The Blog Of Greg Rollett

Surrounding yourself with A players is something successful people talk about all the time. I always thought it was true, but never acted upon it thoroughly till this year. In the past 10+ months I have changed the people I hang around, talk business with and chat for advice with from startup young entrepreneurs, to already successful business rock stars and things have drastically changed.

I spent last week in NYC with B. Smith, who has 300+ licensed products in Bed, Bath and Beyond, had a network tv show for 7+ years, owns 3 restaurants in Manhattan, The Hamptons and Washington D.C. Seeing what she has been able to accomplish and that she still has the drive for more gets me excited t be surrounded by people like her. And that is just the tip of the ‘ol iceberg.

This week in the inbox, I got a nice little note from FSB Associates a out a new book from Brian Tracy and Mark Thompson called “Now…Build A Great Business.” One of the main factors in creating their idea of a great business is surrounding yourself with great people. Below is a great excerpt from the book, which you can grab from Amazon if you need some reading over the weekend (the book drops on November 17th).

“The best thing about giving of ourselves is that what we get is always better than what we give. The reaction is better than the action.”
– ORISON SWETT MARDEN

The greatest untapped natural resource and the most expensive in any organization is its people. Motivating people to make their full contribution to the organization is the fastest way that managers can multiply their personal effectiveness. It’s the only way to grow a great company.

This means that the greatest improvement in performance and in results can come from unlocking and unleashing the latent potential of the average person in the business.

The People Equation

Getting the people equation right is the hardest thing you will ever do in business. When discussing this subject with Mark, Charles Schwab leaned forward as if to confide a secret. “Your job as a leader is to find, attract, and develop other leaders. If you do that, your business will grow,” he whispered. “If you don’t, it won’t. It’s that simple.”

Chuck Schwab learned early in life to surround himself with people who not only shared his ambitions, but who were more gifted than he was in important parts of the business. If he wanted to make progress and get things done, he had to become a team leader.

Schwab discovered something entrepreneurs often realize when it’s too late: He had great talent in one area and not nearly enough skill in many other facets of his company. The only way to sustain his success was by finding, recruiting, and empowering others who had talents that he didn’t have. It is a skill that few entrepreneurs learn until they have a crisis that teaches it to them.

“Most entrepreneurs think that they’re brilliant at everything,” Schwab smiled wryly. “It’s never true. I thought I was a bright fellow,” he said (and he is!), but he admitted that he was “humiliated in subjects like literature and language.” The second time he flunked they nearly threw him out of college.
“When your name is on the door you are responsible, more than ever. But if you actually end up doing everything, then the business is in danger,” he said. If everything depends on you, the business can’t grow. If it’s all about you, you are just one traffic accident away from bankruptcy.

Until you can trust other people to carry the torch, your company can only get as big as your workweek. When you have found people you can groom to fill your shoes, “only then have you graduated from being an entrepreneur to a leader,” Schwab said.

For more information on the book, go ahead and check it out on BrianTracy.com.

To go ahead and grab a copy of the book, head on over to Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links, where I will make a few bones to grab a few beers with my new friends, if you decide to buy something after clicking your mousy, mouse on the links.