As I get older, I realize that in business, and my personal life, the same things keep happening over and over. I ignore warning signs, because I don’t want to end a relationship with a person, business, or spiritual group. But, as I get older, although this type of mistake keeps happening, it happens less and less, since I’m getting wiser and developing more will power.
Business is not rocket science. There is an element of skill, industry knowledge, analysis, and management suave. But, a lot of business is really just common sense. I’m reminded that as a child, I knew an elderly Palestinian man who told me that business is about having common sense and guts! He wouldn’t trust someone with a PhD to pour him a cup of coffee, he said! I know many intellectuals who can’t function in the real world. That old guy was right! A lot of your strength in business comes from paying attention, seeing the signs, and having the discipline to make the right decision.
If you see someone who lacks discipline, doesn’t get back to you, has an attitude problem, or is doing something wrong, there is a problem. Replacing people takes time and comes at a cost. That is where the apathy about replacing them happens. As I get older, I realize that the cost of NOT replacing a bad person is a cost that keeps being incurred day after day.
Keep a raised eye-brow whenever you see any bad sign in anyone. The minute you see that bad sign, start comparing them not to one other competitor, but to hundreds. In this world, you need all the choices you can get, because all of them are defective in one way or the other, so optimize your choice as well as you can.