Luck is surprisingly a hot topic…
It seems there is a pretty good divide between those that embrace it and those that shun it.
To me, it seems that reality is somewhere in the middle. After reading a number of biographies of successful people it definitely seems that luck plays a role while hard work and perseverance also play a significant role.
For example, was Southwest Airlines lucky in their path to success? When they launched in the early 1970s, many thought it was the worst time in history to be launching a small airline. In fact, they were in litigation for 3+ years before they even flew one flight.
So it seems that hard work and perseverance were in play. But they were probably lucky in many ways. The difficult conditions made it challenging to launch an airline. But that also limited competition. And other airlines felt like they had a monopoly and got complacent, which allowed Southwest to drastically undercut prices while being super efficient with their operations.
In business and in life, it seems important to embrace both hard work and luck.
When it comes to luck and business, here are some things to watch for…
1. New Customers
New customers can come through any number of channels. Obviously you control a lot in the equation, but lucks plays a huge role. The timing of when you reach out to a customer is big. A chance meeting with another person in business that refers someone to you is total luck.
The theme for luck in business is to be open to serendipity. Getting new customers is a great example of how luck and hard work blend together. But don’t be totally in on it being all hard work. Being perseverant is important with new customers. Believing that the next one is right on the horizon can be just as important.
2. New Partnerships
Sometimes a great opportunity will totally blindside you in business. I’ve found that they often come in the form of partnerships. One tricky thing, though, is that you have to know when to take on the right opportunity.
One partnership offer might come along. It’s lucky if it’s the right one. But often it won’t be a good fit. You’ll have to hedge on this a little bit and not bet the farm because things could go south. Or if you do bet the farm make sure you’re comfortable with it not working out and having to start over from zero.
3. Motivation
Luck seems to play a huge role in motivation. If you’re born into a rich family, for example, it seems that motivation might be a totally different concept than if you’re born into poverty, struggling just to find your next meal.
Some might say the latter person is the luckier one. They will have incredible motivation to survive. Those that get through the most difficult things can often come away with the belief that they can get through anything.
4. Handling Stress
Stress is a constant in life. For just about everybody.
It’s also a constant in business. In fact, it’s perhaps the biggest factor in business. How you handle stress seems to correlate strongly with how successful you are.
Being able to handle stress seems to be a bit of a luck of the draw. Are you laid back vs. high strung? Are you in shape and well rested vs. overweight and lacking the ability to fall asleep?
5. Branding
Branding is how people know about you and the number of people that know about you. Much of this comes from effort. Your work to get mentioned, be visible and all kinds of things.
But a lot of it is luck. Many successful businesses saw big breaks that came from pure luck in terms of branding. A mention in a newspaper. A celebrity wearing a brand’s shoes.
6. New Products
New products are key to any business. You need them to start. You need them to continue growing. Luck comes into play with every new product. You might have a great product at the wrong time. You might be early. You might be late. The ability to even recognize the difference is lucky.
7. Cash Flow
We often run into cash flow issues in our personal lives. We might be fine today, but what if the furnace goes out tomorrow and the roof starts leaking? That can set just about anybody back in their personal finances.
The same is true in business. Cash flow is critical and requires diligent management. But sometimes it still comes down to pure luck and timing of when good and bad things occur.
8. Public Relations
Maybe you hired an employee five years ago. They worked for a year and then left. Things seemed fine. But now they’re bad mouthing you in the press. It’s a public relations nightmare.
The opposite can happen too. You get good PR. Your business grows gangbusters.
The timing of these things can be total luck. Really, it’s how you respond and persevere that seems to matter most.
9. Hindsight
There is a hindsight trap in life. Something occurs. We live through it. We look back and think that it seems obvious that it happened. But in reality there was no way we could have predicted what would happen.
For example, it seems now that the personal computer was a no brainer business idea. But back in the 1970s, it was so foreign that starting a company like Apple was a total risk.
Don’t look back on what’s happened with your business and believe that luck isn’t a factor. Look at what’s happened. Appreciate the good luck you’ve had. Then be open to lucky things happening in the future. Expect good things to happen.
10. Sunk Costs
It’s easy to get hung up on sunk costs and sacred cows. How you approach this can be totally lucky. It depends on your personality, which might be hereditary or something that is difficult to change. Hanging on too tightly to sunk costs can sink your business.
Conclusion
Golf is my main hobby in life. I think it’s a great analogy for life in general. Golf with anybody and you’ll see the real person come out. Every golfer experiences hitting a shot and getting a strange bounce. Oftentimes a good shot will take a bad bounce. Other times it’s a good bounce.
The best golfers seem to be the ones that recognize that it all works out in the end. Or that a good bounce may be just around the corner.
That’s true in business as well.