The Midas Touch

January 3, 2012 Written by Frances Schagen

Midas Touch: why some entrepreneurs get rich and why most don’t by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki

I read a lot of business books and most are full of great information. In this book, the authors have presented information from the trenches in a way that is practical and useable. They talked about business concepts in ways I have thought about them but hadn’t heard before.

They presented five traits of successful entrepreneurs which they likened to the five digits of the hand.

Thumb: Strength of Character

Index Finger: F.O.C.U.S. (follow one course until successful)

Middle Finger: Your Brand

Ring Finger: Relationships

Little Finger: Little things that count

The 2 biggest takeaways were:

  • Successful Entrepreneurs are prepared to take risk because they know that the faster they fail and learn and move on the faster they will succeed. 
  • The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.Taking responsibility in your business also means taking control and vice versa.  Without those, you won’t exert your power to win.

Here are the points I flagged as I read the book:

They talk about the Peter Principle of Small Business – your business will grow to your level of incompetence. Here’s one of those points I mentioned earlier. I wrote about this, but hadn’t heard it anywhere else.

Once you take responsibility for all you touch, the power is in your hands to make it extraordinary.

Schools teach us to avoid mistakes. The A students are the ones who can do the work the same as the teacher (or curriculum) demands. In Business, the Entrepreneur who fails the most, wins.

Your brand is the Promise you Telegraph and the Experience you Deliver. A brand is founded on what the entrepreneur stands for.

You and your business must mean something in the world. Your business must be about more than you and your product or service. In thinking about your Brand they suggest you answer this list of questions;

  • What is the problem you want to solve?
  • Why is it a problem?
  • What causes the problem?
  • If your business were gone tomorrow, what would the world lose?
  • What makes you think you can solve the problem?
  • How does your product or service solve the problem?
  • How does your product or service make your customer’s life better?
  • What do you think your customers really need from a company like yours?

(Emphasis, mine – I always wanted to say that)

Most lists of Branding questions don’t talk about the world losing without you, or making your customer’s life better (unless it’s toothpaste).

Your business is your lab – it’s your best business school. If you pay attention you will learn much of what you need.

In school, we are taught to compete for grades along a bell curve. In Business, you cannot make it on your own, you must cooperate with others to be successful.

Successful businesses focus on one little thing – lowest prices, fastest delivery, easiest buying experience. What is your one little thing?

 

 

Book Report, Develop Strong Teams, Do It, Know Where You Are Going
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