The Zigzag Principle: The Goal Setting Strategy that will Revolutionize Your Business and Your Life - Hardcover

CHRISTIANSEN

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0071774580 ISBN 13: 9780071774581

Verlag: McGraw Hill, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

Zigzag Your Way to Success! Have you ever set your sights on the top of a mountain and then started your ascent by heading straight through the trees and up the sheer cliffs? Or driven in your car to the other side of town-as the crow flies? Of course not! Because you instinctively know that, just as a river has to wend its way around obstacles, the best route is never actually a straight line! In The Zigzag Principle, Rich Christiansen applies a foundational law of nature to business management, entrepreneurship, goal-setting, and life in general as he explores why zigzagging toward our intended outcomes is more effective than trying to bulldoze our way through whatever stands between us and our objectives. Christiansen helps you get started, make your way over the big hill to initial profitability, and minimize risks along the way. A s the head of well-established corporations and as the brains behind numerous start-ups, Christiansen has been through it all, and he's charted all the zigs and zags you'll encounter. In The Zigzag Principle, he documents everything he has learned, including how to: Identify your destination Create a defined set of values to help you as your business finds its way Add resources and hire the right people, as you turn the cash you have into fuel for more Replicate your successes to bring your product to the masses Protect your resources, your family, and your sanity The simplicity of a straight line can be seductive. But it's not a realistic way to go about achieving your goals, because you will always come upon unexpected obstacles in the road. Zigzagging requires you to be nimble and flexible, to "bootstrap," and to be able to take advantage of multiple opportunities. What it delivers is success-in business and in life-far beyond your initial plans and dreams. Use The Zigzag Principle to assess your resources, use them to their fullest, and keep yourself and your team motivated-all while living a life of balance. Praise for The Zigzag Principle "Rock-solid principles so simple that you will read this book wondering how you could have missed seeing truths that are so obvious." -Stephen R. Covey, bestselling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People "Our economy will be saved and grow again through the industry of focused entrepreneurs who will hire thousands of employees to meet the needs of customers. This thoughtful and inspired book will guide creative and energized business men and women to accomplish their loftiest dreams and restore America's prosperity once again." -Alan E. Hall, entrepreneur, angel investor, venture capitalist, cofounder of Mercato Partners "The Zigzag Principle is the new way of doing business. It will increase your chances of success by 90 percent and eliminate so much of the stress that business owners face." -Garrett Gunderson, New York Times bestselling author of Killing Sacred Cows "The Zigzag Principle has revolutionized the way I run my business. It works, it measures, it performs. Every business should know and implement this principle!" -Curtis Blair, cofounder and general manager, Froghair "Rich Christiansen is one of the most insightful, practical, and cost-conscious entrepreneurs in the world today. Listen to Rich. He won't steer you wrong." -Roy H. Williams, author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling Wizard of Ads trilogy "I don't believe entrepreneurship is something you can truly learn from a book. Everyone has to make their own mistakes. Nevertheless, if you've already made some mistakes then you'll find The Zig Zag Principle to be a no b.s. guide to starting, nurturing and succeeding at entreprene

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Rich Christiansen spent the first half of his career as an executive, running the PC division of Mitsubishi Electronics, working at Novell, and becoming general manager of About.com. Today, he is in high demand as a mentor and small business consultant. Christiansen is coauthor of Bootstrap Business: A Step-by-Step Business Survival Guide.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

The Zigzag Principle

The Goal-Setting Strategy That Will Revolutionize Your Business and Your Life

By Rich Christiansen

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Mountain Grabbers, LLC
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-07-177458-1

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Deliberate Detours
ONE Assessing Resources—What's in Your Pocket?
TWO Beacons in the Fog and Catalyzing Statements
THREE Values—A Firm Foundation
FOUR Zig Number 1—Drive to Profitability
FIVE Zag Number 2—Adding Processes and Resources
SIX Zig Number 3—Adding Scale
SEVEN Boundaries and Guardrails
EIGHT Rewards—Finding Hidden Treasures
NINE Avoiding the All-or-Nothing Trap
Index

