1. What Do We All Have In Common?What Do We All Have In Common?
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
September 2012
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P/W: colgate

2. THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
What Do We All Have In Common?What Do We All Have In Common?
“Start-ups are for people who want to run
marathons, cage fight, and hunt alligators…
despite being born with asthma.”

3. THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Be….To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Be….
• Adaptable:
o changing conditions, ‘disruptions’
o markets evolving at ‘digital speed’
o “business plans generally last 15 minutes” (B.Gold)
o Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the
face”

4. THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Be….To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Be….
• Coachable:
o Ego on the shelf;
o Eyes open, ears open, mind open

5. THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Have….To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Have….
• Resilience and Courage
o You will get knocked off your horse….
not ‘if’, but ‘when’.
o 4 out of 5 new businesses/enterprises fail
o Being an entrepreneur: not for the faint-of-heart

6. "How can you as an entrepreneur that’s had success, has a reputation, ever
build the courage to go and do something again? Most entrepreneurs don’t
remain entrepreneurs. It’s just too psychologically draining to have to
constantly start over.”
-Sean Parker (Napster, Facebook, Plaxo, Causes and now Airtime)
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Have….To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Have….
• Resilience and Courage
• The definition of ‘courage’…..
• Remember:
o “A home run is often preceded by two strikes.” (Aristotle? Hmm,
maybe not.)
o “The only way to get a hit, is to step into the batter’s box.”

7. THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Have….To Be Successful, You’ll Need To Have….
• Passion and Belief:
o Passion: is fuel for action: will power you forward, even when tired,
hungry, and facing challenges
o Belief: will sustain you and motivate those around you…even when
the mission seems impossible

8. THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
The Entrepreneur’s Life (Teddy)The Entrepreneur’s Life (Teddy)
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious
triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to
take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy
much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray
twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
- Teddy Roosevelt

9. Failure/Success
Age
Maplecrest
Snowblowing
Outdoor
Lighting Co.
Essex Limo
Greenhouse
Productions
Greenfield
Consulting Group
(1983 – Present)
Greenfield Online
(1993 – Present)
Strategic
Focus
(1990-2000)
Imagine That
Compass
Marketing
i-Gain
Digital
Idea
Knowledge
On-Demand
Thought
Into Action
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
The Entrepreneur’s Life (Andy)The Entrepreneur’s Life (Andy)

10. Failure/Success
Age
Maplecrest
Snowblowing
Outdoor
Lighting Co.
Essex Limo
Greenhouse
Productions
Greenfield
Consulting Group
(1983 – Present)
Greenfield Online
(1993 – Present)
Strategic
Focus
(1990-2000)
Imagine That
Compass
Marketing
i-Gain
Digital
Idea
Knowledge
On-Demand
Thought
Into Action
THOUGHT INTO ACTION INSTITUTE
The Entrepreneur’s Life (Andy)The Entrepreneur’s Life (Andy)