LETTER FROM THE CEO
The Necessity Of Being Unreasonable To Get Rich
T he Will To Win . Cold Hard Truth . Rise and Grind . All of these are the titles of books written by the Sharks we had onstage this year at our annual IT Sales and Marketing Boot Camp . Who wrote what isn ’ t important . The point is , getting rich in business is not that complicated , but it does require unreasonable standards .
Often you can reduce how to succeed in business to simple statements . You must have the will to win , not just the wish to win . You must have your feet planted in the truth of how things work , not how you ’ d hope they will work or how you think they should work . You rise early and grind , not fool around on Facebook while drinking coffee , meandering through your day at an easy , casual pace , minus goals and self-imposed deadlines .
Simply put , it ’ s all in the decision to be unreasonable in your standards and expectations for yourself — a concept I learned from Tony Robbins over two decades ago that stuck . You ’ ve heard me say about clients , vendors and employees : You get what you tolerate . That holds true for you as well .
If you aren ’ t willing to set high standards for yourself as the CEO — to demand exceptional growth , exceptional profitability , exceptional service — you can ’ t expect your employees and vendors to step in and do it for you . Average motivation , average execution , average work ethic gets average results . Average is , by definition , mediocrity . You cannot be mediocre and rich . The competition is too tough , the hurdles to overcome too high .
In football , they say , “ How you practice is how you play .” General Schwarzkopf talked about the concept of demanding his troops had cleaned , polished shoes at all times . He was considered unreasonable in his requirements for this , but explained it when he said , “ Shined shoes save lives ,” meaning it reminded his troops to pay attention to the small details , and in doing so , would result in attention to detail in the big things . Another way of saying this : how you do anything is how you do everything .
My friends in the restaurant business have told me that if a restaurant ’ s bathrooms are dirty , you ought not eat there . That ’ s the exact reason why I walked out of one hospital to go to another when having my second child . Dirty bathrooms , messy registration desk , and a poor check-in process . Do you need to know any more ? If they can ’ t keep the bathroom clean , how are they going to keep the operating room clean ? Answer : They won ’ t .
Shark Panel Interview with Robin at the IT Sales & Marketing Boot Camp in April 2023 , from left ; Kaseya ' s CEO Fred Voccola , Daymond John , Kevin O ' Leary , Robert Herjavec and TMT ' s CEO , Robin Robins .
Too many people have gotten supremely lazy about their intensity at work and have zero expectations of themselves for productivity . COVID just accelerated this with the now rampant work-from-home movement , with people showing up to “ the office ” on a Zoom call looking like they slept in the clothes they have on , unprepared , with poor lighting , choppy internet , and a microphone that doesn ’ t work , sitting in a corner of their bedroom with a pile of laundry on one side and a half-naked kid roaming around in the background in a saggy diaper while they slurp coffee from a mug that says “ Clients Suck .”
At the top , where the big money is earned , you see “ unreasonable ” CEOs demanding unreasonable performance and results . My staff have a button that says “ U . P . A .” on it , which stands for “ unreasonable , picky asshole .” That ’ s what they say I am . Good . I encourage the wearing of it so they don ’ t forget it .
If you ’ re a first-time subscriber , this magazine is dedicated to those of you who are “ unreasonable ” in the goals you ’ ve set for yourself , the standards you maintain for clients , and the principles by which you run your company . I applaud you and submit yet another issue of the magazine for your inspiration . Don ’ t waver in your commitment for high standards . Those are the leaders who change the world .
Sincerely ,
Founder & CEO , MSP Success
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Robin Robins is the CEO and Founder of TMT . TMT is the parent company of MSP Success .