Excerpt

<h2>CHAPTER 1</h2><p><b><i>Assessing Resources—What's in Your Pocket?</i></b></p><br><p>After I wrote my first book, <i>Bootstrap Business</i>, which told the story ofhow my partner, Ron Porter, and I took $5,000 and within one year grew it into a$1.2 million business, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by GarrettGunderson for a national radio show. Garrett is the author of the <i>New YorkTimes</i> bestseller, <i>Killing Sacred Cows</i>, and he started the interviewby asking, "Rich, tell me about how you started this last business." I said,"Oh, I took $5,000 and ..." Garrett interrupted me midsentence and said, "No! Noyou didn't."</p><p>I was kind of stunned and tried to explain, "Well, yes, I actually <i>did</i>start it with $5,000." He corrected me again, "No you didn't." And I retorted,"Yes, I did!"</p><p>After what I initially thought was a rather awkward beginning, Garrett went onto explain that the $5,000 my partner and I put up was the smallest part of theequation. In fact, in his words, the money was really meaningless. And in makingthat point, Garrett was teaching an invaluable lesson.</p><p>Most people assume we need to have money to succeed in business and to reach ourgoals in life. If we want to start a business, the reasoning goes, we first needcapital. If we're given a major project at work, we immediately want to knowwhat our budget is. If we want to take our family on a much-needed vacation, thefirst thing we do is check the balance of our bank account (or, if we reallyenjoy paying interest, our credit cards). That view develops a straight-linementality as we undertake whatever we have set our sights on—whether it'sa house, a business, a contribution to our team at work, a strong marriage and astable family ... you name it. But if all you think in terms of is how muchmoney you need to achieve your goals, you're missing the fact that success isactually the result of identifying and maximizing a couple of foundationalresources that have nothing to do with our traditional view of "capital" andhave everything to do with zigzagging toward our intended outcome.</p><p>The point Garrett was making was that Ron and I succeeded because of what hecalls "The Value Equation," which is that <i>mental capital</i> (meaning ourknowledge, skills, talents, and passions) plus our <i>relationship capital</i>(meaning the quality of our relationships with a broad pool of friends andassociates) will equal <i>financial capital</i>.</p><p>Yes, at some point money is often needed if we are to reach our goals. But thatform of capital will grow out of the knowledge and the relationships we have,and the pace at which it grows will be influenced in large measure by ourpassion. If you need proof of this point, consider this extremely condensed listof transformative businesses that got their start in a college dorm room orgarage: Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Google. And while thefounders of each of these companies are now household names worth billions, theyall began with little more than their smarts and their passion to achieve theirgoals, combined with their networks of friends.</p><p>This view of capital is very different from how most of us think aboutresources, and most people get the equation backwards. We think, "If only I hadsome money, I could reach my goals or realize my dreams." Money cannot buildintelligence, relationships, or passion. But intelligence, relationships, andpassion can always yield money. Coming to this view, though, may require you toadjust your thinking.</p><p>A few years after I graduated from college with a degree in electronicengineering, I enrolled in an executive MBA program while working for Novell,then the pioneer in computer networking (and yet another company founded by fourguys with little capital, a bright idea, and a lot of passion—who are nowmultimillionaires). The vice president in charge of the division where I workedwas Dave Owens. As I neared the completion of my MBA, I was preparing to move toanother division in the company. Before I made the move, Dave called me into hisoffice and asked me a simple question: "Rich, who do you work for?" The answerseemed obvious, and I told him I worked for him. His response was "Wrong!" andthat was the end of that meeting.</p><p>A week later he called me back in and again asked me, "Rich, who do you workfor?" Well, I had been thinking about his question, and this time I confidentlytold him, "Novell!" Again, he told me I was wrong. A week or so later, hisadministrative assistant made yet another appointment. I rather timidly wentinto his office, only to be asked the same question for the third time. But thistime when he asked, "Who do you work for?" I answered, "I work for myself."</p><p>Finally, I had found tthe right answer, and as a result my view of resourcesshifted dramatically. Whether we work for someone or are off on our own,,,, seeing<i>ourselves</i> as the person we work for will light a fire under us toidentify the resources we can access, rather than waiting for buckets of moneyto appear through venture capital coups or budget allocations.</p><br><p><b>What Are Your Resources?</b></p><p>Now that you know who you work for, you need to take an honest look at twothings: what your resources are right now and where they can take you.</p><p>I currently drive an Audi A6. I love this car, and I love going on road trips init. No matter the distance or destination, I know I'm going to get there, and Iknow I'll travel in comfort. I can sing along with my favorite music on thesatellite radio, and my biggest worry is that my speed will creep up to thepoint where I'll get a ticket. Driving this car is an absolute pleasure!</p><p>My Audi A6 is dramatically different from what I drove in college. When my wifeand I were first married, we drove a 1972 Dodge Colt that had been...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: McGraw Hill
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0071774580
• ISBN 13: 9780071774581
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 208
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland