On The BIGG Success Show today, we wrapped up our conversation with Les McKeown about his new fantastic new book, The Synergist. Les started over 40 companies before launching Predictable Success, a business education and consulting company that helps organizations of all sizes – from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies.

Last time, we talked about why you need to adopt the Synergist style in your business and why everyone needs to take a synergistic approach when dealing with their co-workers.

Click a player to hear Les talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.

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• what it means if you’re a combination of personalities
  
• the dominant and secondary type which is very rare
  
• why many people with this combo become consultants
  
• how to tell if you are a natural Synergist
  
• why the Synergist helps you make decisions more efficiently
  
• how to learn to adopt the Synergist style in your organization
  
• the mechanical issues that each personality type needs to address
  
• why some businesses only need two of the four personality types
  

Are you a Visionary, an Operator, a Processor, or a Synergist? Les has a free personality quiz to help you find out. Check it out today!

We thank Les for the generous gift of his time and wisdom. And thank you for listening to this series.

Until next time, here’s to your BIGG success!

Hear more in this series
Les McKeown on The Synergist – Part 1
Les McKeown on The Synergist – Part 2

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00776-012612.mp3

We continued our discussion on The BIGG Success Show with Les McKeown about his new book The Synergist. Les started over 40 companies before launching Predictable Success, a business education and consulting company that helps organizations of all sizes – from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies.

Last time, Les told us about three of the four business personalities, and how they work together in an organization to create stability and success.

Click a player to hear Les talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.


iPhone/iPad/Mobile Podcast Player

• why the three main personality types form an unstable triangle
  
• common conflicts between the personalities
  
• how these conflicts can hold a business back
  
• how highly successful businesses punch through this stranglehold
  
• why the Synergist is the stabilizing force
  
• how to become the Synergist

Hear more in this series
Les McKeown on The Synergist – Part 1
Les McKeown on The Synergist – Part 3

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00775-012512.mp3

We were thrilled to visit with a returning guest on The BIGG Success Show today. Les McKeown started over 40 companies before launching Predictable Success, a business education and consulting company that helps organizations of all sizes – from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies.

We talked with him about his latest book,
The Synergist.

Click a player to hear Les talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.


iPhone/iPad/Mobile Podcast Player

• why Les wrote this sequel to his first book, Predictable Success
  
• the four personalities present in every growing business
  
• the strengths of each of those personalities
  
• how they work together
  
• which personality types work best with each other

Hear more in this series:
Les McKeown on The Synergist – Part 2
Les McKeown on The Synergist – Part 3

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00774-012412.mp3

Yes, you’re reading it right. Sometimes it pays to do nothing.

Let’s look at two situations where this may be the case.

Hold

As Kenny Rogers sang in The Gambler, “you gotta know when to hold ‘em.”

We’ve witnessed extreme volatility in the stock market. But in spite of that, we’ve held tight.

Research still shows that most people who pull their money out and then put it back in tend to buy high and sell low. It’s the exact opposite of what you want to do.

The same may be true for your business. Right now is probably not the best time to sell. The value of small businesses tend to follow the stock market.

So you might want to hold for now until market prices recover and credit is more generally available. In the meantime, keep making money and improving the business.

Of course, you should always consult with your professional advisors about the specifics of your situation.

Wait

In a go-go-go, gotta-have-it-now world, this may seem like strange advice. But sometimes it pays to wait.

For example, it may pay to wait to start a business. You may have a good idea but the market isn’t there right now.

Or you may want to wait until you gain some relevant experience. Or because you’re almost vested in your company’s retirement plan.

Most things in life aren’t now or never. Wait is a viable option.

Sometimes doing nothing helps you reach BIGG success faster!

Image in this post from Fanginhoon

We were recently walking through the retail business area of our campus – our campus “downtown” you might call it. In the middle of the main block, two storefronts in a row were boarded up.

It’s a reminder that small businesses fail. The dreams of two or more entrepreneurs were unrealized. Lives were disrupted. Money may have been lost.

The most cited number is misinterpreted

Like us, you’ve probably heard it over and over again. It usually goes something like this:

“Starting a business is risky. Ninety percent of all entrepreneurial ventures fail within the first year.”

Some people say two years or five years. It doesn’t matter; the number is daunting.

We think the origin of this number stems from The State of Small Business: A Report to the President for the year 1994. We got it via Entrepreneurial Finance by Janet Kilholm Smith and Richard Smith.

The 90% number so often quoted is a misinterpretation of the data. The research actually showed that nearly 91 businesses ceased operations for every 100 startups, on average for the five years from 1990 to 1994.

To understand the misunderstanding, let’s say 100 new jobs were created in the past year while 91 people got laid off. Would we say we had a 91% job loss rate? Or would we say the net gain is 9 jobs?

When it comes to jobs, net gains are reported. When the subject is startups, the failure rate is cited. Why the difference?

The actual failure rate of startups

Scott Shane takes a different approach in his excellent book, The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By. His data shows that, if 100 entrepreneurial ventures were started today, the expected number of failures each year would be:

While his numbers look a whole lot better, the odds are still stacked against startup entrepreneurs. But statistics are funny things.

The failure rate for employees

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released the results of a long-term study on labor market mobility. You can go to their news release if you want the details. In general, they showed that if 100 people started a new job today, only 67 would still hold that same job in a year. In five years, only 32 will hold the same position in five years.

So the survival rate for jobs is lower than the survival rate for startups!

We can hear the chorus of objections.

Some of these employees may have been promoted.

Others may have elected to take another job – maybe even a better one.

Of course, some were involuntarily let go.

Even then, many of them may have been eligible for unemployment.

In any case, they didn’t have money at risk like entrepreneurs do.

The number rarely discussed

Well said! However, it also highlights what we often ignore when we cite statistics about the failure rate of startups:

Some of the startup entrepreneurs may have ceased operations for a better opportunity – as an employee or an entrepreneur.

And then there’s the statistic we haven’t talked about yet. In fact, almost no one ever talks about it. Its source is the same as the 90% statistic mentioned earlier.

Only 9% of startups cease operations with unpaid obligations, on average.

Few entrepreneurs actually walk away owing money. They may have lost what they invested. However, no one else did. Suddenly, entrepreneuring doesn’t sound quite as risky as we are led to believe by popular lore

Freedom or security is the age old argument. It turns out there are risks in both employment and entrepreneuring. Successful entrepreneurs are masters at risk mitigation.

You can reduce the risk of leaving your job with a little advance preparation. Test yourself against these 10 signs you’re ready to quit your job and start a business. And check out The Entrepreneur Equation by the amazing Carol Roth.

Image in this post from nosheep