Wise Uncle Ben

As discussed in Resolutions for Entrepreneurs: Goals & Habits, dividing your New Year’s Resolutions into goals and habits can be very useful as it allows you to work on specific objectives as well as on-going habits. Whereas your goals will change over time, your list of daily habits can last a lifetime.

The idea of a daily habit list can hardly be called new, since Franklin created his first list in 1726. However you can update the idea by making a specific habit list that aligns with one large goal such as self-improvement which was Ben’s objective. In this case, I propose that as an entrepreneur you make a list such as the one below.

The list is divided into two parts. The first six habits are virtues originally identified by Ben, but they are still quite applicable to entrepreneurs. The second group are six additional habits that an entrepreneur should develop.

At the same time every day, review your list and determine if you have behaved in accordance with this habit today.

Six Habits from Ben

Six Additional Habits for Entrepreneurs

What virtues or habits would you add to this list?

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This time of year, most entrepreneurs are trying to stick to their New Year’s resolutions. Some are probably still finalizing their lists. If nothing else, the annual exercise of writing resolutions helps to clarify your objectives for the upcoming year. In considering your New Year’s resolution, it can be very useful to break down your resolutions into goals and habits.

69 percent of entrepreneurs will make New Year’s resolutions related to their businesses for 2008.
Source: OPEN From American Express

Goals

Most entrepreneurs are familiar with setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time-bound) goals. It almost goes without saying that your goals should be written down. Certainly most new entrepreneurs have goals even if only informally. Often they are income-related, but many will have goals in several categories. At the extreme, some entrepreneurs will implement a balanced scorecard to measure and track their goals. Goals alone, however, may not cover the full range of behaviors that you want to foster in yourself to help your business succeed.

Habits

Early in his life, Benjamin Franklin identified thirteen virtues that he wanted to develop.

“TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”
“SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”
“ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”
“RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”
“FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.”
“INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
“SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”
“JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”
“MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”
“CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.”
“TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
“CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”
“HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”

Unlike goals which focus on a specific end-state, these virtues were character traits or habits that he measured daily. A number of blogs have adopted this approach for personal development, but it is no less relevant to businesses. One of the key differences between goals and habits is that your habits aren’t time-bound. For example, is there ever a time after which a business owner no longer wants to be frugal? Generally you want to measure each habit daily or at the very least weekly as the objective is to embody the habit.

Have you written your New Year’s resolution for your business? Does it include both goals and habits? In my next post, I will discuss an adaptation of Franklin’s virtues for the entrepreneur.

Business owners focus on ‘08 goals

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