreneur and that is the bottom
line of my existence, it means that my life will toss and turn
continuously like a raft bouncing around on ocean waves. On the
other hand, if I believe that I am significantly more than the
definition of the role I have accepted, I will be more grounded in
my thinking and less subject to being exposed to the inner turmoil
of life's vicissitudes. With the former option, I live my life
enveloped in ego, whereas the latter allows me to manifest a world
view helping me to distance myself from the issue and enabling me to
tap into my inner core to respond at the highest level.
I can't tell you how important it is to address this issue
sooner rather than later if you want to bring about any sense of
inner peace to your lives. Ramana Maharshi, a revered Indian saint,
said that if you contemplate one question throughout your lives, it
should be, "Who am I?"
When I was in my twenties and read that, I seriously
questioned why this man was elevated to such a lofty position by his
followers not just in India but from around the world. In addition, Benjamin Franklin said, "There are three things extremely
hard: steel, a diamond and to know one's self." Why have these and
many other prophetic souls throughout history constantly recited the
same mantra......"Know thyself"......."Who am I?" The answer simply
is that until you start your own journey of self-realization, you
will continue to be thrown by every adversity and/or obstacle placed
in your path. The beginning of this inward journey is the only way I
know of to begin your venture towards freedom and inner peace.
Our group is essentially what the title says, The Business
Development Group. We focus on ways to develop business that is
somewhat unconventional. One reason is that we not only spend time
addressing unique "biz-dev" skills but we also take a penetrating
look at the "total human dimension" often ignored by many.
For example, there are many books out there authored by
management gurus from top educational institutions highlighting the
obvious growth companies during the last thirty years that
accelerated far beyond the average rate for roughly a seven or eight
year period. These authors emphasized the CEOs ability to excel as a
leaders, integrate the latest technology into their firms plus tap
into their clairvoyant qualities to determine industry trends
unnoticed by others.
There are, however, other talented authors who have gone
back to revisit the aforementioned companies a few years later only
to find that a high percentage of these firms no longer enjoyed the
stellar performance that originally brought attention to them. What
happened? The management of the firms in the beginning were
fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and ride the
waves of good fortune. They were not necessarily the gifted souls we
deemed them to be.
As more competition became prevalent and their margins
dwindled, they could no longer enjoy their competitive advantages.
Authors should be seeking out more unusually accomplished
individuals like Steve Jobs who went through success, failure,
success again, a terminal illness and again followed by continued
success right up until his passing. People like Steve Jobs, who was
not the most loved CEO in the world, was clearly an extraordinary
visionary, not one who fizzled out within that eight year time
frame.
Let's open our minds for 2012, which will be another testy
year, and figure out together whatever is necessary to keep our
businesses and professions moving forward. As we are subjected to
life's pressures, and we will be, will we continue to bounce around
as previously alluded to with seemingly no direction or will we have
the wisdom, business acumen and spiritual discipline to keep
ourselves grounded regardless of the economic climate? My hope for
all is certainly the latter..........and have a great year!
I asked this guy if he had the time.
He said he'd love to give it to me but
wasn't sure if he could make a commitment.
Carol Siskind
Insanity is heredity - you get it
from your children.
Sam Levenson
It's better to keep one's mouth shut
and thought a fool than to open it and
resolve all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln
He's so stupid he once studied five
days for a urine test.
Norm Crosby
My wife and I were happy for twenty
years. Then we met.
Henny Youngman
"The only security is courage."
Francois de la Rochefoucauld
"Happy is the man who can endure the
highest and lowest fortune. He who has
endured such vicissitudes with equanimity
has deprived misfortune of its power."
Seneca
"I am ready to meet my Maker.
Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal
of meeting me is another matter."
Winston Churchill
"We never understand a thing so
well, and make it our own, as when we have
discovered it for ourselves."
Rene Descartes
'The one person whom it is most
necessary to reform is yourself."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Stan Sidman
The Business Development Group
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