Business Lessons from Barack Obama
Debra Gould
November 29, 2008
Stepping out of your comfort zone to do something big with your life takes more than just "know-how"; you also need courage, determination and a very good game face.
Every entrepreneur experiences a period of time where confidence levels drop only to be replaced by soaring levels of fear and insecurity. The secret to making it through those days, weeks or even months of feeling insecure is to put on a brave face and keep going anyway.
I´m a huge fan of President-elect Barack Obama and like most people, am inspired by his message. I imagine even Obama must have moments where he thinks, "What have I gotten myself into? Can I really solve all these problems and do this job? Am I qualified to be a world leader?"
You´ve probably heard political pundits talk about whether or not Obama looks and sounds "presidential".
How can he be expected to sound presidential already? He´s not the President and he´s never been the President. But that will be his job soon enough and when it is, there´s no giant "pause button" in the Oval Office he can press to stop the world from watching him while he eases into his new role.
To keep the rest of the world feeling secure about him being a leader, he has to look and sound presidential and keep going – especially in those moments when he´s not really feeling it. If he looks confident and sounds like he knows what he´s talking about, he inspires our confidence in him and his abilities— even though he´s never done this job before.
A common trait among new entrepreneurs is that feeling of insecurity. Thoughts going through your head saying, "People are going to see right through me! How can I possibly be qualified to do this? Can I actually deliver on what I´ve said I could do?"
This second-guessing is quite common. However, if you´ve gone into business for yourself, there´s a good chance you´re great at what you do. My best advice to new entrepreneurs is to put on a brave face and go for it.
Don´t be afraid to meet with new clients. Congratulate yourself on the fact that you were able to convey a professional enough image to actually get a client! That´s half the battle! This person saw something in you that you may not be feeling right now, but you have to keep going anyway.
The more confident you appear to prospective clients, the better. Everything else aside, if you´re competing against someone with the identical credentials, experience and education as you, all a potential client has to base a decision on is your body language, how you sound and how you act. Would you rather work with a calm, cool and collected professional or a fidgety, nervous person who obviously lacks confidence?
If you appear successful and confident when you´re first starting out in your career, people are going to naturally assume you must be great at what you do. If you are perceived as successful and especially if you appear in high demand, people are going to find the thought of working with you more attractive.
If you don´t feel like a professional [insert your profession here], act the part until you do!
Act the way you think a successful person in your field would act. The more you do this, the less you´ll feel like you´re playing a part. It will become more natural with practice. Fortunately for you, unlike Obama, you don´t have to do your job with the whole world watching your every move and hanging on every word! Your clients aren´t looking for signs of incompetence; they´re looking for solutions to their problems. Give them what they hired you for and keep your focus on the task, not your nerves. You´re better than you think!
Every entrepreneur experiences a period of time where confidence levels drop only to be replaced by soaring levels of fear and insecurity. The secret to making it through those days, weeks or even months of feeling insecure is to put on a brave face and keep going anyway.
I´m a huge fan of President-elect Barack Obama and like most people, am inspired by his message. I imagine even Obama must have moments where he thinks, "What have I gotten myself into? Can I really solve all these problems and do this job? Am I qualified to be a world leader?"
You´ve probably heard political pundits talk about whether or not Obama looks and sounds "presidential".
How can he be expected to sound presidential already? He´s not the President and he´s never been the President. But that will be his job soon enough and when it is, there´s no giant "pause button" in the Oval Office he can press to stop the world from watching him while he eases into his new role.
To keep the rest of the world feeling secure about him being a leader, he has to look and sound presidential and keep going – especially in those moments when he´s not really feeling it. If he looks confident and sounds like he knows what he´s talking about, he inspires our confidence in him and his abilities— even though he´s never done this job before.
A common trait among new entrepreneurs is that feeling of insecurity. Thoughts going through your head saying, "People are going to see right through me! How can I possibly be qualified to do this? Can I actually deliver on what I´ve said I could do?"
This second-guessing is quite common. However, if you´ve gone into business for yourself, there´s a good chance you´re great at what you do. My best advice to new entrepreneurs is to put on a brave face and go for it.
Don´t be afraid to meet with new clients. Congratulate yourself on the fact that you were able to convey a professional enough image to actually get a client! That´s half the battle! This person saw something in you that you may not be feeling right now, but you have to keep going anyway.
The more confident you appear to prospective clients, the better. Everything else aside, if you´re competing against someone with the identical credentials, experience and education as you, all a potential client has to base a decision on is your body language, how you sound and how you act. Would you rather work with a calm, cool and collected professional or a fidgety, nervous person who obviously lacks confidence?
If you appear successful and confident when you´re first starting out in your career, people are going to naturally assume you must be great at what you do. If you are perceived as successful and especially if you appear in high demand, people are going to find the thought of working with you more attractive.
If you don´t feel like a professional [insert your profession here], act the part until you do!
Act the way you think a successful person in your field would act. The more you do this, the less you´ll feel like you´re playing a part. It will become more natural with practice. Fortunately for you, unlike Obama, you don´t have to do your job with the whole world watching your every move and hanging on every word! Your clients aren´t looking for signs of incompetence; they´re looking for solutions to their problems. Give them what they hired you for and keep your focus on the task, not your nerves. You´re better than you think!
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