Any entrepreneur worth their salt has dreamed of becoming a public figure. Even considering they are slow to the stage, the majority of entrepreneurs do not wish to toil behindRead More
The post 7 Essential Steps to Becoming A Public Figure appeared first on The Entrepreneurs Library.
]]>Any entrepreneur worth their salt has dreamed of becoming a public figure. Even considering they are slow to the stage, the majority of entrepreneurs do not wish to toil behind the curtains forever. Since the turn of the century, we have been graced with the presence of a variety of entrepreneurs and visionaries that have been able to deliver lasting changes in a wide range of different fields.
From the many well-known authors we have had on The Entrepreneurs Library, I have come to learn that any entrepreneur who is thinking about becoming a public figure will excel quickly by learning from other leaders that have found tremendous amounts of success. Here’s a closer look at the essential steps that many leaders today when they first started becoming a public figure.
Andrew Carnegie is one of the first entrepreneurs that we are taught about. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and grew up in a lower class household. His poverty stricken family left his native Scotland to come to America and raise their quality of life. Carnegie used his impoverished childhood as motivation.
Once Carnegie became wealthy, he was not content to sit on top of his stack of money. He reached out to those who were less fortunate, donating tens of thousands of dollars to fund hospitals and libraries. He was also one of the first entrepreneurs who wrote a book about his success, imparting his secrets to others who were in the same position he used to be in.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 20 years, you have heard the name Oprah Winfrey. Oprah is a testament to what you can achieve if you have the willingness to overcome the bad things that have happened in your past and continue to work towards your goals.
Oprah has become an influential public figure because of her eloquence and her ability to speak passionately about the experiences that shaped her. Because of this, people do not see her as a billionaire who is above them, she is seen as a peer, which makes more people want to purchase her products.
No matter who you are or where you are from, you have heard of Steve Jobs. While Jobs may be a polarizing person to many, there is no question that he is an influential public figure. Even in death, his quotes and philosophies are still discussed. The main lesson to be learned from Jobs is to always be yourself.
Jobs has been criticized for his sometimes abrasive approach, but he was able to command respect and become an important public figure because of his honesty and unwavering commitment to his own personal principles.
The Social Network was more than just a movie about the creation of Facebook, it also displayed Mark Zuckerberg‘s best and worst tendencies. While some entrepreneurs would be reticent to allow themselves to be portrayed in an unfavorable light, Zuckerberg gave Hollywood the permission to tell his story, warts and all.
Every entrepreneur is not going to receive the opportunity to tell their story on the big screen. By telling your whole story, you allow your audience to relate to you on a whole new level. It has the effect of humanizing you and showing people that you are far from invincible.
The Huffington Post has become one of the Internet’s most trafficked websites, making a star out of the site’s creator, Ariana Huffington, in the process. Because she provides an important publication service and educates her readers about current business, political and entertainment issues, Ariana Huffington has developed a much higher profile in recent years.
When an entrepreneur provides people with more than a simple product or service, it increases their appetite for knowledge about the person, which eases their transition into a public figure. She has gone from unheralded blogger to the pages of Time magazine, without having to pander to the lowest common denominator.
Martha Stewart is a name known throughout the world and even a prison stint could not deter her businesses. She has been able to endure as a public figure because she has successfully diversified her portfolio. While some may know Stewart from her television persona, others may know her because they purchase her linens or her magazines. Martha even makes appearances on shows like The Apprentice and Comedy Central’s Justin Bieber roast.
Martha’s media presence is varied, which gives her the unique ability to speak to a plethora of different audiences and ensures that her shelf life as a public figure is not artificially shortened. Some entrepreneurs are content to live a low profile life, working in the same field, but to become a public figure, you must be able to reach different segments of the population.
Some may know Mark Cuban as the man who was smart enough to cash out before the tech bubble burst, while others may know him as the outspoken owner of the MBA’s Dallas Mavericks franchise. Mark Cuban is able to remain in the spotlight because of his transparency and ability to tell it like it is.
For instance, Mark was one of the first major entrepreneurs to harness the awesome power of Twitter. His official, verified account now boasts nearly 3 million followers, many of whom do not even follow basketball. He gives his followers valuable insights into the business world and as a result, he has become a beloved public figure.
