Mark Twain is one of my favorite people from history. He was the eyewitness to amazing points in history, and was the voice of history for many of them with the words he penned during his lifetime. I recently watched a PBS documentary on his life, and have read a couple biographies on Sam Clemens. Currently, I'm reading his masterpiece "Following The Equator".
Clemens, or Twain --whichever you prefer, was not a particularly good businessman. Later in life, he had to continue lecturing and writing to pay bills rather than enjoy what we would consider a traditional retirement. In fact, Twain's business actions were so bad that despite being a highly paid writer and lecturer he had to file bankruptcy.
Perhaps that is the single best part of his character that I love. Rather than hide from his creditors through bankruptcy, he worked hard until every single creditor was paid back in full. How many of today's Hollywood elites would do such a thing?
And so a poor budgeter who made bad business decisions is a full of great advice for business people in the 21st century. There is no doubt in my mind, so without further delay here are some great nuggets of advice from Sam Clemens:
1) "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." -- Mark Twain
I know many friends and co-workers that have great ideas, but are afraid to take the chance and move those ideas forward. Some times you will fail, but that is OK. Fail fast and keep looking for that success. In business, you only have to be right once.
2) "Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today."
I will likely never invent something that would require a patent. It is just not my thing to create something mechanical that will be of any value. But I have a creative mind that can dream of great and innovative ways to improve products and processes. Dream it and make it happen, especially in today's environment where innovations come flying at us so fast.
3) "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."
Great advice, especially for sales people. You have a difficult customer to deal with, do it first thing that morning. That's way better than putting it off and dreading it all day. Or worse yet, putting it off and never facing the situation. This is also especially true dealing with difficult employees. Deal with them first and upfront. That's much better than putting it off, and off and off. Keeping bad employees around is much worse than that momentary pain of getting rid of them.
4) "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."
Taking on Walmart is crazy you say? Maybe if you're trying to beat them on price, but there are always opportunities to fight for your business. I think business is the ultimate competitive sport, and I love that! You have to pick your fights, but that is where the fun is at. Passion is under valued in many businesses today, but I think it is one of my best assets.
5) "Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great."
Probably my favorite Mark Twain quote, and one that I try to live by everyday as a manager. I found that quote during a time when my former manager / then colleague was flooding me with negative talk and energy regarding my desire to learn and grow. I realized that she was one of the small people Twain was referring to in the quote. My favorite part of business is leadership, and specifically helping my direct reports grow professionally. No matter where they go after they work for me, they are one of my employees. As they succeed, I share in those successes. As a result, I have been able to attract and retain really good employees, and even better people. Having that as a base for my business operations has obviously had a tremendous impact on the success of the businesses I've been a part in my career.
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