The Big Threes for Success in the Field

Here is a quick test to see if you are an inspirational entrepreneur. It is called the 3 x 3 Test of Inspirational Entrepreneurship and is based on the understanding that inspirational entrepreneurs operate on three levels, everywhere, and all the time:

• They lead people
  
• They manage processes
  
• They master themselves.

Within each of these three levels there are three things inspirational entrepreneurs always do – therefore it is called a 3 x 3 test. Let’s deal one-by-one with each of the nine activities (three in each of the three levels). You may tick “YES” or “NO” for each question.

LEAD

Leadership is about charting and adjusting the course for your business and its people. There are three things inspirational entrepreneurs do as leaders:

· They Share Goals

Do you set and share goals? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs direct all their shareholders with love towards shared and achievable goals, including their staff, suppliers and in many instances also customers. Do your people know the goals of your business? Mind you, do your clients know?

· They adapt to change

Do you adapt your goals to deal with change? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs understand environmental shifts early on and interpret their significance to the goals they share with their stakeholders. Can you predict the next trend in your industry and are you sharing this with your suppliers and staff?

· They Build Teams

Do you take active steps to realize productive teams? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs inspire their people to increase their contributions to the business while the entrepreneurs also develop productive and happy teams. Do you make sure that your people are happy and working together productively in your respective teams?

MANAGE

Management is about getting done inside the business as an organisation. Again, there are three things inspirational entrepreneurs do.

· They optimize risk

Do you take calculated risks? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs control risks to create opportunities while maintaining a safe environment where nasty surprises do not take them out of the game. Do you look out for the risks others are unable to manage? And do you ring-fence the potential fall-out of a failure?

· They make progress

Do you identify reasons for achievement or failure? YES/NO

Inspiration entrepreneurs monitor the progress of their businesses towards identifiable goals and clarify reasons; for achievements or failures. They have quick indicators they can look at to see and compliment good achievements, and they use these indicators to also identify failures that are not repeated. Do you have your own measures to monitor progress? Do you give praise when something is achieved and do you reprimand or correct when something wrong is done?

· They improve quality

Do you constantly improve? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs make sure that problems are identified, analyzed and solved so that stress is removed, efficiencies improved and the highest quality output maintained. Do you and your people regularly analyse your business problems and identify ways of making improvements?

MASTER

Mastery is about always playing your own best game. Yet again, there are three things inspirational entrepreneurs always do.

· They stretch themselves

Do you set yourself regular challenges? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs know and constantly stretch their own natural talents and acquired skills; and where they know they fall short, they get the best talent available to fill the gaps. Do you know what you are great at, but still identify things that will be a challenge for you? Do you identify skills that you can acquire to make you even greater?

· They live extraordinarily

Are the things you do just out of this world? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs organize their days and their physical surroundings around schedules that are the most suitable to their natural rhythms, around systems that take the effort out of the tasks they have to perform and around rituals that inspire them to live an extraordinary life.

Are you living an average life? A great life? Or do you live the extraordinary life of an inspirational entrepreneur? Do you have times in your daily routine where you inspire yourself to leave behind an extraordinary legacy?

· They give more

Do you contribute to the quality of life of others? YES/NO

Inspirational entrepreneurs keep learning from the magic they create and the mistakes they make so that they can enhance their contributions to others. Do you give something of yourself so that others can be happy? Do you contribute to a better world?

WHAT NOW?

Look at those questions you answered “NO” to.

Which of these can you do something around in the next three days? Set yourself a goal for this question and take a step towards being an inspirational entrepreneur. When you achieve this goal, keep doing it and keep adding other inspirational goals to make yours an inspirational!