Big Things Have Small Beginnings: Learn to Play the Great Game

by Wes Berry

successful people seem to spend a lot more time and energy on small things that unsuccessful people so often seem to neglect.

a life of success, a life that’s full of the deep joy that comes with working toward and accomplishing very worthwhile goals that make our lives, and the lives of those all around us, just a little bit better for our being here.

But let me add that the very struggle itself, even in the absence of the success we set out to achieve, brings much of the same benefit to us. It makes us people with a purpose.

when ambitious men are allowed to engage in their passion, they become marvelously busy and industrious. They get stuff done! Contrary to common suspicion, he says, they do not become dangerous. On the contrary, he adds, the danger of ambition usually arises when such men are denied the pursuit of their ambitions, and then become a veritable danger to society, primarily out of the frustration and the consequent bitterness that follows.

In the plain English of today, he’s suggesting that, if ambitious—and therefore productive—people cannot have their ambitions nurtured by the activities for which they have been enlisted, then it would be much better never to have enlisted such people at all, so that their frustrated ambition doesn’t end up frustrating the success of a venture.

Too little ambition and nothing gets done; too much and you are constantly discontent, leading to unwise or dangerous actions that could prove disastrous. Just the right measure of modest ambition, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a truly effective and trusted officer.

With every opportunity, there is also risk. And with risk, by definition, there is always the possibility of loss. It takes guts to wrap ourselves around that.

Ambition is like money. It in itself is pretty neutral. It’s up to us to use it to do good…or not. But you know what? If you really have a desire to succeed in your business, it is absolutely going to take ambition—that is, the really good kind.

When things get tough—as they do nearly every day—its your “why” that’ll get your out of bed in the morning.

You’re working, I’d imagine, because you want to make money. Okay…why? Do you want to be the richest guy on the block? Are you looking to retire at age 40 with an appreciable nest egg, on a beach in Costa Rica for the second half of your life? Do you want to provide for your family so that those brief twenty years spent together with your children will yield a bunch of keepsake memories? Maybe you’ve decided to work your buns off until you create genuine financial “abundance.” You are setting out to eliminate any financial stresses for your loved ones.

You have to find your “why,” because you’re going to need it if you really want to get serious about learning to play the great game.

it is critically important to prepare the equivalent of an assignment sheet for each specific objective. Who will do what by when?

Then you need to break that big, majestic goal down and develop shorter-term goals. Turn the big things into the small beginnings that can, in fact, be tackled. Once you’ve got those goals, you then must identify the objectives you’re going to need to master in order to obtain those short-term goals, the ones that will eventually turn into life goals.

the tool I was given was a simple, but surprisingly powerful sheet that had the words “ASSIGNMENT SHEET” written right at the top. Then it stated the specific goals that I was to achieve. The GOALS were clear, and beneath them was a list of vague OBJECTIVES, with Target Dates. It was up to me to organize and execute the tactical means to achieve the objectives, and subsequently to reach the overall goals.

But it was a real eye-opener mapping the path of what each of us was to do, and why we were doing it. Everyone was clear as could be about where we were all heading, what was our end goal. And that was a BIG thing! Any assignment given to someone ought to demonstrate the path to the goal. That is, it ought to spell out very clearly how the task they are being asked to take on will fit into the group’s pursuit of a specific goal. There should be no question as to why they are being asked to achieve their assignment, about how their possibly small contribution will move all of us forward toward the big goal.

When it comes to human beings, nothing in business gets done without a due date. If your team doesn’t take your target dates as seriously as you do; if they aren’t convinced of the importance of hitting those dates so that the overall target date of the larger goal can be achieved as needed, then you’ll have a serious problem on your hands. It will likely be YOUR team that will hold up everyone else.

you’ve got to be intelligently flexible.

I can assure you from a wealth of experience that managing your time is just about the biggest “small” thing you can do, on a daily basis at least, that will streamline your trip to that lofty goal you’ve set for yourself and your company. When you play in the great game, everyone plays on the same playing field, and everyone has to play by the same game clock.

I’m talking about managing your hours, your days, your weeks, your months, and then your years, one after the other. Don’t let them get away from you. You never get them back.

What’s the consequence of poor time management? It is that you will inevitably end up spending all of your time trying to handle situations—problems by now—that have become urgent. You will simply not have the time to do what really needs to be done by you, which is to handle plans and activities that are the most important to the company’s progress forward…before they ever get “urgent.”

be sure to take control of your own schedule. If you don’t, I can guarantee that it will rapidly and unsympathetically take control of you.

Time management is your key to being able to focus on what is important for your business. You’ve got to be able to focus. Your company needs you to be able to focus. If you can’t get control of your time, however, you will find yourself trying to handle so many interruptions, side tracks, and what-not else, probably primarily because, since they weren’t handled properly in the steady planning process, they have now become urgent. And you will be able to focus on nothing else, at least for that time being.

Make time your friend, and it will help pave the road to success like few other elements can.

