Become an Initiator

“There are two types of people in the business community; those who produce results and those who give you reasons why they didn’t.”

Peter Drucker

I’ve Been Thinking. . . about those who ‘get it done’ and those who ‘think about’ doing something.

In his book Principle-Centered Leadership, Stephen M.R. Covey tells how Columbus was once invited to a banquet, where he was seated at the most honorable place at the table. A superficial self-seeker who was insanely jealous of Columbus asked him pointedly: “Had you not discovered the Indies, are there not other men in Spain who would have been capable of the enterprise?”

Rather than reply, Columbus took an egg and invited those around him to make it stand on end. They all attempted, but in vain; whereupon he tapped it on the table denting one end, and left it standing.

“We all could have done it that way!” the courtier accused.

“Yes, if you had only known how,” replied Columbus. “And once I showed you the way to the New World, nothing was easier than to follow it.”

It’s much easier to follow the path to achievement than to blaze the path yourself. True explorers venture into unchartered territory knowing full well it would be much easier if they waited for someone else to show the way.

Dreamer or Achiever. Achiever want-to-bes are experts at replicating someone else’s effort rather than risk failure, embarrassment or loss. Achievers are initiators. They are pioneers, discoverers, innovators; blazing the path to attaining their aspirations. They stare risk head on and then muster the guts, determination and heart to deliver.

There is a distinct gap between a notion and accomplishment, revelation and achievement, inspiration and productivity. Lots of people have great ideas in the shower but rare are those who dry off and do something about them. In order to reap the benefits of any brilliant idea, you must find a way to bridge the gaps. Bridging the gap between concept and practical application excites initiators.

Wayne Huizenga is an initiator. While managing a garbage collection service he made a bold decision to start his own trash collection business. Not only did he specialize in garbage collection, he built a multibillion-dollar worldwide company that became a Fortune 500 leader in environmental services. Waste Management, Inc. became a fabulously successful enterprise providing outstanding services for customers and creating a great place to work for employees.

Huizenga didn’t stop there. Initiators never stop. . . They seem to be in perpetual motion!

Huizenga decided to rent movies through free-standing outlets, malls; wherever movies could be rented. Strange idea. Of course, Huizenga built Blockbuster, Inc. into another multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 company that created thousands and thousands of new jobs and produced massive profits. He now had two Fortune 500 companies notched on his belt.

He wasn’t done. AutoNation became a multi-billion dollar used car outlet company. It was his third Fortune 500 Company.

How does someone like Wayne Huizenga do it? He is truly an initiator. You don’t have to create Fortune 500 companies to be an initiator. But, nothing of significance was ever created by people who sit on their hands. As Zig Ziglar so eloquently said: “You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Disturb the Present. When was the last time you did something for the first time? Refuse to get comfortable with being comfortable. Be restless. Start something. . . anything. Push on. Discover something other than the tried and true. The comfort zone, habits, traditions, procrastination, aversion to risk and holding tight to the customary are the antonyms to initiation and innovation.

Drive Intentional Improvement. Immerse yourself in curiosity. Initiators are rarely satisfied with the way things are. Give yourself permission to discover and experiment. Mediocre, good enough, ordinary is so run-of-the-mill. Find a crack, a slight opening in the ‘ordinary’ and create the extraordinary. Move from blind satisfaction to a chronic, obsessive, compulsive passion for making things better.

Determine Your Path. Do you want to make a difference with your life? Do you want the world, your family, your work, relationships to be better because of you? Stop waiting for someone to create a risk proof plan to make it happen. Being an initiator isn’t about blindly following some road map to success. Create it!

Put your energies, ideas – your heart into the world and people around you. Uncover undiscovered possibilities because, like Columbus you were willing to go first into unchartered territory. Be an initiator.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain