The best success stories have 90% human element. So, bet on the man rather than the plan, says Mario Pretorius in this tip to corporate managers. If you choose your soldiers well, and build the business around their capabilities, you will see them become “your most important Intellectual Property” adds Mario. GK
Ideas are many, good people are few; build your business around the good people you can find.
To put your wonderful and creative mind in perspective, go page the latest issue of the Patent Journal, and cringe. There is an average of 150,000 patents approved per month, worldwide. We should be reborn at least every 21 days as Utopia – on a never-ending scale.
But that is not the way it turns out. A miniscule number of ideas will be commercially successful – a tragedy of the human spirit and of our dreams for an ever-better future. But why?
The obstacles are endless – but predictable. Not only is every new idea supplanting some form of old idea, it is also competing for the same monies being spent at present on something similar or elsewhere.
The best ideas do not necessarily win. The 300mpg car has been built a number of times.
What underlies this is the true idiom of Venture Capitalists: Don’t bet on the horse, bet on the jockey.
The plan or the man? The man is the better bet.
Unless you’re the Top Dog of your industry, unlimited in imagination and funds, you would be hard pushed to find a better strategy for success than to choose your soldiers well and build the business around their capabilities. They become your most important Intellectual Property – they know the vicissitudes of your customers and how to navigate around the weaknesses of your systems and features until you can fix these.
The best success stories have 90% human elements. Jon Ives. Elon Musk. People to navigate the unknown unknowns and make this commonplace and well tamed. People buy from people. People trust people. People want people to sort out their problems. In both the up and the down, the human interaction is prime – it can add a significant margin to whatever is on the table; good news or bad notice.
This tip is an extract from the manuscript of “The Unconventional CEO: Common sense outside of conventional Management thinking” (by Mario Pretorius).
