If you have dreams of one day becoming the president or director of a company, chatting with investors about your successes and the commission they can expect to receive in exchange of their support and generally being a superstar businessman, we have some tips to share with you. Larry Polhill is a good friend of mine and throughout the years he has worked on a wide variety of businesses and boards with acronyms that I couldn’t possibly remember from SEC, APFC, BBC, FYI, LOL and who knows what else, basically put, this guy knows business.
I chatted with Larry about how young up and comers could get to the top of business and he shared with me some of the skills which you’ll need if you want to be that person.
Thick Skin
Throughout your time in the world of business you will be required to have very tough skin to help you overcome everything that is thrown at you. The world of business can get dirty and if you have any issue with your personal securities, or indeed insecurities, then these will be exposed in no time once you enter the world of business.
Persistence
No successful person in business has ever got there through their acceptance of the word no and if you want to make it you need to be incredibly persistent no matter what you do. This persistence must be shown in the face of everything be it from big companies, customers or your own team and without this, you cannot expect to get anywhere.
Hard Working
Whatever you see on the internet and social media, there is no such thing as an overnight success and everyone one of those romantic stories has been the result of years and years of extremely hard work. If you are not prepared to put in the work and sacrifice things in order rot get to the top of business then you are never going to win.
Team Player
There is a common misconception that business leaders are draconian monsters who spend their days barking and shouting but this simply is not the case. In fact a successful business person can not achieve anything with the support of the team around them and if you are looking at this as a viable career choice then you need to understand just how important the team is.
Forward Thinking
Those who stand still in business will be left behind in a heartbeat and if you want to avoid this and become a success, you need to start thinking ahead. Whilst the present is obviously important, you should always maintain one eye on the horizon and keep a look out for new trends and opportunities which may present themselves, as well as preparing for anything which could go the other way. Always looking to the future is what sets the great business people aside from the also-rans.
