The Profit Prophet

Peter Drucker once noted that companies that seem to have the most success “invent the future that has already happened.” Nice quote, but what does that mean exactly? How can you invent an unknown future that has already happened? I think what he is trying to say is to look for successes in other industries or processes and copy them in yours. Some call this ' translation ' of an idea or concept. Case in point, Dell took made-to-order and catalog sales (what Sears used to do with their Craftsman houses in the early 1900s), and applied it their computer manufacturing. Or how Keller Williams combined the success of ERA with Mary Kay’s multi-level-marketing (MLM) approach to become one of the largest realtors in the nation. Essentially, how you invent the future is to take something that worked well in one industry, and see if it can be translated (moved) into what you are trying to do in another. Great companies are able to “steal” ideas, methodologies, and processes th...

While I did not formulate these 7 cardinal rule of life, I have to agree with the essence of their wisdom. This is a good first step to self-love and finding true happiness, and I hope offers some guidance to those looking for a better life. My only hope is that you find them helpful in your quest to a better, more fulfilling, and accomplished life. 1. Make peace with your past, so it doesn’t spoil your present. Your past does not define your future – your actions and beliefs do. 2. What others think of you is none of your business. It’s how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. 3. Time heals almost everything, give time, time. Pain will be less hurting. Scars make us who we are; they explain our life and why we are the way we are. They challenge us and force us to be stronger. 4. No one is the reason for your own happiness, except you yourself. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. 5. Don’t compare yo...

This is a question I have been asked dozens of times. I have been pretty fortunate and had a great deal of success as an entrepreneur in raising money, and many of my friends, colleagues, and entrepreneurs in waiting have asked me, what does it takes to get investment? Other that knowing someone or doing it once before (that is the easiest way), how can a “nobody” get somebody to invest in your bright idea? There are not a lot of things you can control when it comes to funding, but here are some tips YOU can do that seem to work for me, and hopefully for all those budding entrepreneurs out there as well! It’s all about the sizzle…you are selling smoke and smell, not steak! OK, being in Texas for most of my life (but not a native), I have learned a lot about cattle, steak and sizzle. You want to make their mouths water. When you are “selling” your idea, you have to think more like a televangelists and an engineer, CEO, or businessman. Essentially, you are selling somethin...