Top Dog: How To Impress and Influence People Around You by Andy Bounds
Credibility by Jim Kouzes
Powerhouse by Mike Clayton
Pocket Man by Scott Jordan
Charisma on Command by Charlie Houpert
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]]>People who are working towards their financial goals each day will often wonder what it takes to be a billionaire. We are often led to believe that billionaires are differentRead More
The post 7 Successful Attributes Of A Billionaire appeared first on The Entrepreneurs Library.
]]>People who are working towards their financial goals each day will often wonder what it takes to be a billionaire. We are often led to believe that billionaires are different types of people, who are only wealthy because they inherited generational wealth or knew high powered investors during the early stages of their career.
What these people do not know is that billionaires are normal, everyday people just like the rest of us. While some may have inherent advantages, there are several attributes of a billionaire that can be ascribed to most, as well as normal, working class people.
Here are 7 successful attributes of a billionaire shared by many expert authors on The Entrepreneurs Library:
When you research any billionaire’s life story, a common theme emerges. They were willing to outwork everyone else and remained focus, even in the face on extreme adversity. Some would like to believe that becoming a billionaire is the product of luck and genetics, but those who have actually done their homework know that this is not true.
A billionaire does not sleep in until noon. They are up before their competitors and constantly seek out new advantages, so that they can remain ahead of those who are pursuing the same goals. Everyone wants to be a billionaire, but very few are willing to put in the work necessary to do so.
Great book on building work ethics: 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
Once a person decides that their goal is to accrue a billion dollars, they know that this is a long term goal, not a short term pursuit. Being able to keep their eyes on the prize and not be deterred by setbacks is what separates a billionaire from the pack. They know that there will be issues that arise along the way and they do not allow themselves to become frazzled by them.
Without patience, it is incredibly difficult to become a billionaire. No one ever has a smooth path to their goals and financial pursuits are no different. Being blessed with the patience to realize that there is a solution to every problem and knowing whether you need to stay the course is incredibly crucial when you are on the road to riches.
Great book on managing patience and stress: Performing Under Pressure by Hendrie Weisinger
This is the attribute that confuses those who are not already billionaires themselves. Since someone has more money than they can spend, it seems somewhat foolish to let it sit in a bank account. But it is more crucial for a billionaire to have assets on hand to make transactions that can boost their financial status even further.
It takes money to make money in the modern business world. While it may be fun to blow your new earnings on a mansion, a fleet of luxury cars and a private jet, these are all items that depreciate in value the moment they are purchased. A billionaire is focused on remaining a billionaire does not make these types of purchases. They realize the importance of having liquid assets at the ready.
Great book on building wealth: Get Rich with Dividends by Marc Lichtenfeld
In order to become a billionaire, you need a new and interesting idea, a fresh take on things. One person’s route to earning a billion dollars is not going to be the same as the next person’s. To capture the attention the public, you need to think about the voids that exist in everyday life and find a way to fill them.
A person cannot come up with an inventive plan by thinking just like everyone else. They need to think outside of the box, which is an attribute shared by most billionaires. They know how to think differently than their peers and will zig when most have decided to zag.
Great book on innovation and creativity: Anticipate by Rob-Jan de Jong
Being insightful is about more than being book smart. Being insightful is all about knowing how to read people and deliver what they want. An insightful billionaire is one who knows that their wealth is not the be all/end all. They are constantly searching for ways to remain in tune with the world around them.
Once a person ceases to be insightful, they are no longer as useful to their clientele. A person with lack of insight is a person who does not have their finger on the pulse of what is currently happening in the world.
Great book on being insightful: Credibility by James Kouzes
Becoming a billionaire does not happen because the person decided to stand pat and stop taking risks of any kind. It happened because they were willing to stick their neck out for a cause that they truly believed in. Billionaires do not sit around and wait for things to happen, they make things happen.
The only way to make things happen is to take risks. This does not mean that a billionaire simply lunges at the first opportunity that comes their way. These risks are typically taken in a calculated manner and considered from every angle. Taking risks is a foolish endeavor when they are not properly considered beforehand.
