Named a top business intellectual by Accenture and a business guru by Harvard Business Press, Tony Robbins has lots of advice to share with young professionals.
Mediaplanet: What’s the best advice you can offer to overcome market threats?
Tony Robbins: A Parthenon has multiple pillars supporting it, and the way to build long-term predictability and profitability in your business is to build it on different pillars — or revenue streams. That’s what gives you stability. If you’re a one-trick pony, it’s going go to be easy for anything to take you out. You’re standing on one leg. You need more than one way to win. There are many terrible things that have happened over the course of history and unfortunately, they will continue to happen. On the same token, technology is ramping up at such a fast tempo that it is going to disrupt our society in a massive way. One thing we know for sure is there always has been and always will be seasons of life. Summer always follows spring. Winter comes every year. You have to be prepared not just to survive but thrive when tough times come around. When you’re faced with a problem, spend 95 percent of the time finding the solution and 5 percent of your time defining the problem. Do not focus on the problem.
What are your best practices to prepare for success?
I always say there are two businesses that all entrepreneurs need to manage. First is the business they are today. Second is the business they are becoming. If you’re always stuck in the business you are today, then you’re not going to be able to innovate and create more value for people. If you’re only focusing on the future, then you’re at risk for dropping the ball on where you are today. With the rate that technology is changing the game, you have to be focused on both the present and future in order to be successful.
Do you have any advice for new entrepreneurs looking to start out?
What I will tell you is, it doesn’t matter what industry you get into. You have to know more about the customer than they know about themselves. You have to dig in and find out what they want, what they need, what they hate, what they fear and what excites them. The mantra for success is simple: Do more for others than anyone else will. Exceed their expectations. Add more value.
