You may have heard of the Marshmallow Experiment.  It was conducted in the 1960’s by a Stanford psychological studies professor called Walter Mischel.  The experiment began by placing a 4-5 year old child in a private room with a marshmallow on a table in front of them.

The researcher then offered them a deal.

He told them that he was going to leave the room for a few minutes and that if the marshmallow was still on the table when he came back they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow.  If it wasn’t, then they wouldn’t get a second marshmallow.

Some of the children ate the marshmallow immediately, others waited a couple minutes and then ate it, and others waited until the researcher came back in order to get the second.

Over the next 40 years the children’s success was tracked in a variety of areas.  The results were interesting and definitive.  The children that had delayed gratification and waited for the second marshmallow were more successful, more balanced and had less issues in all areas of their lives than those who hadn’t.

The experiment showed that there are personal characteristics that differentiate successful people.  Discipline isn’t the only one however.  Successful entrepreneurs tend to also behave in the following ways:

Admit their mistakes:  Maybe it was a bad hire, maybe it was a miscalculation of pricing or maybe you bought the wrong phone system and are now paying through the roof for something that can be inexpensive.  Whatever the mistake – successful entrepreneurs more often than not admit to it.  Admitting mistakes makes it more likely your team will alert you the next time you make a mistake without being scared of approaching you.  (And if your phone system is indeed a mistake – check out a hosted VoIP one.)

Make themselves available:  Usually in the early days of a company, the person who started it is always available.  Then there comes a point when they feel like everything is okay and they are less available, i.e. not in the office, not on their mobile, or in the office but with the door closed.  Successful entrepreneurs stay available.  They don’t fall into a comfort zone where they think they aren’t needed.  But thanks to technology, being available doesn’t have to mean 10 hours days in the office all week.  With the right phone system—like an VoIP one with mobile twinning—you are reachable on your mobile anywhere, just as if you were in the office.

Monitor progress: Successful entrepreneurs don’t trust that everyone is doing their job and things are happening just as they should.  They check, and they check every day.  This keeps employees on task and allows you to catch problems before they arise.  If you are an entrepreneur with a sales or customer service team—you don’t have to spend hours watching over them however, just get a phone system that has call recording and a Wallboard feature.  This allows you to monitor them easily and effectively.

To learn more about how your phone system can help you be a more successful entrepreneur—visit our website at www.vtsl.net.