Great book on taking smart risks: The Metronome Effect by Shannon Susko
What gets a billionaire through the hard times? Their unwavering belief in themselves. A person who has an unshakable belief in themselves can conquer any problem that comes along and reach any goal that they set for themselves. They do not wait for pep talks from close friends or read self help books.
They simply dig down deep within and find courage in places that they did not even know existed. They do not allow naysayers to deter them in any way and they know that everything they are doing is done with a purpose in mind.
Great book on confidence: Top Dog: Impress and Influence Everyone Around You by Andy Bounds
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]]>A summary of things you should know about Credibility according to James Kouzes: Introduction In this episode James Kouzes reveals all his insights on Credibility where he discusses how successfulRead More
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]]>In this episode James Kouzes reveals all his insights on Credibility where he discusses how successful leaders gain credibility, lose their credibility and why people demand credibility.
In his book Kouzes and co-author Barry Posner provide you years of research, case studies, and data that uncover 6 disciplines that build true, long-lasting credibility that leadership experts are good at gaining. The goal of the book is to help you understand the basics of building credibility and why it is important for the growth of your personal and professional success.
This book is perfect for entrepreneurs who are involved in every aspect in managing a business yet need help reinforcing their leadership abilities and building trust with others.
Many people talk about integrity and honesty as a leadership quality and intuitively that makes sense. But a couple guys at a university take that question to be also an empirical one. As so we decided to do research on that topic and found that’s one of the fundamental differences between our work and other people who write on leadership. Our work is evidence based and backed by many interviews with people who are practitioners. This book also specifically addresses what leaders can do to earn and sustain credibility.
It’s important that you start with the first couple of chapters and take a look at how we arrived at the conclusion that credibility is the foundation of leadership. From there you can read what is most relevant to you at the moment.
Remember the phase credibility is the foundation of leadership and behaviorally that is defined as do what you will say you will do.
How we came to the conclusion that credibility is the foundation of leadership is we asked people what they look for and admire in leaders. So in the opening of the book we talk about what we discovered. We discovered that there are four qualities which people consistently and globally have selected as the most important qualities that they would look for in a leader they would willingly follow. At the top of the list is honesty and that’s followed by being forward looking, then competent, and then inspiring. Three of those four words that people look for and admire in a leader make up what researchers call source credibility which is defined as trustworthiness or honesty, competence or expertise, and dynamism or being inspiring and upbeat. Those three comprise source credibility or what it takes for you to believe in someone who is delivering a message. And when they are speaking you have to believe that the person has integrity, that they are expert in what they are talking about, and that they have some energy that they put behind it. With that as the foundation we asked the people that were involved in our research to answer the question what is credibility behaviorally, how do you know it when you see it. People look for somebody who does what he/she says they will do and that observation about behavioral credibility lead then to us taking a look at what one does to sustain credibility. We came up with a framework that has three parts to it. And from that there were six disciplines which are discover yourself, appreciate continuance, affirmed shared values, develop capacity, serve a purpose, and lastly is to sustain hope.
NOTE: That was just a summary. To get the full deep dive, play the audio clip at 04:37
“If you don’t believe in the messenger you won’t believe the message.” – Kouzes and Posner first law of leadership.
I am co-author of The Leadership Challenge with Barry Posner which was our first book. I am also Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership at The Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University.
Barry and I wrote our first paper together at Santa Clara University where we met on shared values make a difference and that was in the early 80’s. And as part of that research we asked the question what do you look for and admire in a leader. And we found then, and when we did research on our second publication together, we asked that same question again and found a similar response. And that response was that essentially credibility is the foundation of leadership and so we decided that our second book together would be about that topic.
Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer
Give and Take by Adam Grant
Buy Credibility by James Kouzes on Amazon today
Visit LeadershipChallenge.com to learn more about James and his books
Follow James Kouzes on Twitter
Download the full transcript here (coming soon)
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher , and SoundCloud
Related books:
The Prosperous Leader by Jacob Engel
Powerhouse by Mike Clayton
Pocket Man by Scott Jordan
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