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partners appeared on national television’s
Shark Tank
. His product, a paintbrush
cover that helps painters save brushes, time, and money, was an instant hit with
the sharks. They even fought over it. He sealed a deal with product passionista
Lori Greiner.
Fast-forward to today and the product is sold internationally in the world’s
top hardware stores. Just the other day, as I spotted his product showcased in the
Home Depot aisle, I snapped a photo, proud that I had a front-row seat during
its execution. Notwithstanding the financial success this company will have on
Sal’s life, but the experience and contacts he will make in the process are
immeasurable.
Another story born within my forum pages is the story of a Canadian
entrepreneur, Vick. Vick didn’t like the available selection of sunglasses and set
out to create his own. It took him months, from idea to design, manufacturing,
and import, to finally have a product for sale. And more importantly, before
committing to a large inventory expense, he first confirmed demand by taking
preorders. His target market loved the product. Two years after Vick committed
to his vision, he ditched the
SCRIPT
quitting his job. A few months later, he
wrote this:
I have to admit, life is good. We barely work now. Income keeps pouring in. I’m
free to do whatever I want. Hit the gym every day. Go running. Play games. Spend
time with the wife and kid. Drive the R8.
89
Again, there were no lists. No guidebooks. No “turn-key” distributor kits
giving easy access to these opportunities. The process, from idea to creation to
sale, was a marathon of exploration and learning—not a sprint. The process-
principle determines if your product stands a chance at standing out. It’s insight
into the gravity of the problem you’re solving. It also forecasts the strength of
entry barriers once the market validates your product.
NEUTRALIZING ENTRY: EXECUTIONAL EXCELLENCE
If you haven’t noticed, the Commandment of Entry is the Commandment of
Control’s cousin. Whatever lacks control usually lacks entry. In many cases, easy
entry is a part of a shark’s business model—for example, if you make your living
on eBay, Etsy, or Amazon.
Take for instance book publishing.
Virtually anyone with a computer can throw a book onto Amazon—crappy
cover, zero editing, and wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, you’re an author. The
price of easy entry isn’t just the crowd you have to compete against; it’s also
accepting control risk as you’re subordinated to a shark or a corporate overseer.
Nonetheless, just because there is easy entry and weak control doesn’t mean
you can’t succeed at it. Many self-published, indie authors are killing it on
Amazon. Even I do. In affiliate marketing, some seasoned marketers are rolling
in piles of cash selling other companies’ products. And yeah, there is even a
handful of network marketing guys who make bank. Underneath these successes
is the only thing that can overcome the Commandment of Entry:
executional
excellence.
If you insist on violating entry, know that
two
E
s (executional excellence)
conquer one
E
(entry)
. Executional excellence is simply being better than
everyone else. It means you’ve put 10,000 hours into your craft while everyone
else has put in one hundred and quit. Your excellence rises like cream, where you
stand out and can’t be ignored.
Unfortunately, executional excellence is NOT congruent with the mindset of
someone seeking easy entry. When entry is an event, usually the effort is as well.
Look at blogging. It takes a few hours to start a blog, sometimes minutes. How
many dead blogs have one or two posts? Millions.
Likewise, Amazon is littered with “one-book” stag authors who were lured by
easy entry and the prospects of easy money. Unfortunately, when they didn’t find
the results of their effort (their one book) as simple as the entry, they quit,
returning to their exhaustive search for the easy business that will make them the
easy money with the easy effort.
You see, once again, we’re back to the process-principle. Executional
excellence is all about the process, the daily rituals and sacrifices, and the
commitment.
It is your process that matters, not the goals
.
Anyone can trade the financial markets, but how many people are good
enough at it to actually start a hedge fund doing it? How many young boys in
little league baseball would love to play professionally? I’d guess most would love
to play in the majors. And yet, only a tiny percentage will ever make it. Aside
from injuries, executional excellence is the definitive lynchpin behind the rise to
the top. Some players will be at the diamond taking batting practice seven days a
week, six hours a day, while others will be playing video games, doing
homework, or diversifying into other sports because they’re fun.
You see,
the process-principle also holds that if you’re not going to sacrifice to
get into the game, you’re going to need to sacrifice to win the game
. If there’s a
book inside you, by all means, write it. If you want to sit at home and day-trade
the stock market, go ahead and do it. However, expect the expected: Any venture
crowded with opportunists and easified entrepreneurs will require executional
excellence for victory. And that means, prepare to do what others will not.
How many opportunities or ideas have you passed on because “It’s too difficult!” only
later to see someone else solve the problem and make millions?
CHAPTER 35
THE COMMANDMENT OF NEED:
HOW TO ENGINEER OPPORTUNITY IN ANY INDUSTRY
There isn’t anything in the world that can’t be made better.
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