He went a little further. “Take a small piece of paper,” he said, “and write down whatever you would wish for, and keep that paper with you at all times. That paper is going to keep your subconscious riveted on that goal.” He explained to me that this was a powerful tool, and that I ought to use it with deliberate caution. “Don’t say, ‘I want this job or that job.’ Describe the qualities of the job or position you desire! Set your goals, let your subconscious take control, and the next thing you’ll know, the necessary tasks will present themselves.”

But that initial conversation with Leo covered a whole lot more ground than just that. He explained several other techniques like vision boards, and how to steer a conversation. We’ll talk about those in a later chapter. He emphasized how positive thoughts would attract positive results, and why it is so important to always frame your thoughts in a positive context. He talked about the importance of associating with the kind of person I myself would wish to emulate; something about how birds of a feather flock together. At least I got that one without too much headwork. He also spoke to me about the whole “dress for success” thing, and about how basics like good manners make the man. And you know what? He was especially keen on forgiving yourself when you get off track. His remedy? “Just hop back on that track and begin again that positive way of thinking as quickly as you can!”

The cycle of change in business used to happen about every five to ten years. Not now. Now it’s more like every five to ten months; sometimes even quicker.

Remember that no progress can be made without change, and no change is ever made without some discomfort and some risk.

If an action of an employee or associate is praiseworthy, well, my gosh, praise it, and preferably in public! Let them know you’re thankful. Let them know they have greatly honored the trust you have placed in them. After the praise, it also may be necessary to occasionally pull that same person aside and identify for them what they may have done better. The end game, though, is to reinforce enough confidence in them, coupled with the insight you’re offering, to where they themselves can now make the decision to identify for themselves what they can do better, without any input from you at all.

If you want to build a successful company, you’ve got to build successful leaders at every level of that company.

Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive!

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men; but no machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.

The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.

It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of stren...

The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally inte...

Elbert Hubbard of East Aurora, by Felix Shay,

If time is in short supply for you, perhaps I can then suggest a viewing of the PBS special Elbert Hubbard: An American Original, available on the internet, YouTube, at: http://video.pbs.org/video/1336444205/

Rather, the most important element that will determine the success or failure of any project or task or venture is simply the way a worker approaches that task. We’re talking about his or her commitment, that regrettably rare attitude of, “I’ll get it done!”

And that is precisely the eternal lesson that A Message to Garcia delivers; a message of no-holds-barred commitment to a task.

In one sense, it’s all really very simple. Rowan understood the assignment, and then turned about and delivered it. He didn’t complain about it, he didn’t whine about it, he didn’t even brag about it. He just went out and got it done.

It has been my experience that college doesn’t prepare the individual to really seize initiative. Rather it teaches him or her to work within a complex bureaucracy that often delivers rewards, but rewards that are based upon results that are not necessarily relevant to the overall success of the company. In fact, in some cases, they only learn how to get by! They learn to what level they need to advance, but then go no further!

Structured environments can also stifle individual expression, and yet individual expression is a basic Rowan Trait! To be sure, there are many times too when the often overly-gregarious nature of such a person can appear to be on the verge of being offensive.

It is not about kicking the door down and then finding out it’s the wrong building! It is about checking the address three times…because you are a Rowan and you don’t want to make a mistake. It’s about checking the search warrant three times…because you are a Rowan. It is about checking the addresses of the houses on either side of you…because you are a Rowan. It is about opening up the mail box and checking the addresses on that mail to make sure that it is the right house, and then walking down to the end of the street and looking at the street sign to make sure you are on the right street. That’s a Rowan! He doesn’t just go up and kick the door in.

His diligent preparation is his safety net. But his very perception of risk is unique. The “risk” to a Rowan is the risk of not acting, or of taking the wrong action. It is never the risk of taking action in itself. That’s a concept that is very difficult for a lot of people to embrace.

Focus: For one thing, they are able to focus their attention on details. That focus allows them to see the big picture much more clearly, much more thoroughly, than most. They rarely miss anything important to the task. Without question, the ability to focus is a major Rowan trait.

Perseverance: Most people who are Rowans have failed more times than they have succeeded. But they have also tried many more times than the average. That’s big. I would rather have someone try three different ways to get the door open, fail twice, and get the door open on the third try, than someone who doesn’t even try to open the door. Their focused intent, the choices they make, are to be able to accomplish the goal.

Right or wrong, Rowans are going to make mistakes. The only way you don’t make mistakes is by not doing anything. And it is so disheartening to find so many peopl...

Research Oriented: They ask lots of questions, and gather skills by gathering other people to help support their decision. If you ask a Rowan how he actually came to his decision, he’ll probably confide that it was not his decision alone. He’ll probably also tell you that he surveyed the situation, he asked what was available, and he inventoried what he had. And, only after all of that, will he tell you that, for him, there was really only one conclusion, only one path that he was able to identify that would be successful.

Follow Orders: At the same time, one can be a Rowan and still take orders. “Look, you don’t have to explain to me why I’ve got to take that letter over there! All you got to do is tell me that you need it to be there, and I’m going to get it there.”

Here’s a caution, though. Sometimes people who aspire to be a Rowan can overdo it with too much technology. They spend so much time keeping track of everything that they forget to actually execute! But, for the most part, the technology enhances the Rowan-type individual.