Could this be the most fundamental business philosophy?
I know, a quick search of “business philosophy” will bring up an endless series of hits and advice from countless sources.
It’s true that there isn’t “one good way” of doing business. I think that your goal, whatever it might be, has several different “paths” you can take to ultimately reach the destination.
That being said, I recently heard a philosophy that I think, if you truly embrace, will bring you to your end goal quicker and with less stress.
The philosophy is this: Do interesting things with people you like.
Isn’t that what should not just encompass our business behaviors, but how we live our lives.
There are too many business owners who are doing things they hate.
They show up each day, spend several hours feeling unfulfilled, go home and await the same monotony that awaits them the day after. Don’t entrepreneurs start businesses to escape this rat race?
There are also lots of business owners who might enjoy what they’re doing, but they spend their time working with clients they don’t want to serve, family members or friends they should’ve never started a business with, or dealing with people they’d rather avoid.
That’s a great way to stop enjoying what you’re doing.
Even if the business is successful, showing up each day and dreading what’s ahead is a fast track to burnout and, ultimately, failure.
Let’s look at the alternative.
There are also business owners who love the work they do and love who they’re doing the work with each day.
These are the entrepreneurs who tend to be happier, more fulfilled, more present with family, and more successful.
If there’s work you don’t like doing in your business, outsource it.
If there are clients or people you don’t like working with, change your perspective or fire them.
Life is too short.
When it comes to business philosophies, we often look at numbers, products, systems, services, offerings, client avatars, processes and other (definitely important!) elements of running a business.
But, I think if we can simply do things we enjoy with people we like, we’ve set the foundation to not just be successful as business owners, but to thrive in life.