Eleven Principles

I was president of a venture capital firm for seven years. The VC firm was primarily funded by Ewing Kauffman, the billionaire owner of the Kansas City Royals, founder of Marion Labs and founder of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation - an organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship. Here are “11” principles from the “CEO 50” that I developed regarding a balanced business and personal management style.

The money pie. Don’t worry about the size of your slice. Your job is to make sure everyone has a slice and then to focus on making the pie bigger.

Education. From time to time, have your staff take a class at a local college. It will stimulate new thinking. Our minds, just like our stomachs, need some new foods periodically. Feed both. Make a list of things you would like to do, then take a class in one of them. You grow by your decisions and your actions; you atrophy by indecision and inaction.

Encourage all. Become an encourager in your business. Forget the petty jealousies, perceived sleights’ and rise above everyone’s imperfections, including your own. The high road is the road less taken; it is clearly steeper, but it has the best view. Encourage your partners to be the best they can be, and to play the hand they are dealt.

Time. Don’t waste it. It is an indeterminate gift. You do not know how much you are given. “Tempus fugit” is not a random Latin phrase with no basis in fact. Do work on those things you can control. The future always arrives. I founded a VC funded business more than 30 years ago with the initials EDC, “Every Day Counts.” We won awards from Fortune and Business Week magazines. The initials still resonate.

Responsibility. Take it. It’s your business. Once you are past 12, you need to own your failures; you already take full credit for your successes. There is no one in your way, but you.

Pride. Get rid of it. It’s useless. It gets in the way of success. It sucks the life out of you because it can never be satisfied. Pride has an insatiable appetite for wanting things that are destructive. Pride generally originates from a personal success that we have given ourselves too much individual credit for. It was really just a lucky bounce not a great shot. And if we are taller and have seen more, it is because we stood on someone else’s shoulders.

Spirituality. Find it. It takes some faith. Listen, when you are alone and quiet, and you will hear the answer.

Thank you. Thank someone every day. It will make your day better. You say you are too busy. Nonsense! You have time. It takes about a minute. Do not kid yourself; you have plenty of people to thank. When was the last time you took the time to write an employee a thank you card? Not for a birthday, but just a simple thank you. If you write one thank you card a day, I guarantee you; your life will change in a month. You will feel better.

Appreciation. Who do you appreciate? Do you tell them? Do you show them? Do you want to be appreciated? Then, you must appreciate someone else? Appreciate your staff and you will be appreciated.

Advice. Get some. Take it. Most people don’t.

Criticism. Get some. Ask for it. Beg for it. It is such a precious commodity that most people will not freely give it to you. Yet, you simply can not become better at anything without it. Hold your criticizer close to your heart because it is the only way to improve. From your marriage to your business, to your relationship with your friends, criticism is the basis for improvement. If you are so happy with yourself that you believe you can not become better, then reject all forms of criticism. Most ordinary people do. Extraordinary people never do.