Some business advice changes all the time, but there's also some advice that's relevant and useful no matter what year it is, or what business you're in.
In honor of the new year, we've compiled a quick list of 10 bits of wisdom that are as timeless and useful now as they were years ago.
1 - Push through your limitations
"The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do."
- Thomas Edison
Business is scary. It can be new, difficult, frustrating, and many other things - but if you push through those limitations and do the things that are hard you might see the best of what business can be: rewarding, lucrative, challenging, and fun.
Pushing yourself can be hard, but it's worth it in the end.
2 - Never stop improving
"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage."
- Jack Welch
The world changes, and things are always moving forward. In order to keep up, it's critical to always learn and always improve.
In business, the companies who are most successful are the ones who keep learning, keep improving, and keep adapting.
3 - Action is more important than talk
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing"
- Walt Disney
We've all heard the cliche before, actions speak louder than words; but it has real truth in business. Action is what matters, not talk, or ideas, or even how much money you have. If business success is what you want, than you need to take action.
4 - Success takes hard work
"Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person."
- Albert Einstein
Doing well in business requires effort. A lot of effort.
Those who achieve the most are often the ones who are the most passionate, and most determined to reach their goals - because they devote themselves to the cause and put in the effort that others cant. It takes time, but with focus and hard work you'll almost always do well.
5 - Hard work brings happiness (and success)
"Satisfaction does not come with achievement, but with effort. Full effort is full victory."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Even the best intentions and efforts don't always lead to where you thought, but that's okay, because it isn't the goal that counts. The act of giving yourself to a cause, and working with your full ability, is what will bring real satisfaction.
And if you put in your whole effort, you're still much more likely to get what you want, too.
6 - Don't be afraid of failure
"Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration. Sometimes its built on catastrophe."
- Sumner Redstone
Being afraid of doing something wrong is human nature, but it's not in your best interest. Failing is one of the best ways to learn, and is often one of the only ways to become truly successful.
Fail early, fail often, and don't be afraid to learn from your mistakes.
7 - Strive to provide something great
"A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets."
- Steve Jobs
Perhaps the most important piece of advice in business is to create something that is great and valuable. If you can provide your customers with a great product or a great service, chances are they'll come back for more and tell their friends too.
Learn to understand your customers, learn what they really need, and then do your best to provide them with that. Even when all else fails, providing an awesome product will usually lead to success.
What's your advice?
We've only covered a small fraction of the timeless business advice, there's a lot more out there that we either didn't find or didn't have time to include.
What do you think is the most important thing to know in business?
What has been the biggest help in your situation?
一些商業(yè)上忠告始終在改變,但是有一些忠告無論在什么年代、無論做什么行業(yè)都是相通的和有幫助的。
為了慶祝新年,我們匯編了7條生意上的至理名言,他們是永恒的并像多年前一樣的有應(yīng)用價(jià)值。
1-突破你的限制
"成功的人養(yǎng)成了做失敗者不愿干的事的習(xí)慣。"
--托馬斯·愛迪生
商業(yè)是充滿風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的。它可以是全新的領(lǐng)域、困難的、讓人灰心和其他許多不好的遭遇---但是如果你突破這些限制,并按照你自己的意愿并努力工作,商業(yè)中好的一面將呈現(xiàn)在你面前:回報(bào)、利益、刺激和樂趣。
自我超越可能會很困難,但最終它是值得的。
2-不斷改進(jìn)
"一個(gè)團(tuán)體有學(xué)習(xí)的能力并把所學(xué)迅速轉(zhuǎn)化為行動,這就是無窮的競爭優(yōu)勢。"
--杰克·韋爾奇
世界不斷變遷,事物永遠(yuǎn)的向前發(fā)展。為了趕上時(shí)代的步伐,不斷的學(xué)習(xí)和不斷的提高是關(guān)鍵的。
在商業(yè)上,最為成功的公司是那些保持學(xué)習(xí)、不斷進(jìn)步和與時(shí)俱進(jìn)的公司。
3--行動勝于言語
"開始做一件事方式,就應(yīng)該是停止談?wù)摬ⅠR上開始工作。"
--沃特·迪斯尼
我們都聽過這句"陳詞濫調(diào)"--行動勝于言語,但在商業(yè)中是有它的道理的。行動它不是言談、也不是想法、也不與你有多少錢相關(guān)。但是,如果你想取得商業(yè)上的成功,那你就必須采取行動。
4--成功來自努力工作
"只有那些把全部精力和心血都投入到一個(gè)目標(biāo)中去的人,才能成為大師。因此精通一行需要一個(gè)人全身心的投入。"
--阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦
做好生意需要努力。非常多的努力。
成就最大的人往往是那些最富有激情和最堅(jiān)定地去實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的人--因?yàn)樗麄儼炎约悍瞰I(xiàn)給了這個(gè)事業(yè),并比他人付出更多的努力。成功需要時(shí)間,但是擁有了專注和努力,你幾乎能做好任何事情。
5--努力工作帶來快樂(和成功)
"滿足感并不來自于成就,但是來自于努力。全力以赴才能全面勝利。"
--甘地
即便你有了很好的意圖并且付出了最大的努力,也并不總能獲得你想要的結(jié)果,但那也是可以接受的,因?yàn)槟繕?biāo)并不是唯一考慮的。為實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)付諸行動,在工作上用盡全力,那將帶給你真正的滿足感。
如果你付出全部的努力,你獲得想要的東西的可能性也就越大。
6--不要害怕失敗
"成功不是建立在成功之上。它是建立在失敗之上,建立在挫折之上,有時(shí)它是建立在大災(zāi)難之上。"
--薩默·雷石東
害怕做錯(cuò)事是人的天性,但這并不能使你獲得最大的利益。失敗是最好的學(xué)習(xí)方法,也常常是獲得真正成功的唯一途徑。
早失敗,常失敗,不要害怕向自己所犯的錯(cuò)誤學(xué)習(xí)。
7--致力于做一些偉大的事情
"許多公司選擇去縮小規(guī)模,對于那些公司或許這是真確的。但是我們選擇不同的途徑。我們的信仰就是如果我們把偉大的 產(chǎn)品展示在消費(fèi)者面前,他們將繼續(xù)為此付款。"
--斯蒂夫·喬布斯
或許商業(yè)中最為重要的一條忠告就是制造偉大和有價(jià)值的產(chǎn)品。如果你為顧客提供偉大的產(chǎn)品或者極好的服務(wù),他們再回來的機(jī)會就更大并且會告訴他們的朋友。
學(xué)著去理解你的顧客,知道他們想要什么,然后盡你所能得提供給他們。即使其他的產(chǎn)品都失敗了,令人敬畏的產(chǎn)品將總是能通向成功。
你有什么建議?
我們只是收集了一小部分永恒的商業(yè)智慧,除此之外還有很多我們沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)或者沒有時(shí)間去把它收錄進(jìn)來。
你認(rèn)為在商業(yè)中最重要的事情是什么?
在你的經(jīng)歷中,什么商業(yè)智慧曾給你最大的幫助?