Adopt Tangible Criteria of Success and Measure them with a RealWorld Yardstick

I guide this exploration by explaining that whatever definition is developed, it has to be tangible and measurable. In other words, stating a definition of success as “we will be the world leader in our industry” doesn’t fit this requirement. If, on the other hand, the entrepreneur says “in three years we will have 4 major product lines serving at least two targeted industry niches in six countries and will have an annual revenue of $50 million or greater with double digit profitability,” this kind of definition can be easily measured.

There is no right or wrong answer about what this definition should be. It’s your “company,” your efforts, and your life that you’ll be spending to create that level of success, so what is it worth to you?

I ask my clients to consider this scenario: if you set a definition of success for your new company to be achieved within three years and you and I meet for coffee three years from today, I’ll ask you this question: “How’s your company going?”

You’ll probably answer with the status of the company in terms of sales, product lines, regions served, number of customers or any other metric that you decide are part of your success definition. Then I’ll ask you a second question: “How do you feel about that level of achievement?” If you break out in a huge smile and reply, “Actually, I feel pretty darn good!”, then that means you’ve achieved your definition of success. The same approach can be used for defining the success of your recruiting business.

Once you’ve defined success for your venture, next ask yourself the following question: “When the company reaches that level of success, what is my role in the company?” Are you the CEO, the head of R&D, the key strategist, or maybe you’re just sitting on your yacht collecting dividends from the company?

By answering this question, we’re exploring what is your personal definition of success, which is just as important as your definition for the company’s success. YOUR

Role In Your Company Recognition

Promotion

Personal Earnings

Expansion Goals

Again, the same approach works with your recruiting efforts. Be honest and real about “what’s in it for you” as you decide what you want from your efforts. Is it a certain amount of money? Is it a promotion of some sort? Do you want to expand your business in some way? Again, there are no right or wrong answers in this, but it is important to have a clear vision of what will make your efforts for the business worth it to you.

The third area we explore in defining success is how important it is to you, as the founding entrepreneur, to achieve that success. It’s perfectly okay to reply that you’re just exploring options and having a fun time dreaming of big success. However, this makes your business more of a hobby than a committed venture. If you really have a commitment to reach your defined goals for success, then write them down, keep them often in front of you and don’t let the distractions of life keep you from achieving them.

Every key decision made by the founder(s) as a company is formed and grows—and there will be many of these—will be driven and measured by how that decision aligns to the success definition. The same is true for your success-driven recruiting business. This actually makes your decision making easier because you don’t have to revisit the end-game with every new situation that comes up.

An inspiring truism is “If it’s important enough, you’ll find a way and, if not, you’ll find an excuse.” It is important to spend your life “finding ways” to reach what is important to you and not just “finding excuses.” This is especially true if your business idea, like most, requires more than just you to succeed. It is only fair to your employees, loved ones, investors, strategic partners, and others that you define success clearly and commit to achieving that definition.

The old proverb that “he who aims at nothing usually hits it” is also true. Too many entrepreneurs I work with start out with a clever idea and big dreams of how they’re going to change the world and make a lot of money doing it. That’s all fine, but these kinds of ill-defined goals have no commitment to specific achievement and tend to waffle in the wind as situations change.

Also, it is critical that everyone associated with making the business a success be on the same page as to how they define success. I do a lot of “co-founder counseling” in my practice and one of the common areas of frustration between co-founders is that they are shooting for different targets and so, of course, they make different decisions and don’t understand why their co-founder doesn’t agree and align with their perspectives. Share your definition for success with those who can affect your achievement of those goals.

One of the common areas of frustration between co-founders is that they are shooting for different targets and so, of course, they make different decisions and don’t understand why their co-founder doesn’t agree and align with their perspectives.

You’re probably going to be spending a major chunk of your life pursuing your new venture and sacrificing other things you could have been doing instead. You don’t want to waste that precious time and those irrecoverably missed experiences without a clear picture of what you’re working to achieve and how important that achievement is to you. Start by defining the end and you’ll be way ahead of most new ventures or others in your business. And, if you decide that you’re just not ready to commit to success, that’s okay, too. It’s much better to honestly know that about yourself now than to discover it several months down the line when times get tough.

We only get one turn to go around in this life, so I hope you find ways to direct your life to what is most important to you and not just let life slip by.

“Visionary Art 2022 Mind of the Artist”

by David S. Soriano. Wikimedia Commons; CC-BY-SA 4.0