Published Work

We Must Believe in Business Luck

The question is always asked as a choice: Would you rather be lucky or good? I always give the same answer: I'd rather be lucky. In the business world, luck makes you good. If I am unlucky, it's very hard to be successful no matter what I do.

Fate and luck play a big role in business. As much as working hard and slowly building financial security is part of the American dream, another part of that dream for all of us is to capture luck, cheat fate and strike it rich by taking shortcuts to the top. My father in law always said: "Someone had to win the lotto. Why not me?"

Over the years, I have searched for the perfect formula for business success. Like most of us, I wanted to know the common elements among all the financially successful people. I've read books that promised to give me the answer in 10 easy steps. For example:

1. "10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace" by Wayne W. Dyer
2. "10 Essential Skills for Getting the Success You Want" by Susan Ford Collins
3. "10 Critical Elements for Success in Volatile Times" by Emmitt C. and Mark A. Murphy
4. "10 Entrepreneurial Success Strategies" by Jim H. Houtz and Kathy Heasley
5. "10 Surefire Strategies for Reaching Your Career Goals" by Susan L. Abrams
6. "10 Powerful Keys to Unlocking Your Potential" by Tim Lavender
7. "10 Rules for Getting to the Top and Staying There" by D. A. Benton
8. "10 Steps to Health, Wealth, and Success" by Napoleon Hill and Michael J. Ritt
9. "10 Steps to Financial Success" by W. Patrick Naylor
10. "10 Traits of Great Leadership in Business and Life" by Rick Pitino and Bill Reynolds

Though Amazon.com actually lists 116 books like this, I got impatient after reading them and wanted to achieve success in just seven steps. Therefore, I read:

1. "7 Steps to Achieving Success in the Business of Life" by Jeffrey J. Mayer
2. "Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey
3. "7 Powerful Skills" by Helen Hall Clinard
4. "7 Principles of Combat to Achieve Your Goals" by Richard J. Machowicz
5. "7-Part Program That Shows You How to Succeed" by Rich Fettke and Richard Carlson
6. "7 Laws of Highest Prosperity" by Cecil O. Kemp Jr. and Kathryn Knight
7. "7 Secrets to Success" by Richard Webster

Amazon.com actually lists 100 books like this. By next year, I should be able to succeed in five steps!

After this exhaustive search, I found that all financially successful people have two things in common: luck and timing. There was a lot of that going on during the 1990s Internet bubble. You can put yourself in a place to find luck through hard work and perseverance, but if the ball doesn't bounce your way, it's hard to catch up with that kind of disadvantage.

Since there are few things that bind financially successful people together, this also means that there are many paths to get there. Regardless of what popular books say, there is no one way to achieve the success you seek. This is good news for all of us. You can approach your goal from many different angles and still get there successfully.

Many people start businesses to be in control of their own destinies. In retrospect, they realize that is very far from the truth and their lives become filled with even more variables. This is a difficult concept for most entrepreneurs to grasp.

Personally, I am not a traveler. Waves make me sick when I sail. I hate turbulence when I fly. Maybe it's because like most entrepreneurs, I like being in control. I have had to learn to ride the business roller coaster up and down and some days just accept the cards that are dealt to me.

For example, you get a call from a prospect who says his or her current Web development firm just went out of business. The prospect asks you to take over the $100,000 project the now-defunct company just started. Were you lucky or good? Probably both since you stayed in touch with the prospect so he or she called you when the need was there. You put yourself in the right place at the right time.

On the other hand, another example is you closing a $250,000 software development contract with a client. It's the largest sale of your career. A month later, the client is indicted by the SEC. The customer cancels the project. Were you unlucky? Absolutely.

We all need to learn to accept business outcomes outside our control. So what is a businessperson to do? Sit by the phone while fate and luck takes its course? No. Work hard to achieve your personal success. Celebrate the victories and transition through the disappointments. Just in case, carry your lucky rabbit's foot wherever you go.