{"id":633609,"date":"2016-10-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/latest-news\/articles\/six-crazy-rules-achieving-success-unstable-world\/"},"modified":"2019-02-06T14:44:30","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T13:44:30","slug":"six-crazy-rules-achieving-success-unstable-world","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/articles\/six-crazy-rules-achieving-success-unstable-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Six crazy rules for achieving success in an unstable world"},"featured_media":636521,"template":"","meta":{"_has_post_settings":[]},"schools":[],"areas":[17,20,21],"subjects":[],"class_list":["post-633609","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","areas-entrepreneurship","areas-human-behavior","areas-innovation"],"custom-fields":{"wpcf-article-leadin":["\u201cEntrepreneurship? You\u2019re crazy!\u201d. Take it as a compliment. That\u2019s one of the six rules for success that Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor and author of \u2018Crazy is a Compliment\u2019, discusses in this article on how to succeed in a changing world without fear of failure."],"wpcf-article-body":["We live in a time of uncertainty. Our companies, our jobs are no longer secure. To survive and thrive, we all need to continually reinvent ourselves. Everyone needs to think and act like an entrepreneur.\r\n\r\nBut what does that really mean? How do you channel the strengths of entrepreneurship and apply them to your high-growth or lifestyle business, volunteer committee, freelance career, or even day-to-day life? Here are a few lessons that I\u2019ve gleaned over 20 years of mentoring 1,000 top entrepreneurs around the world, and found they apply universally.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n1. Take crazy as a compliment<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIf you plan to try something new, you should expect to be called nuts. You have to give yourself permission to be contrarian, to stop planning and start doing, to zig when everyone else zags. For years, I was called \u201cla Chica Loca\u201d for thinking that high-impact entrepreneurs existed outside Silicon Valley, so I made it my motto: Crazy is a compliment. And if you\u2019re not called crazy, then you\u2019re not thinking big enough!\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n2. Don\u2019t bet the farm<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThese days everyone needs to take some risk... or risk being left behind. But the best entrepreneurs don\u2019t take blind risks, they take smart risks. Contrary to popular belief, most are risk minimizers. Even a well-known maverick like Richard Branson says the goal is \u201ccontained disasters.\u201d Half of the Inc 500 companies were launched with $5,000 or less. Many innovators keep their day jobs until their ideas take off: Sara Blakely of Spanx sold fax machines for two years, and Phil Knight of Nike \u2013the Just Do It! guy\u2013 spent nearly a decade doing other people\u2019s taxes. The bottom line: Don\u2019t bet the farm; wager a few chickens instead.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n3. Don\u2019t fear the \u2018F\u2019 word<\/strong>\r\n\r\nEmbracing entrepreneurship also means embracing the F word: failure. Thomas Edison famously said of his iterative lightbulb experiments, \u201cI have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work.\u201d Far from setting you back, failures can set you on the right path. \u201cFailure is a goldmine,\u201d said Ratan Tata, India\u2019s iconic business leader, who would hand out prizes at his $100 billion conglomerate for the best failed idea. If you lead a team, try giving someone an \u201cA\u201d for getting an \u201cF.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n4. Be less super, more human<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhen I started out, I had internalized an old-fashioned notion of what it means to be in command: Leaders are strong, steady, domineering. Today that\u2019s changed. Instead of being invincible, effective leaders are accessible, authentic, at times even vulnerable \u2013less super, more human. The term \u201cflawsome\u201d encapsulates this idea perfectly. In business, your strengths can come from your shortcomings if you are willing to cop to your flaws. Forget trying to be Superman and unleash your inner Clark Kent.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n5. Go big and go home<\/strong>\r\n\r\nOur society venerates workaholics. But that\u2019s a horrible way to live and a counterproductive way to work. These days, bosses that discourage a home life are likely to see their people walk out the door. Three-quarters of workers say flexibility is key. Get a life and encourage others to do the same.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n6. Surround yourself with a circle of mentors<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIf you want to go big, you can\u2019t go it alone. As Newton said, \u201cif I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.\u201d Take inspiration from peers and predecessors, seek multiple professional partners. Just as people are changing jobs more frequently, they should be changing mentors. You need mentors for every stage of your career who are at varying stages of their careers. To me, the right model is a 360-degree approach: a circle of advisers to give you tough love, specialized advice, fresh insights and clear direction.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u00a9 IE Ideas.\r\n\r\n "],"wpcf-article-extract-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-extract":["By Linda Rottenberg<\/strong>. \u201cEntrepreneurship? You\u2019re crazy!\u201d. Take it as a compliment. That\u2019s one of the six rules for success..."],"wpcf-article-summary-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-summary":["In times of uncertainty, everyone needs to think and act like an entrepreneur in order to survive and prosper. Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor and author of Crazy Is a Compliment<\/em>, shares a few rules for success. According to Rottenberg, \u201ccrazy\u201d is a term frequently applied to those who think big. If someone calls you crazy, take it as a compliment and keep zigging when everyone else zags. It is important to take failure as a learning experience and to manage risk by investing small amounts rather than betting the farm. Today\u2019s leaders must be humble, accessible, and aware of the importance of work-life balance. The key is to surround yourself with a circle of mentors who will guide you and support you along the way."]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/633609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"schools","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/schools?post=633609"},{"taxonomy":"areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/areas?post=633609"},{"taxonomy":"subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subjects?post=633609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}