In my survey of more than 300 introverts, less than half were able to name a single notable person with their personality whom they consider a model of success.
One respondent commented, “I guess I have assumed that if someone is successful enough for me to know of them, they aren’t really an introvert.”
It’s easy to see how the conviction that success proves extroversion can get set in people’s minds. We’re taught that if you want to be successful, you must get out there and hustle. And for many people, “getting out there” by definition requires pushy look-at-me initiatives. So someone who’s successful must have acted like an extrovert, the thinking goes.
Of those who were able to name an introvert model of success, famous figures that came up included Abraham Lincoln, Ayn Rand, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Nelson Mandela, Jane Goodall – and Marcia Yudkin (I am grateful for the nominations). I began standing up for introverts in marketing in the summer of 2009 with my Marketing for Introverts Manifesto.
Having success models may help you untangle apparent contradictions, such as: How is it possible for radio stars like Garrison Keillor and acclaimed actors like Meryl Streep or Robert De Niro to be introverts? How is it possible for introverted politicians like Calvin Coolidge or Charles de Gaulle to get elected and remain popular figures? How do Dan Kennedy and other reclusive marketers get away with being grumpy and inaccessible?
Full-length biographies and journalistic profiles of well-known introverts are likely to contain incidents that electrify you with revelations of what’s also possible for you.
Having success models may also convince you that the journey to accept your personal strengths and make the most of them is worth the effort.
Chances are there’s someone in your industry or profession who has come to prominence without glad-handling hordes of people at networking events and without having the gift of gab. I recommend finding out more about that person as a way of learning more about how to use your own potential within a specific business environment.
Is it time to claim your potential for business success? Find a mentor who understands and perhaps shares your likes and dislikes. Start with small changes and low-risk implementations before overhauling your image or launching a risky initiative. Read, observe, ask and reflect.
Business Success Model – What You Need For Your Business to Thrive
In order for a business to be successful it needs three things: 1) a good product or service, 2) good marketing, and 3) good processes and management. I call this the Business Success Model.
If any of these are weak, or worse, not present altogether, then the business struggles to survive and will not be able to move into Thrival. Many businesses, especially small businesses and start-ups, concentrate their time, energy, and resources on the first two “legs” of this model: product or service and marketing. They neglect the business management side of the equation.
The business management “leg” includes the infrastructure and systems of the business, the financial and accounting system, AND the personnel managing or running the business. All of these have to be established and functioning.
The attitudes of the management personnel have to be one of thriving before the business itself can thrive. This is especially important when the business is an entrepreneurship, a professional practice, or a small business. In these cases, the owner IS the business. Whatever is happening in their life has a direct impact on their business. They therefore, need to be doing personal development work to maintain their self-empowerment and to be in a position of strength for their business. This doesn’t preclude executives or other managers from this need. Their decisions and their life also affects the business where they work.
All business decisions effect the financial statements of the business. If the business doesn’t know how much and where the money comes from, what it costs to get it, how much it costs to be in business, and importantly, how much money it kept, the business can’t thrive. It is by understanding the financial statements the impact of business decisions can be seen.
I have seen many small businesses fail because they don’t understand their financial statements, not because they didn’t have a good idea or even good customers and marketing. (The financial statements and accounting are really for much more than paying taxes at the end of the year!)
The last portion of the Business Management “leg” is the infrastructure and systems of the business. To conduct business with efficiency, written policies, procedures, and forms need to be instituted. A solid framework of systems and policies holds up and supports the money producing activities of the business. As you can see, the Business Management “leg” of the model is essential to the Thrival of your business.
Skip Generation Success Models
Have you ever noticed how many very successful men and women have such worthless off spring? Have you noticed how they fail to use those genes in their family to propel success in their every endeavor like their parents? Think about it, the successful businessperson whose son is a Drug Addict? Or the successful minister whose daughter is a complete; well you know?
Do you believe in the generation-skipping success model? Perhaps you have noticed this yourself and thought how ironic indeed; wondering if this is typical? Yes, this appears to be the case, but it does not have to be. For instance if the work ethics are nurtured into the offspring, then those genes do exist, so the mind can make them work. It is a matter of channeling energy into a specific endeavor and nurturing a perseverance or “Press On!” (i.e. “Never, ever, ever, ever give up” mindset). Sports can do this, actually any sort of competition that suits the participant?
A parent must help their offspring find the niche to allow them to excel, build self-esteem and channel their energies in something that shapes their strength of character. Once this is achieved that offspring may actually go well beyond anything that the parents had ever dreamed of. Skip generation success models only exist because we allow them to, they can be broken and once broken there will be no limits. Think on this observation.
