Passion Isn’t Enough

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There is a story that is often told by coaches, consultants, and motivational speakers to illustrate the power of passion at work. You most likely have heard some variation of this story about three masons working on a construction site in England during the Middle Ages. It goes like this:

A master builder approached a worksite and saw a mason building a wall. He asked the mason, “What are you making?” The mason answered, “About 25 pence a week.” The master builder thought to himself, “Not really the answer I was looking for,” and he moved on.

Around the corner he came upon a second mason building the second wall of the building and asked him, “What are you making?” The second mason answered, “A wall 100 feet long by 50 feet high.” The master builder thought to himself, “At least this mason knows exactly what his task is and can repeat it back to me.”

Continuing around the building, the master builder ran into a third mason who was working on the third wall of the building. He asked, “What are you making?” The third mason answered, “A CATHEDRAL! And won’t it be magnificent!”

At this point the person telling the story will stress the importance of passion when growing a business.

But what if the third mason with passion was a lousy mason? Would the cathedral stand for centuries as most of them have?

Yes, passion is needed for a business owner to survive the many problems and obstacles they will face while building a successful business. But passion by itself isn’t enough.

The business owner, like a mason from our story, must have both the passion and the knowledge to grow a successful business. How does this manifest itself in the business world? Every successful business I have worked with has:

1. The passion of knowing that their product or service will transform customers’ lives. This passion attracts customers as well as employees who also buy into the owner’s vision, and is vital to growing a business with raving fans.

2. The basic business knowledge and systems needed to deliver a consistent, quality experience to every customer on every sale. Successful business owners understand that passion only gets you so far. Failing to deliver what you promised your customers quickly leads to bankruptcy.

Do you have the passion and knowledge to succeed? If not, what are you doing about it?

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