willing to dedicate the time it takes to achieve mastery , but those who do enjoy great rewards as a result .
Success doesn ’ t come easily in any field , especially not in business , but the rewards of working hard are great : knowledge , experience , a sense of purpose and community impact .
Business is a marathon . To win at the end you need both endurance and speed . Those come as a result of two different types of putting the work in . And if you , like Harry , are willing to give the necessary time and effort to learning , growing , practicing and participating you will reap these benefits in business and in life .
2
Understand that failure is a prerequisite for success .
Let ’ s hop out of the fantasy life of Harry Potter and into the real life of the Harry Potter author , J . K . Rowling . You may not know but she was a struggling single mother when she wrote the famous series .
Believe it or not , she was rejected by a dozen publishers before someone took a chance on the soon-to-be-famous books .
How easy would it have been for her to give up ? After all , she had a daughter to take care of ! But she had big dreams that she was not ready to let go of . Because she didn ’ t give up , she is now one of the most successful authors in the world .
Little failures can result in big success . Remember the famous Thomas Edison quote on how he kept himself motivated in his endeavor to invent the lightbulb ?
“ I have not failed . I ’ ve just found 10,000 ways that won ’ t work .”
Failure is a part of any business as well ; however , don ’ t dwell on your mistakes . Just learn from them and apply your lessons accordingly . Consider them as a steppingstone or something you must overcome before you reach success .
3
Have a team .
There is only one Harry Potter , the chosen one ; but he did not do it alone . He understood that he could not fight the fight alone . It takes a team . In his case it took a village ; he had helpers , doers , mentors , teachers and subject matter experts surrounding him .
Harry Potter sought and accepted help ; he welcomed help . Harry knew he couldn ’ t do it all on his own , and that ’ s why he recruited the help of friends .
Plus , Harry had a strong core-team who showed a complete alignment towards outcomes , great care for each other and had complementary skill sets . Harry knew they needed to work together , not just for themselves but also for a cause bigger than any one of them could handle on their own .
In business , it is hard to assemble a team . It is hard to manage a team . It is hard to financially afford a competent team . But having your team of helpers and experts is vital for the success of your business .
Consider your external team members ( such as your Bookkeeper , CPA , Tax Preparer , Attorney , Marketing Consultant ) among your team . Choose wisely . Even when it comes to choosing
vendors , make sure they understand your business , can repeat what you do and even refer business to you . A diverse group of thinkers helps you grow in areas where you may not be as knowledgeable or skilled .
4
Unlock what is already inside you . Harry Potter was a wizard from birth but did not know until his 11th birthday when Hagrid showed up to his house to take him school shopping for Hogwarts .
Harry had to be told of the power he had inside of him in order to know how to pursue who he was created to be .
In the business world , this is often true . Though a big , hairy man does not show up to our houses and tell us of the skills we have , we have to discover them in order to grow them and use them . This can be through a few different avenues : someone close having that conversation with us , trial-and-error or even through finding where our passions lie . Figure out what skills you already have and focus on improving those instead of putting so much attention on the areas you lack .
You will learn to perfect those skills and you will see tremendous growth in your business as a result .
In the same way that you notice these qualities in yourself , seek to notice them in employees and future employees . See the potential . Learn how to lead them to growth and improvement . Only then will you get to see the results for which you hoped .
Binge-watching the Harry Potter series all at once provided a view into his entire journey . J . K . Rowling takes us from his start , to what and who helped him and what gets in his way and ultimately to what makes him happy and successful .
It is not always easy to see ourselves in the context of the entire journey . It was nice to be reminded that the magic may be in not giving up and believing that your ideas and abilities can make a difference .
Credits : Big thanks to my helpers and collaborators for this article : Sarah Yingling , Michelle Taing , Deborah Wotursky .
Office Divvy provides teams to over two dozen clients .
Make sure to check out Office Divvy ’ s “ Your Team ” offerings at
OfficeDivvy . com / Your-Team and see how we can help your business with operational solutions .
Ky Ekinci is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Office Divvy . He is an entrepreneur , a trusted advisor , a world traveler , a Coworking advocate , and an appreciator of fine cigars .
OCTOBER 2021 | 27 |