This weekend two little girls put up a lemonade stand next door. They did this on a day when several neighbors were doing lawn work, moving furniture and hanging out. Of course, I take every opportunity to support budding entrepreneurs. When I went to buy a glass I noticed they were charging 15 cents for a half glass and 50 cents for a full glass! Well, I shared with them how they could make more money by charging 30 cents for the half glass. One of the little girls smiled at me and told me nobody was buying the half glasses anyway! They had every expectation of being successful. Obviously business was good.
What can we learn from the mouth of babes, i.e., what was their executive strategy? They instinctively wanted to be successful – even at selling lemonade. The basic instinct to succeed is deeply ingrained in people. I asked them what they were going to do with the money they made and they said, “Buy more lemonade.” Someone somewhere taught them a lesson or two. I hope that someone somewhere doesn’t step on their entrepreneurial spirit.
Unbeknownst to them, these two little girls realized that they could feel good, have fun, and make money by providing a service (pouring, convenience) and a product (lemonade). They found a need (thirsty customers) and serviced it. Their customer service was exceptional – genuine, sweet smiles, and cute eyes looking back. Certainly, all they set out to do was have fun! The rest just fell into place – they were getting results!
What happens in the business world when executives stop having fun? First, they get extremely boring to everyone around them. After they are busy boring others they get extremely bored themselves. Boredom leads to complacency and complacency leads to frustration and frustration leads to depression. Sounds awful, doesn’t it? But this happens more often than we realize. Then starts the game of hiding or covering up what is really going on. People replace legitimate fun with dysfunctional schemes and behaviors (more on that later). Second, they take themselves too seriously, begin to under-achieve and experience premature stress burnout.
This leads to poor decision-making, poor thinking, and poor socialization.
How can high achieving executives nurture their ‘need to succeed’ instinct and do it while having fun? Enjoyment of the work you do is an essential ingredient to success, personal and professional. Enjoyment creates a positive attitude; a positive attitude builds a productive work ethic; a productive work ethic builds high character which attracts people and opportunities for success.
These little girls did all of the above naturally. When we grow up, unfortunately, we need to make a concentrated effort to stay that way.
