“Surround yourself with people that push you to do and be better. No drama or negativity. Just higher goals and higher motivation. Good times and positive energy. No jealousy or hate. Simply bringing out the absolute best in each other.” ~ Warren Buffet
Successful business owners know that their success is determined, in no small part, by the quality of the people they work with. Good people bring trustworthiness and integrity to working relationships; a strong network can result in access to new opportunities and connections; a collaborative environment encourages creativity and innovation. In today’s increasingly competitive marketplaces, recognizing the value of surrounding yourself with good people can be vital to success as a business owner. This blog discusses why business owners must surround themselves with objective, positive, trustworthy, and competent people.
The importance of Being Surrounded by Good People
“We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. This relates to the law of averages, which is the theory that the result of any given situation will be the average of all outcomes.” – Jim Rohn.
In business, and as an entrepreneur, when creating, launching, and growing your own business, it is critical to surround yourself with good people. Research shows that even though we are unique individuals, we are impacted, motivated, and driven by our environment. This means that the people around us greatly influence us; thus, the people we choose to include in our lives affect our thoughts, actions, and emotions. These peer influences affect our self-esteem, decisions, values, and outlook on life.
The Five Types of People Business Owners Must Surround Themselves With
l) Surround Yourself with People Who Want You to Succeed
People who have achieved success have expert knowledge, skills, and experience, usually in particular niches. In contrast, unsuccessful individuals do not have expertise in any specific field. Further, successful people consciously and subconsciously encourage those around them to improve and strive to be better people. Thus there are many benefits to surrounding yourself with like-minded people who can offer you expertise and knowledge you do not possess.
Note: Be wary of Jealous or envious colleagues, peers, mentors or friends. They are not interested in your success.
ll) Surround Yourself With People Who are Unafraid to Speak the Truth
Honesty is a vital characteristic in business as it defines your relationship with the people around you and the work culture you intend to create. Moreover, it is critical to surround yourself with people who are not afraid to tell the cold hard truth. Business leaders must speak and listen to the truth even when it hurts. For example, you need your business partner to tell you when sales are down; when a client delivery will arrive late, or when a project will not be completed on time.
The truth may be brutal to hear. However, lies, deceit, or even silence will lead to a loss of credibility and long-term reputation damage. When a trusted colleague tells you the truth, it forces you to accept the reality of a situation, regardless of feelings, and take corrective action. Unfortunately, when we surround our environment with liars and create an unethical business culture, we reject reality leading to pain, suffering, and business failure.
lll) Surround Yourself Innovate with Hardworking, and Motivated People
“Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.” – Colin Power.
Innovative, hardworking, and motivated people will find new, quicker, and more profitable ways to solve problems and take action. In addition, surrounding yourself with these people provides several advantages. For instance, motivated people are punctual, conscientious, and committed to the business.
Studies have found that attitudes, habits, and behaviors are socially contagious. In fact, according to Psychology Today, “social contagion” refers to the tendency for people to mimic the behavior and attitudes of others who are in the same environment. So, if you are in a positive environment, surrounded by motivated, hardworking people, their attitudes and behaviors will rub off on you and others team members.
IV) Surround Yourself with People Who Take Action
“Action expresses priorities.” – Mahatma Gandhi.
Actions require commitment, so you know an individual is committed to a job, responsibility, or duty when they take action of their own volition to get things done. What people do has a stronger impact than their words. Often, people will do the opposite of what they say. Carl Jung stated, “you are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” which means that people are more likely to believe what you do rather than what you say. Hence, it is critical to surround yourself with people who take action. Actions demonstrate the authenticity of the people you surround yourself with; actions can support your words or contradict them.
V) Surround Yourself with People who have Faced Adversity
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison.
One thing that binds small and medium-sized business owners is adversity. Adversity provides us with the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and failures. The process is called trait resilience. Trait resilience asserts that individuals can cope with failure, learn from it, and improve themselves from the experience. When you surround yourself with people who have experienced the challenges of owning a small business, they can provide you with wisdom, guidance, and support that only they can understand.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” — Maya Angelou.
In sum, lessons learned from hardships, defeats, or adversity often reveal personal limitations, positive or negative patterns, beliefs, or skills you didn’t appreciate or notice before. The process increases self-awareness and allows one to make better plans, choices, and actions.
Making the right connections with good people is imperative for business owners seeking success. The quality of relationships and connections can be as crucial to success as offering quality products and services. Developing a relationship based on trust, respect, and competence can benefit any business owner. Successful business owners recognize that connecting with high-quality people is essential in building a solid network and driving success and profits. Now is the time to take advantage of these advantages, get out there, and build lasting relationships with people who have knowledge, education, and experience – they will help you achieve your goals!
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