5 lessons I learned from Américo Amorim

Some lessons I learned by working with Américo Amorim:

1. Never rely on anyone. You should not depend on a single supplier, bank, or person. If you offer someone the chance to influence your actions, you are effectively exposing yourself and this will become a source of weakness sooner or later. We live and work in a market economy, you should only depend on the system. Use the system to your own advantage;
2. Walk the talk. Working in a company (or a bank) is a choice and a lifestyle. Some chose to become an artist, a politician or a civil servant – you made your own choice. You will meet people from all walks of life: understand what they expect from you and walk the talk;
3. It is often physical. No-one ever seriously developed a business just by sitting in an office. If you work in an industrial company, you need to talk with people on the shop floor. If you sell a service, you need to meet your clients. Travel if you need to. Spreadsheets are good, being on the ground is absolutely fundamental;
4. Keep your promises, and ask others to keep their own. While some people are good at delivering on what they promised, most are not. Remember what you were promised and demand it. Conversely, you should make a real effort to honour your promises;
5. Talk with everyone – including politicians. While you may have your own political views, you cannot afford to alienate a group of people based on their political views, as you may need their support further down the road. This is more tricky to carry out than you might think, since you should make yourself scarce at the same time. Find that balance.

Failure to launch

See on Scoop.it – Innovation and business models

Innovation is a key component of any enterprise, but failure is an intrinsic, inevitable part of the process. Most products fail, most mergers and acquisitions fail, most projects fail and most startup ventures fail.

See on www.fastcompany.com